Hungary wants to stop foreign funding of the country’s media with a constitutional change making it possible to remove citizenship for those who break the law

Published March 15, 2025 | By NewsJive.com

The Hungarian government, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, is now proposing a constitutional amendment that could limit foreign funding of the country’s media organizations, Reuters reports.

The aim is said to be to reducing foreign influence and strengthen the country’s sovereignty.

The proposal means, among other things, that it may be possible to temporarily deprive people of dual citizenship if they finance organizations or independent media that receive money from Hungarians living abroad.

Orban has previously expressed concern about what he considers to be “foreign interference” in Hungary, which negatively affects the country’s media independence and self-determination. Especially criticism towards USAID has previously been expressed by Orban, who have accused the organization for spending millions in Hungary to try to influence media and NGO organizations.

Critics on the other hand among opposition groups, see this act as a way for the Hungarian government to get rid of all independent media in the country and thereby avoid criticism and scrutiny of how the government conducts its work in the country.

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