According to a study by the European Values think-tank, a “large portion of mainstream media in Hungary are under the control of the government, some of them using Russian quasi media like Sputnik or RT as their sources. In certain instances, known Russian disinformation centers are welcomed” (Freedom on the Net, 2019). These disinformation outlets significantly contribute to the political campaign, and as such, the Orbán government has made no attempts to counter disinformation coming from Russia (Sawiris et al., 2019). Table 1: Organizational Form and Prevalence of Social Media Manipulation in Hungary Initial Government Politicians Private Contractors Civil Society Citizens & Report Agencies & Parties Organizations Influencers x FideszKESMA x KDNP Source: Authors’ evaluations based on data collected. Blank spaces indicate no evidence was found. Strategies, Tools, and Techniques Misinformation and conspiracy theories: According to the Center for Media, Data and Society, the part-public-part-private progovernment media conglomerate has created a narrative that helps the government promote the populist agenda of Prime Minister Orbán and his party Fidesz. Most of what these news outlets promote is considered pro-government propaganda, and the most essential element of this propaganda is the dissemination of false and misleading information online (Gajdos, 2019). Misinformation and pro-government messages were particularly dominant during the run-up to the May 2019 European Parliament Election. The Hungarian government was criticized for spreading campaign posters on Facebook that depicted the former president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Junker, with George Soros under the caption “you too have a right to know what Brussels is preparing!” (BBC, 2019), and which was also intended to undermine the European Commission’s scheme to redistribute asylum seekers. A spokesperson for Orbán, Zoltan Kovacs, defended the poster by stating that “Brussels continues to want to support illegal immigration, which is something the Hungarian people must know about” (Ibid). The European Commission rejected this statement as “fake news” and “ludicrous conspiracy theories” (Ibid). The government has also been criticized for posting misinformation on its official Facebook page. For instance, in 2018, the government posted a video in English attacking Guy Verhofstadt, the Chief Brexit Negotiator for the European Union. However, the statements and images of Verhofstadt were found to have been taken out of context, and were found to be dated to 2014 (Graham-Harrison & Walker, 2019). Despite official complaints Facebook did not remove the video. As The Guardian suggests, the choice of English language (with an American accent) indicates that the video’s target audience was probably not Hungarian (Ibid). One of the main narratives that has been promoted by these media outlets and the government has focused on promoting the notion that globalists, liberal elites, and refugees conspire to be enemies of the Hungarian people and state, with a particular emphasis on George Soros as a key actor in the conspiracy, a Jewish Hungarian–American billionaire. For instance, the Hungarian government rejected the 2019 Freedom House report by claiming that it was part of the “empire” of George Soros (Simon, 2019). In 2018, the Hungarian government introduced “Stop Soros” laws, criminalizing the provision of assistance to asylum seekers by Hungarian nationals (Reuters in Budapest, 2018). Furthermore, during his campaign for the 2019 171