Moreover, detailed instructions were given on how to create images and memes (Freedom on the Net, 2019). According to the Director of the Political Capital Institute, Peter Kreko, these trolls were used both in domestic politics and abroad. For example, profiles that flooded the platform during protests against development plans in the city of Keszthely and which labelled the protesters as “brain dead” were in fact fake profiles created mere months before. According to Kreko, the comments were intended to undermine the credibility of the protesters in order to keep citizens from participating in debates. These fake comments were then quoted by the governmentcontrolled media outlet PestiSracok to justify the claim that citizens in the city supported the Fidesz-backed mayor’s plans (Kreko et al., 2019). In another example, comments flooded the Facebook profile of former MEP Judith Sargentini after a debate in the European Parliament condemning the Hungarian government’s rule of law record. These comments came from mostly fake profiles and were heavily repetitious, and were again quoted in order to provide proof that Hungarians support their government, this time in the pro-government outlet Origo (Ibid). Table 2: Observed Strategies, Tools and Techniques of Social Media Manipulation in Hungary Account Types Messaging and Valence Content and Platforms Communication Strategies Real, Fake Pro-government messages, Trolls, disinformation, Facebook, attacks against opposition, conspiracy theories, paid government owned, smear campaigns, supressing promotion of political and partially participation, manipulating messages in the government- government owned online conversations, friendly media news websites promoting specific narratives Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found. During the European elections in 2019, Facebook came under fire for failing to partner with Hungarian domestic fact-checking organizations (Graham-Harrison & Walker, 2019). Facebook responded that it had not identified credible partners, which many journalists concerned with the spread of government-backed misinformation on the platform during the elections deemed to be an unsatisfactory response. However, Facebook was also in turn criticized by pro-government think tanks and media outlets for politicization. The newspaper Magyar Nemzet criticized Facebook for becoming a political actor. Moreover, the think tank Századvég published a report in April 2019 criticizing Facebook’s “principles of political correctness” which had made Hungarian politicians and public figures “victims of censorship”. According to a poll by the think tank, 79% of Hungarians found it unacceptable that social media platforms, such as Facebook, can “delete content based on its own political views”, voicing anger at the suspension or banning of content and users for sharing anti-immigrant content (Ibid). This government-organized think-tank calls for regulation that would allow national authorities, in line with Hungarian legal framework, to make the final say on what can be removed from FB. Google has also come under criticism for initially granting the New Wave Media group a financial award under its Digital News Innovation Fund, which is designed to “help journalism thrive in the digital age” (Bayer, 2019). However, the New Wave Media group has been 173