Viktor Orbán blazed a trail for Donald Trump’s assault on independent media

As JD Vance arrives in Budapest ahead of Sunday's election, Amrit Singh writes that Donald Trump and Hungary’s prime minster are on the same page when it comes to restricting media freedom

From coarse insults directed at journalists, to gutting regulators and excluding independent media from government events, Donald Trump and Viktor Orbán have been employing the same tactics to suppress reporting.  Picture: John McDonnell/AP

During his state of the nation address earlier this year, Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán outlined a chilling vision of the country’s future. Signalling a new level of aggression in his campaign against the truth if he is returned to power in elections next Sunday, April 12, Orbán vowed to purge the country of “bought journalists” and “fake civil society organisations”.

Media repression isn’t just a Hungarian problem.