‘Factory of Lies’: Hungary’s New Leader Vows to Shut Down State Broadcaster in Heated Live Interview With It

Hungary’s prime minister-elect Péter Magyar vowed to shut down the country’s state broadcaster M1, accusing it of being a “factory of lies” and “propaganda” just days after his landslide election victory over Viktor Orbán.

Magyar, whose Tisza Party swept Orbán’s party from power on Sunday despite a White House push to back the outgoing leader, made the threats in two heated live interviews, on radio and television, with the very same broadcaster on Wednesday morning.

Both exchanges between Magyar and the broadcaster’s journalists quickly descended into a throwdown, according to Euronews, as the lawmaker outlined his plans to “end” the channel when he finally takes power.

“One element of our programme is that this factory of lies will end once a Tisza government is formed. The fake news broadcast here must stop, and we will create independent, objective and impartial conditions to end this propaganda,” he said in the televised sitdown.

Comparing the broadcaster’s output to the kind produced by Nazi Germany’s chief propagandist, he added: “What has been happening here since 2010 is something that [Joseph] Goebbels or the North Korean leadership would admire — not a single true word being spoken. This cannot continue.”

As the fiery interview continued, Euronews reported that the host denied any legal wrongdoing by the channel, but that Magyar accused the broadcaster of spreading false claims targeting him and his family during the campaign while he insisted the move was not motivated by any “personal grudge.”

“In this studio, it has been said several times that my minor children do not speak to me, while they live with me,” he said.

The presenter also denied these allegations.

Magyar then alleged several other instances when the broadcaster had aired misleading reports about Germany having no internet access and Germans no longer having sex.

The clash comes as Magyar pushes for a rapid transfer of power, urging Hungary’s president to convene parliament as soon as early May.

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