Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government alleges Facebook’s algorithm is working against them as elections approach this weekend.
Orbán’s Claims of Algorithmic Bias
A government spokesperson for Viktor Orbán stated that the algorithm of the American tech giant is fundamentally working against governing parties, according to a conversation with Politico.
Zoltán Kovács, the spokesperson, claims the algorithm disadvantages Orbán’s profile compared to that of opposition candidate Péter Magyar.
Tight Race and Shifting Narratives
The campaign leading up to Sunday’s parliamentary elections in Hungary is currently dominated by two competing narratives: Orbán’s focus on the threat of war and the opposition TISZA party’s promises of national reconstruction.
Polls have consistently favored the opposition for months, presenting Orbán with an unprecedented challenge after 16 years in power.
Polling Data Shows Opposition Lead
Recent independent polls have shown support for the opposition TISZA ranging from 49 to 58 percent among decided voters, while support for Fidesz fluctuates between 35 and 38 percent.
Opinion polls also indicate growing support for the opposition and declining popularity of the ruling party.
Engagement Disparity on Facebook
Orbán accuses Meta, Facebook’s parent company, of favoring Magyar’s party. Orbán has 1.6 million followers, while Magyar’s profile has 930,000.
However, Magyar’s profile has seen greater user engagement in the form of comments and likes. In March, Magyar’s profile published 287 posts, generating 14,077,000 interactions, while Orbán’s 342 posts received “only” 7,868,000 interactions.
EU Advertising Ban Impacts Fidesz
In October 2025, Meta will prohibit political advertising on its platforms, in accordance with new EU regulations.
This impacts Fidesz’s strategy, which heavily relied on such advertising. The party was the largest investor in political advertising in the EU during the 2024 European Parliament election campaign, spending 5.4 million euros on Meta and Google, compared to 1.4 million euros by opposition parties (according to Political Capital research).
Meta’s Response
Orbán’s government claimed in mid-March that Facebook began limiting the reach of the prime minister’s posts, following a campaign by the opposition to report content from Fidesz.
A Meta spokesperson denied the allegations, stating that their systems do not treat professional profiles differently than pages regarding distribution on Facebook and that no restrictions have been placed on the prime minister’s account or posts.
The spokesperson added that their standards and community policies apply to everyone and that they have implemented systems to detect coordinated actions aimed at abusing their reporting systems.
