Hungary's public service media launched an unprecedented apology on Tuesday, broadcasting a black screen with a message admitting to years of lies and propaganda under Viktor Orbán's rule. The M1 news channel displayed: 'Public media should not lie. We are sorry for doing it for so long. Our news service is currently suspended.'

This marks a historic moment for Hungary, as even the fall of communism in 1989-90 did not see such a move. Prime Minister Péter Magyar hailed the day as 'historic,' posting on Facebook: 'They lied at night, they lied during the day, they lied on every wavelength. That is now over.'

The channel's director, Zsolt Nemeth (nicknamed 'Pitbull'), along with other senior editors, were removed. The black screen lasted nearly four hours, followed by the 1979 satire 'The Witness' at 7:56 PM, a symbolic nod to the 1956 anti-Soviet uprising.

Reforming state media was a key campaign promise for Magyar, whose Tisza party won a landslide victory on April 12. He has repeatedly called the public broadcasters a 'factory of lies.'

Under Orbán, media laws were rewritten after 2010, placing regulatory bodies under government control. By 2011, independent journalists were purged, and MTVA channels became propaganda outlets, targeting the EU, George Soros, and civil society.

Private media were also brought to heel: oligarchs bought outlets or shut them down, and in 2018, over 476 media assets were transferred to the KESMA foundation.

An interim leadership has been appointed at MTVA, with permanent positions to be filled via public selection. Independent journalists welcome the changes but demand a role in the reform process. Orbán condemned the move as 'a new step in the Tisza Party's tyranny.'

Source: www.dw.com