Viktor Orban, change of strategy before the decisive elections in Hungary. “We need to hit the keyboard hard”
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has launched a “40-day digital challenge” urging his supporters to promote the Fidesz party's messages on social media every day. The move comes as he tries to counter the strong online presence of his rival, Peter Magyar, leader of the center-right Tisza party, which leads in opinion polls, Reuters reports.
Viktor Orbán's attempt to drum up online support for his nationalist Fidesz party from a predominantly aging electoral base comes after platforms such as Meta and Google suspended political advertising last October due to new Europe-wide restrictions. This type of paid advertising was until then an important tool for Fidesz.
Istvan Hollo, a 76-year-old supporter of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, spends up to an hour a day on Facebook promoting the right-wing leader's messages to boost his chances in the April 12 parliamentary election.
Wearing an orange cap with Fidesz insignia and a mask with the face of Orbán's ally, US President Donald Trump, Hollo said “the election will be decided on Facebook”, by far Hungary's most popular online platform.
“Our opponent is Tisza and they are more active on Facebook, so all of us who are still in power have to hit the keyboard hard,” Hollo told Reuters during a campaign rally at a stadium in the eastern city of Debrecen.
In the April 12 election, Orbán faces the biggest challenge yet to his 16 years in power, although polls show many voters are still undecided, making the outcome of the vote uncertain.
Viktor Orbán's government has dominated the digital space for years, spending millions of dollars on advertising, but new European legislation has forced the Fidesz party to change tactics. The law forces big tech companies to clearly label political ads, indicating who paid for them and how much they cost, or face hefty fines.
Under these conditions, the party has enlisted the help of “digital warriors,” as Fidesz leaders call grassroots activists who have been trained at party events on how to post and comment as effectively as possible on Facebook. In parallel, the formation also relies on “digital civic circles”, groups of supporters who communicate in online chats.
Fidesz has also tapped right-wing influencers and used artificial intelligence tools to create campaign videos and deepfake material designed to discredit its opponent.
“Facebook is a world that cannot be avoided”
Peter Kreko, director of the Political Capital think tank, says the ban on political advertising has forced Fidesz to become more creative and that Hungary could become a test laboratory for how European election campaigns adapt to the ban on political advertising.
It remains to be seen whether this strategy will pay off.
Observers say Peter Magyar's less formal style, which he personally writes his posts and comments, has allowed him to successfully reach voters, especially young ones.
A February tally by the Telex news site shows that 179 Facebook posts by Magyar, who has 833,000 followers, have garnered 9.6 million reactions. In contrast, Orbán's 278 posts garnered 5.2 million reactions, although he has more followers, namely 1.5 million.
A poll conducted last month by the Median institute shows that 67 percent of voters under 30 support Magyar's Tisza party, while only 8 percent support Fidesz.
The rally in Debrecen drew mainly older supporters, some of whom said they were actively sharing Fidesz content online, but also emphasized the importance of door-to-door campaigning.
“Facebook is a world that cannot be avoided. But people also expect us to go to them,” said Imre Simon, 72, a longtime Fidesz supporter.
