AI videos fuel rhetoric as Orbán bids for four more years in Hungary
AI Videos Fuel Rhetoric as Orbán Bids for Four More Years in Hungary
In the run-up to Hungary’s critical elections on 12 April, a disturbing AI-generated video circulated online, depicting a Hungarian soldier’s execution. The clip, which went viral, showed a young girl peering from a window, her gaze fixed on the return of her father from war, before cutting to him—blindfolded, tied, and shot by his captors. This graphic imagery, shared by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party in February, was intended to amplify fears about the war in Ukraine and target his rival, Péter Magyar, who could challenge his 16-year rule.
The Fidesz campaign has long criticized Magyar, alleging that the centre-right Tisza party would bring Russia’s conflict to Hungary’s borders if elected. They claim Magyar supports sending Ukraine funds and would revive conscription. While the video openly acknowledges its AI origin, it frames the war as an “irreversible tragedy,” suggesting Magyar seeks to obscure its horrors. “The video is an AI video, but the war is really horrible,” it states, warning that Magyar’s policies could lead to dire consequences.
Magyar and his party have dismissed these claims, asserting in their manifesto that they will not deploy troops to Ukraine and have no plans to reintroduce conscription. Despite this, Fidesz allies continue to spread similar narratives through social media. A recent example involved a video from the pro-Fidesz National Resistance Movement (NEM), showing a fictional phone call between European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Magyar. The clip, viewed over 3.7 million times, implied Magyar would be compelled to support Ukraine financially, with the caption stating, “When the phone rings and a request comes, then he won’t be able to say no.” NEM did not clarify the video’s AI creation.
Meanwhile, Hungarian anti-terrorism police detained seven Ukrainian bank workers last month, seizing $80m worth of cash and 9kg of gold as they transited from Austria to Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha accused the government of holding the group hostage and siphoning funds. The state savings bank Oschadbank stated the workers had a valid licence and were on a routine journey. However, the Hungarian authorities claimed the transaction could finance “pro-Ukraine forces,” though the workers were released without charges.
Disinformation as a Campaign Tool
Experts note that while AI-driven disinformation is not new, its scale in this election cycle has grown. “The whole campaign is a disinformation campaign because it’s all based on a complete false narrative that we’re on the brink of war,” says Éva Bognár of the Central European University’s Democracy Institute. She adds that the use of generative AI has become omnipresent, especially in Fidesz’s media strategy, though its impact on voters remains limited, with Magyar maintaining a lead in opinion polls.
Magyar has condemned the videos as “heartless manipulation,” calling them a deliberate attempt to distort public perception. Despite Fidesz’s efforts, the false narrative has yet to sway the electorate significantly. Orbán, in a social media post, admitted the video was AI-made but warned it could become reality, highlighting the blurred lines between propaganda and truth in modern political discourse.
