Did media associated with Hungary's left-wing opposition defend a reckless driver who led police on a high-speed chase on a motorway near Budapest? No, that's not true: The author of the claim edited a soundbite to create the impression that a TV reporter was sticking up for the driver, when she was actually relaying a quote from his family. Moreover, all three news outlets mentioned in the claim released stories that gave plaudits to the police.
The claim appeared in a Hungarian-language video (archived here) on TikTok on under the caption, "Finally! Here's how you stop a madman..." The creator, Szilveszter Szarvas, is an editor at Megafon Center, which produces social-media content in support of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Szarvas shows a dashcam video of police pursuing a speeding car on August 1, 2023. The driver crashes into the concrete median and careens to a halt in the soft shoulder, where police arrest him at gunpoint. Szarvas says:
All of us can rest easier because there's one fewer nutjob roaring down the roads. But... it's incredible, but the left-wing media has started to clean up and defend the guilty party. Pay attention to how they sensitize it all! Let me quote some of them. (All translations by Lead Stories.)
Szarvas proceeds to display headlines from news sites 24.hu and Telex that appear to defend the driver and criticize the police. He also presents a clip of a reporter for television channel RTL Hungary saying:
The man is not a criminal, he was just frightened by police because he didn't have a license. They say the police endangered his life when they pushed his car into the concrete median.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Thu Aug 10 06:33:19 2023 UTC)
RTL Hungary's soundbite is pulled from a story about the driver's arraignment on August 3, 2023, two days after his arrest. In the full version of RTL Hungary's report, it becomes clear that the reporter is not defending the motorist; rather, she is reporting on his family's reaction to the incident. At the 0:48 mark, she says the relatives
did not want to be interviewed [on camera], but they say the events have hit them hard... According to his family, the man is not a criminal, he was just frightened by police because he didn't have a license. They say the police endangered his life when they pushed his car into the concrete median... The 30-year-old man was taken straight to jail from the courthouse this afternoon.
The 24.hu article cited in the TikTok, published on August 4, 2023, summarizes RTL Hungary's broadcast.
Meanwhile, the Telex story that appears in the TikTok, published on August 3, 2023, analyzes possible outcomes of the official investigation into the incident. Paraphrasing an anonymous "police expert," Telex wrote:
This is not America. Hungarian police cannot force an erratic car to stop by hitting or pushing it. So even though they caught the madman at the end of Tuesday's chase, the Pest County patrolmen who took part in the operation may get in trouble during the course of the investigation, according to the expert.
The same article also offered a countervailing opinion:
A driving instructor said he thought the police did their job well, acting most decisively at the place and at the moment of least risk.
In addition, all three news outlets had put out earlier reports that expressed approbation for the arresting officers (RTL Hungary here, 24.hu here, Telex here.)
