Some of the worst attacks on press freedoms take place within the EU

There is a worrying trend against media diversity in the Balkans and central Europe, where a band of surging right-wingers have all but declared war on the independent press, writes Borzou Daragahi

Independent publication Index fell victim to the machinations of Viktor Orban’s far-right authoritarian regime (Reuters)

It was one of the last remaining independent publications in Hungary. Now it is seemingly on its way to becoming just another government mouthpiece.

Last week, with little attention or fanfare, Index fell victim to the machinations of the far-right authoritarian regime of Viktor Orban. The news website’s editor-in-chief, Szabolcs Dull, was fired on 22 July in a move that, according to Human Rights Watch, “has political interference written all over it”. The resignations of senior journalists followed. Orban won.

It would be bad enough if the destruction of Index, which came three months after an Orban crony bought a 50 per cent stake in the company that controls its ad revenues, was an isolated incident. It’s not. According to Human Rights Watch, Hungary’s state broadcaster has purged or fired over 1,600 employees over the last 10 years, including journalists who refused to mouth government talking points.