Political Capital

Political Capital and its partners monitored disinformation narratives concerning the COVID-19 pandemic during the first wave of infections in the V4.

2020-11-02

Voices of Central and Eastern Europe - Hungarian Country Report

Political Capital, in partnership with the Slovak think tank Globsec, analyzed the results of a public opinion poll encompassing Austria, Bulgaria, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

2020-10-09

Visualising Influence

Information bubbles and ideological proximities on Czech, Hungarian and Slovak Facebook

2020-08-06

Disinformation after the first wave of the coronavirus in Central Europe

Disinformation narratives and strategies related to the pandemic’s first wave in Hungary and the CEE region

2020-04-16

Coronavirus and disinformation

A policy paper in association with Euronews Hungary

2020-04-08

Quarantine podcasts, Bologna Edition – a discussion with Erik Jones on Italian and EU politics

A podcast about the political and economic situation in Italy, policy responses to the corona crisis, the future of the European integration. Guest: Erik Jones

2020-03-27

"Any future war will have a cyber dimension"

Interview with NATO Parliamentary Assembly President Attila Mesterházy

2019-11-29

Combating fake news in the education system

A summary of research on the occurrence and dangers of fake news in the education system, and possible ways of combating the phenomenon

2019-11-05

The Hungarian government’s disinformation campaign during the 2019 municipal elections

During the October 2019 elections, the government-organised media launched a massive disinformation campaign against the opposition.

2019-04-26

Russian attempts to meddle in the 2019 EP elections

This research project aims to identify the main narratives spread by official Kremlin mouthpieces and local pro-Kremlin media, focusing on how Russia-related issues and EU institutions are depicted

2018-11-27

How to fight disinformation?

Political Capital’s study explains how Russian disinformation works and the security threats it poses.

2018-11-23

Fake news, propaganda and media use of the youth in the Visegrad 4 and the Balkans

Young people try to defend themselves against propaganda, but distrust mainstream media. The latter is, in turn, the main source of young people’s political passivity

2017-12-20

Counter-propaganda does not work

Our interview with Dr. Ylja Yablokov about his upcoming book, entitled Fortress Russia – Conspiracy Theories in Post-Soviet Russia.

2017-05-24

The political effects of migration-related fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories - conference

A joint conference of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung and Political Capital

2017-05-24

The political effects of migration-related fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories - study

In this study, we analyse the public discourse about international migration. This is a globally relevant topic, the discussion of which is characterised by the use of fake news, disinformation and conspiracy theories all over the world.

2017-04-18

Russia, U.S. Elections, and the Fake News Cycle

How to walk the line between awareness and conspiracy theory.

2016-12-19

Study: Rational arguments and ridicule can both reduce belief in conspiracy theories

PsyPost interviewed Peter Kreko about discrediting conspiracy theories

2016-10-13

Changing Conspiracy Beliefs through Rationality and Ridiculing

Despite the extensive knowledge about the harmful effects of having CT beliefs, the reduction of CT beliefs with experimental methods is a relatively neglected topic of scientific investigation.

2014-09-11

Conspiracy theories in Europe: a compilation

This compilation brings together some of the written highlights from our deconspirator project

2014-09-04

The challenge of conspiracy theories – how to enhance critical thinking against the critical thinkers?

Conspiracy theories are extremely helpful for leaders provoking violent conflicts. They simplify the world, victimise the ingroup, diabolise the enemy, and give justification for violence.

2014-08-07

Seven statements about the nature of anti-Semitism in Hungary

In recent years there has been a rise in domestic and international public discourse regarding anti-Semitism in Central and Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary.

2013-12-20

The Conspiratorial Mindset in an Age of Transition

Conspiracy Theories in France, Hungary and Slovakia – Survey Results

2013-05-06

The empire of conspiracy: the axiomatic role of antisemitism in the ideology of the Hungarian extreme right

An article by Peter Kreko in the Searchlight Magazine

2012-04-10

The conspiracy worldview

Counterpoint, a London based research and advisory group's interview with Peter Kreko, director of Political Capital about contemporary conspiracy theories in Hungary.

2011-05-16

Jobbik needs Jews to run the world

Psychological & political ‘benefit’ of conspiracy theories

2010-12-22

Anti-Semitism and Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories

A Joint Conference by Political Capital Institute and Central European University.

Conspiracy theories and Fake news

Political campaigning on social media in the “post-reality” and post-advertisement era

Synthetic Influence - Deepfakes and artificial intelligence in the Hungarian election campaign

Fidesz's political myths have lost their appeal; many believe that Fidesz could rig the election

The Houdini Ads - How political advertisements slip through Google’s and Meta’s filtering systems

Hungarian CSOs contribute to the European Commission’s 2025 Rule of Law Report

Disinformation and Conspiracy Beliefs in East-Central Europe HDMO-CEDMO-BROD Survey

Conspiracy beliefs, receptivity to disinformation and factual relativism in Czechia, Hungary and Slovakia

Navigating Disinformation Trends and Civil Society Challenges in Central and Eastern Europe: Regional Mapping Reports 2023-2024

Disinformation blitz during the Hungarian EP election campaign

Uncovering, analyzing, debunking and researching sponsored disinfo - project summary

Methodological Toolkit

Fidesz & Co. flood social media with anti-Western hostile disinformation in Hungary’s election campaign, reaching EU spending records

Challenges of Strategic Communication in Hungary

Factual relativism and distrust of news sources among the Hungarian public

Detekto.hu: A site for children has been launched to help recognize fake news

Hidden Agendas: Fake Profiles on Facebook ahead of Hungary's Upcoming Elections

Susceptibility vs. immunity – Disinformation and conspiracy theories in Hungary

Unlocking the Potential of Fact-Checking: Bridging the Gap between Demand and Utilization

Pro-Russian propaganda in the mainstream, anti-vaccination on the fringes

Disinformation wonderland in the Hungarian government-controlled online media: Origo's articles on Putin and Zelensky

Has the peace fight won? - Weekly analysis of the domestic spread of pro-Kremlin war narratives

Half of Fidesz voters believe government did not vote for sanctions

Hypocritical Anticapitalists - for-profit pseudo-scientific disinformation on the internet

The Kremlin’s troll network never sleeps

Extremist discourses about Russia's war against Ukraine

The anti-gender and anti-LGBTQI mobilisation in Hungary and Poland

Disinformation in the election campaign – Hungary 2022

“Online trolls” are alive and well in the V4

An assessment of disinformation narratives in the Hungarian election campaign

COVID-9.11: The transformation and anti-West radicalization of the Hungarian antivax movement

Hungary’s Anti-Vax movement: Alive and Kicking

2020: the year of the anti-vax revolution in Hungary

Not All Vaccine-Sceptics Are Anti-Vaxxers

Not all vaccine-skeptics are anti-vaxxers

Main narratives about COVID-19 in the V4 countries during the first wave of the pandemic

Kremlin campaigns fuelling secessionism and inter-ethnic conflict across Europe

A disinformation attack on human life