THOUSANDS of protesters gathered outside the headquarters of Hungary’s public media corporation on Saturday to demonstrate against what they say is an entrenched propaganda network operated by the nationalist government at taxpayer expense.

The protest was organised by Hungary’s most prominent opposition figure, Peter Magyar, and his Respect and Freedom party (Tisza), which has emerged in recent months as the most serious political challenge for Prime Minister Viktor Orban since he took power nearly 15 years ago.

Mr Magyar, whose party received nearly 30 per cent of the vote in European Union elections this summer and is polling within a few points of the governing Hungarian Civic Alliance, has been outspoken about what he sees as the damage Mr Orban’s “propaganda factory” has done to Hungary’s democracy.