Stories from and

Drone Footage of Hungary Protests Against “Internet Tax”

  30 October 2014

Hungarians have been rallying in masses against a proposed tax on Internet traffic that many in the country find to be outrageous. The Hungarian government plans to introduce a tax of approximately 0.6 US dollars per gigabyte of Internet traffic. This proposal tipped the scales for many, and tens of...

Social Media Users Pick at Hospital Food in Hungary

  9 September 2014

A blog, ‘Kórházi koszt‘, was launched over the summer of 2014 in Hungary, exposing the poor quality and small rations of food in Hungarian hospitals. The blog rose from the outrage among Hungarians who stayed at hospitals and received not only small portions of food, but often cheap and “disgusting”...

Hungarian Far-Right Group Protests Against Fashion Designer

  22 March 2014

A group of far-right extremists occupied the exhibition opening of a Hungarian fashion designer on Friday, Kettős Mérce blog reported [hu]. The designer in question Koby's new fashion line was first withdrawn [hu] from a Hungarian sports brand shop in January 2014, after nationalist criticism rose against the t-shirt designs featuring some of...

New Website Collects Reports and Data About Bribes in Hungary

  15 December 2013

Hungary, like many other countries in the region, has an on-going corruption problem on almost every level of governance. A new project created by investigative website Átlátszó.hu and Transparency International, Fizettem.hu, has taken on the task of collecting reports from citizens about cases of bribery and corruption in the country....

Hungarian Student Bloggers Win Lawsuit Against University

  27 October 2013

Bloggers of Átlátszó Oktatás (Transparent Education) sued the largest Hungarian university ELTE's Law Faculty in winter 2012, in order to obtain documents on how state scholarships and bonus payments were distributed by the members of the faculty's student union. Because the university is entirely state-funded, the students demanded through a...

Asylum-Seekers Continue Hunger Strike in Hungary

  16 October 2013

Sixty asylum-seekers went on hunger strike yesterday in a southeast Hungarian detention camp for asylum-seekers, atlatszo.hu investigative journalism site's blog reported in their Blog Action Day post [hu] on human rights. The Office of Immigration and Nationality confirmed that the strike was started by five Malian citizens who were joined by...

Hungarian Students Blog on Freedom of Information Requests

  25 April 2013

Hungarian grassroots student union Hallgatói Hálózat (Student Network) started a blog that curates freedom of information requests related to higher education. The blog, titled Transparent Education [hu], is using the Hungarian public freedom of information request service KiMitTud [hu] to track down the allegations of misuse of funds by university student governments. The blog's author...

Hungarian Bloggers Take Student Union To Court

  11 March 2013

Students from the Faculty of Law at ELTE University in Hungary sued the faculty's student union after they denied a freedom of information (FOIA) request. The students wanted to know who received bonus payments from the union's monthly budget of around $3,300. They wrote on their blog ÁJK HÖK Figyelő (Faculty of Law Student Union...

Hungarian Constitution is “Not a Toy”

According to a report [hu] on Facebook page “The Constitution is Not a Toy,” some 100 protesters have occupied the Hungarian governing party's headquarters; a pro-government crowd, however, has also showed up at the scene. The protesters voiced their opposition to the planned new amendment of the Hungarian constitution, a...

What is “Hungarian Music”?

Hungarian musicians signed an online petition [hu] against the restrictive definition of “Hungarian music” included in Hungary's media law, which considers only Hungarian-language productions as “Hungarian music.” The petitioners argued that the definition is not only excluding many artists from being part of the Hungarian music and culture, but is discriminatory when it comes to...

Students to Protest Constitutional Amendment

  11 February 2013

The Hungarian Student Network and the Hungarian High School Network posted a declaration [en] “about the rule of law” in Hungary – and are planning yet another protest rally [hu] in Budapest on Monday, Feb. 11: Today’s proposal for a constitutional amendment has made it obvious – even for those...

Hungarian Blogger Leaks Secret Video on Illegal Voter Database

  16 December 2012

Gery Greyhound published a documentary [hu] on his Tumblr blog, about the ‘making of’ an illegal voter database in Pécs in 2009, when the city held a mid-term mayoral election. A similar leak took place in 2010, when a voice recording of Fidesz party director Gábor Kubatov was published online, revealing that the party had a registry of...

Hundreds Rally Against Anti-Semitism in Hungary

  29 November 2012

On Nov. 27, hundreds of people gathered in front of the Parliament in Budapest (photos) to protest a Hungarian far-right MP's call “for Jews to be registered on lists as threats to national security.” Some of the protesters wore yellow Stars of David. The rally took place despite the removal...

Hungary: Why Do We Have To Pay Attention To China?

  15 November 2012

‘Az igazi Mao’ blog [hu] is trying to draw attention to the contemporary China that Hungarian citizens may not be too familiar with; its title refers to a Hungarian experimental documentary, The Real Mao, which tells a fake story of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong. In a recent entry, ‘Az igazi...

Hungary: Cycle Chic Summit in Budapest

  3 October 2012

Representatives of Amsterdam Cycle Chic, Berlin Cycle Chic, Copenhagen Cycle Chic, Vienna Cycle Chic and Vitória Cycle Chic gathered for a mini-summit in Budapest. This cycle chic event, organized by Hungarian Cycle Chic bloggers, was tied to a street fashion show. More photos are available here [hu].

Hungary: Armenian Singer Condemns Diplomatic Failure

  14 September 2012

It seems that to some politicians money means more than the honour of their own country or their relations with other countries. This case could affect the stability of the whole region. Lángoló Gitárok, a Hungarian music blog, has published an interview [hu] with Gaya Arutyunyan, a Hungary-based singer of...

Hungary: New Freedom of Information Tool

Vastagbőr blog [hu] is promoting the use of atlatszo.hu's new website KiMitTud [‘WhoKnowsWhat’], which allows users to send freedom of information requests to any institutions responsible for spending public funds in Hungary. Vastagbőr wrote: “Those who have ever asked themselves these questions, ‘I wonder how much this cost?’ or ‘Who...