Author: Dorka Takácsy

Pulaski Policy Paper, no.. 13, 28th of October 2024

Hungarian society’s negative view of Ukraine stems from top-down disinformation by Russia and Hungary’s government, exacerbating fear and eroding empathy. Countering these narratives is essential for future Hungarian support of Ukraine’s EU integration.

Hungarian society’s predominantly negative view of Ukraine is largely a result of disinformation campaigns orchestrated by Russia and the Hungarian government. These campaigns exploit public anxieties about economic hardship, erode empathy, and capitalize on a lack of understanding of Ukraine. To counter these harmful narratives, a multifaceted strategy is needed that includes education, fact-based dissemination, and fostering dialogue. By addressing these issues, we can create a more informed and compassionate public opinion that supports the safety of Ukrainians and paves the way for future Hungarian government support of Ukraine’s integration into the European Union.

A recent study^[i] pinpoints that the pervasive negative sentiment towards Ukraine in Hungary isn’t rooted either in personal experience, or in historic grievances. Research suggests that the hate-mongering is primarily top-down, driven by the government’s agenda. The government leverages its control over a centralized media landscape to disseminate and amplify anti-Ukrainian messaging. They employ tactics like “national consultations,” which are essentially government-sponsored direct marketing campaigns disguised as public opinion polls, to further their agenda. These campaigns are accompanied by massive advertising blitzes, often using misleading information to reinforce the desired narrative.

The ultimate objective is twofold:

• To protect the physical safety of Ukrainians living in Hungary: The current climate of hostility creates a real risk of violence against Ukrainians.
• To create space for a Hungarian government in the future to support Ukraine: The current, negative public opinion could constrain a future government’s ability to provide meaningful assistance to Ukraine, both in terms of war efforts and potential EU/NATO accession, even in case there was political will to do so.

To counter these negative perceptions, a multi-faceted approach is needed which can be applied even in an unsupportive political environment:

• Filling the knowledge gap through education: While reforming the national curriculum is desired, long-term goal, “guerilla methods” can provide immediate impact. For example, replicating the success of a bilingual magazine on Slovak-Hungarian shared heritage^[ii] could be adapted to foster understanding of Ukrainian history and culture.
• Reaching beyond the Budapest bubble with factual information: Countering the prevalent scapegoating requires disseminating accurate information about the economic situation and the war in Ukraine. This can be achieved through accessible public forums featuring experts who can debunk myths and engage with citizens across the country.

Author: Dorka Takácsy, Finalist of the Empowering Young Women Experts in Regional Security and Foreign Policy Fellowship

Dorka Takácsy is a researcher based in Budapest, focusing on disinformation and propaganda in Central-Eastern Europe and Russia. She is a visiting fellow of the German Marshall Fund of the United States and a research fellow at the Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Democracy. She is also pursuing a PhD at the Corvinus University of Budapest, researching Russian domestic disinformation about the West.

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

^[i] Centre for Euro-Atlantic Integration (CEID), 2024.  The study was financed by the International Visegrad Fund, and focused on how Ukraine’s future and it’s EU accession-perspectives are portrayed in the media and how the public opinion sees these questions. The research’s outcome, which is the comparative study of the Visegrad countries is to be published end of October this year. An op-ed summarized the appalling Hungarian results beforehand:  https://444.hu/2024/07/10/mar-az-is-elhiszi-hogy-a-korrupt-ukrajna-nem-erdemel-segitseget-akinek-nem-jon-be-a-kormany-kampanya

^[ii] György Bugyinszki, Ingyen juthatnak hozzá a Napunk és a Denník N kétnyelvű magazinjához több mint 700 magyar és szlovák iskola diákjai (More than 700 Hungarian and Slovak students have free access to the bilingual magazine of Napunk and Denník N). Média 1. 14/06/2024 https://media1.hu/2024/06/14/napunk-dennik-n-ingyenes-magazin/