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A false claim that Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar plans to bring back military conscription in Hungary has spread online and been linked by researchers to a widespread Russian disinformation campaign.
The allegation, shared on X and Facebook alongside an image mimicking a news broadcast, claims that Magyar told voters at a campaign rally that “Hungary needs conscription to get ready for war.”
One post on X claimed that “Magyar thinks forcing 90,000 young men into army boots will solve Hungary’s problems.”
However, there is no evidence that Magyar and his pro-European Tisza party plan to introduce mandatory military conscription.
In fact, his party’s , stating that, if elected, a Tisza government “will not reintroduce conscription” either after the election or any time in the future.
The manifesto also rules out sending Hungarian troops to Ukraine or other conflicts, while calling for increased military spending and strengthened national defence. It also advocates for scaling back foreign missions that do not serve Hungary’s interests.
Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz party has echoed the claim that Magyar is pushing for forced conscription, with candidates campaigning on the premise that Tisza will embroil Hungary in the war in Ukraine, re-direct pension funds to support Kyiv and impose conscription.
There is no evidence, however, that Fidesz is behind this social media campaign.
Researchers at the Gnida Project, an open-source investigative unit which...
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