Will cash users face penalties on public transport starting in summer 2024? No, that's not true: The Hungarian government aims to introduce a cash-free system on board vehicles, but the details are not clear yet. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on January 18, 2024, under the title, translated from Hungarian into English by Lead…

Did Gaspar Orban, son of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, die of a drug overdose in Marbella, Spain, in early January 2024? No, that's not true: The Ministry of Defense confirmed that Gaspar Orban is alive, currently serving in the Hungarian army, and preparing for a mission in Africa. The claim appeared in a TikTok video no longer available but…

Did Katalin Cseh and Anna Donáth, the two members of the European Parliament from the Hungarian Momentum party manage to expel Hungary from the Erasmus Programme? No, that's not true: The European Union ceased to support the Erasmus grants of Hungarian students and researchers after an EU Council decision in December 2022. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Is the World Economic Forum (WEF) planning to force people to observe "personal carbon allowances," legally restricting the amount of carbon emissions that individuals might generate during their daily activities? No, that's not true: The claim misrepresents an opinion piece that appeared on the WEF's website in 2022. The article proposes creating incentives for people to monitor their behavior vis-à-vis…

Do 99 percent of Hungarians refuse the creation of "migrant ghettos" in Hungary and oppose weapon shipments to Ukraine? No, that's not true: The data source is a recent national consultation, which was only answered by 1.5 million out of 8.2 million Hungarian voters. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 25, 2024, under the…

Does Ukraine forbid ethnic-Hungarian students in its Transcarpathia region to speak Hungarian at school, even amongst themselves? No, that's not true: The claim misrepresents guidance that Ukraine's education minister sent out to school administrators in October 2023. The minister mandated that Ukrainian be the sole language of school instruction, but specifically exempted institutions where classes are taught in ethnic-minority languages.…

Is "Disease X" a mysterious virus deadlier than COVID-19 and kept a secret from the general public? No, that's not true: Disease X is a term used by the World Health Organization to describe a hypothetical virus that is presently unknown, serving as a strategy for preparedness in the event of a global emergency like a pandemic. The claim appeared…

Did European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen say that Hungarian European Union funds remain frozen because Hungary is against illegal migration and gender propaganda? No, that's not true: The video making this claim is edited and mistranslated to suggest that the EU's measures were a consequence exclusively of Hungary's approach to migration and LGBTQ rights. In fact the Commission…

Did the "prime minister" of Scotland deliver a bigoted speech in which he complained that his country had too many white residents? No, that's not true: Humza Yousaf, who has Pakistani roots, never uttered such words during a parliamentary speech, instead expressing support for anti-racism activists in the United States. Moreover, the speech took place in 2020, nearly three years…

Did Hungarian authorities announce an "Orange Warning" after a dangerous alien creature was seen in the country? No, that's not true: There was no active warning on Hungarian authorities' website at the time of the writing and the "Orange Warning" is used by the National Weather Service. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on January 13,…

Is Germany's "left-wing press" promoting the career of a porn star who became famous by "reaching out" to Nazis? No, that's not true: The woman, identified as Emely S., is actually an anti-Nazi activist who first appeared in the German tabloid Bild after she published a video exposing far-right activity in her home state of Saxony. Bild, which is not…

Are German farmers "furious" about their government's financial support for Ukraine's war effort and imports of Ukrainian grain to European markets? No, that's not true: The farmers who have been blocking traffic on German roads are upset about the government's planned subsidy cuts and tax policies, not its policies toward Ukraine. Moreover, an opinion poll shows that a majority of…

Igaz-e, hogy az egyik budapesti filmstúdió valójában egy koncentrációs tábor, amelyet az amerikai Szövetségi Katasztrófavédelmi Hivatal (FEMA) működtet és ezt a befele hajló szögesdrót kerítés és hulladékégetők jelenléte bizonyítja? Nem, ez nem igaz: semmi nem utal arra, hogy a komplexum bármi más lenne, mint egy filmforgatási helyszín. Az épületet körülvevő szögesdrótkerítés a magyar építési szabályzatnak megfelelően befelé dől, nem pedig…

Is Elena Ceausescu the great-grandmother of Rahel Orban, the eldest daughter of Viktor Orban? No, that's not true: Ceausescu was executed in 1989, and she was never photographed with the daughter and granddaughter of the Hungarian prime minister. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on December 30, 2023 under the title (translated from Hungarian to English by…

Was Gaspar Orbán, the son of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, photographed during his honeymoon with his husband? No, that's not true: The photo was taken during a Calvinist religious festival in 2017. The photo and the claim appeared in a video (archived here) on TikTok on December 12, 2023, under the title (translated from Hungarian to English by Lead…

Did a muezzin, an Islamic official who proclaims the Muslim call to prayer, sing at a 2023 Christmas market in Berlin? No, that's not true: The event at which the man was singing was not a Christmas market and was not in Berlin. The claim appeared in a Hungarian-language video (archived here) on TikTok on December 24, 2023, under the…

Is Hungary's governing Fidesz party moving to abolish private property ownership with its new law on real estate registration? No, that's not true: The claim is based on a minor semantic change to the current rules governing property records. The new law, which will digitize Hungary's cumbersome paper-based system of registering deeds, does not contain any language about eliminating individual…

Are Germans afraid to use the word "Weihnachtsmarkt" (Christmas market) and therefore use "Lichtermarkt" (market of lights) or "Märchenmarkt" (fairy tale market) so as not to offend Muslims living in the country by using an expression referring to Christian religion? No, that's not true: Even cities used the word Christmas market on their official websites in December 2023 to publicize…

Did Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sign a "secret pact" with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, in which he promised to push Hungarians out of their homeland to make way for Jewish immigrants? No, that's not true: The claim was promulgated in 2017 by an ultranationalist politician who offered no proof to back it up. There is no evidence of…

Are half of Romanian children born outside Romania? No, that's not true: This myth is spread by Romanian and Hungarian politicians but data from Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS) contradicts the claim. The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) published by the Hungarian government party, Fidesz, on December 11, 2023. It features a quote from one of…