FOOTNOTES:

(1) Lajos Simicska is a Hungarian business magnate who was formerly Fidesz’s main finance man (and beneficiary). That was until his fall from grace in early 2015, after – this is his version – he called out PM Orbán Viktor for his Russian-friendliness. On the G-Day, prominent figures from pro-government press, TV and radio stations left him to join Fidesz’s emerging new media empire: his subsequent vulgar comments regarding Viktor Orbán on “G-Day” would circulate in Hungarian media and eventually serve as the basis for the anti-Orbán political slogan, “O1G”. “G” stands for “geci”, meaning cum, a common Hungarian insult which is the rough equivalent of English “cunt”. So O1G means “Orbán is a cunt”.

(2) Zsolt Bayer is one of the country’s most prominent pro-Fidesz pundits, well known for his short temper and often aggressive, vulgar style. He’s a founding member of Fidesz, famously holding party member card #005.

(3) György Schadl is the incumbent president of the Hungarian Bar of Court Executives. Since 2021 he has been the central figure of an ongoing corruption scandal and trial. During a house raid in 2021, pieces of compromising evidence were recovered from Schadl’s safe, including a sex tape involving a public figure. The tape, labeled unimportant in the matter, was destroyed by prosecutors.

(4) Central European Press and Media Foundation, a government-backed media network that is considered to be a holding company for propaganda outlets by Hungarian independent media and international organizations. It encompasses a myriad of print and online publications from tabloid titles to all county newspapers in Hungary, making it by far the largest print media company, and it was labeled a national strategic asset so its creation wasn’t scrutinized by the competition authority.

(5) The System of National Cooperation, known by its Hungarian acronym: NER, is basically Fidesz’s system. Its infamous 2010 declaration begin with this: “Let there be peace, freedom and harmony.”

(6) Hódmezővásárhely is a midsize town in the south east of Hungary still carrying special importance. It’s the hometown of János Lázár, the former mayor and Fidesz’s number two man between 2014 and 2018 as the secretary leading the Prime Minister’s office as minister, who’s touted from time to time as a possible successor of Orbán once he’d happen to let go of power. The opposition’s 2022 PM candidate, Péter Márki-Zay (often referred to as MZP) also rose from here: he took the mayorship in a surprise

(7) Márton Gulyás is the founder of Partizán, a left-leaning Youtube-empire consisting of political talkshows and podcasts, documentaries and even entertaining Friday night talks.

(8) The Press Club is a long established political talkshow where Fidesz-supporter journalists compete who agrees more with the government.

(9) Origo is and has always been one of the leading Hungarian news sites: it was established by the largest telco company to provide local content and promote internet subscriptions, and traditionally provided a very neutral, public service type of coverage. After Fidesz came to power (and the paper reported on János Lázár’s dubiously funded foreign travels), Magyar Telekom sold it to government-friendly buyers, who quickly reshaped it as a pro-government tabloid propaganda site that loses 10+ cases in court every year.

(10) Gábor Iványi is a priest who runs a small Christian church: he was the one who wed Viktor Orbán and his wife. Being critical with the government and helping poor people mostly overlooked by the system, they are now excluded from the churches recognized by the state.