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The hypocrisy is absolutely volcanic.
For years, Orbán’s propaganda machine screamed about “foreign interference”, “sovereignty”, “rolling dollars”, and evil foreign money corrupting Hungarian politics. Meanwhile, the same regime was quietly using Hungarian taxpayer money to build its own foreign influence network through the state-funded Danube Institute, tied to the Batthyány Lajos Foundation.
According to Átlátszó, the Danube Institute became one of the regime’s main vehicles for cultivating foreign right-wing populists, MAGA-world conservatives, Brexit nostalgics, and sympathetic Western intellectuals. And this was not some harmless academic tea party. The contracts reportedly required media appearances, articles, conferences, networking, and the promotion of Orbán’s Hungary abroad.
In plain English: Hungarian public money was used to manufacture foreign validation for Orbánism.
The spending exploded. Átlátszó says Danube Institute research contracts rose from 76.76 million forints in 2022, to 179 million in 2023, to 284.6 million in 2024. Then in 2025, just before the election, DI-linked partners signed contracts worth more than 389 million forints.
So while Hungarian hospitals were rotting, schools were begging, and ordinary people were counting every forint, the regime was shovelling public money into foreign cheerleaders.
Lord David Frost reportedly received more than €43,000 in total, averaging over €3,600 per month. His tasks included appearing regularly, or at least twice a month, in British media.
David L. Dusenbury was identified as receiving €4,666 per month for three years, totalling €168,000. His duties reportedly included writing books, teaching, and representing the institute at events.
Timothy Burns reportedly received $12,500 for 36 days of work, plus a return transatlantic flight.
Melissa Ford Maldonado was connected to an $8,400 contract for a 10-page paper on Hungarian migration policy and lessons for Texas.
Philip Pilkington was linked to a €5,000-per-month contract involving British media networking and themes connected to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and alleged risks of liberal political shifts.
Carlos Roa reportedly signed contracts worth $160,000 over 16 months.
Rod Dreher was also part of this ecosystem, with Átlátszó previously reporting a Danube Institute contract worth $8,750 per month, or $105,000 a year.
Jonathan Price reportedly received €5,000 per month for 12 months, totalling €60,000, while objecting to disclosure on privacy grounds.
And then there was the article-production model: Átlátszó reported a $4,500-per-month contract requiring at least two articles per month for Western outlets such as American Conservative, National Review, Newsweek, The Federalist, The Spectator, and UnHerd. Átlátszó said the contract was most likely signed by Michael O’Shea.
So let’s say it clearly.
This was not “sovereignty protection”. This was Orbán’s taxpayer-funded foreign influence operation. A public-money laundromat for ideological networking. A state-financed fan club for foreign right-wing pundits, academics, Trump-world operators, Brexit nostalgics, culture-war influencers, and professional Hungary-praisers.
They accused everyone else of foreign interference while literally paying foreigners to interfere on their behalf.
They cried about NGOs while funding their own GONGOs.
They screamed about the “dollar left” while running a forint-funded international propaganda export business.
And the dirtiest part? Much of this was happening while Hungarian public services were collapsing. Hospitals without toilet paper. Schools without teachers. Families crushed by inflation. Villages abandoned. Public transport rotting.
But there was always money for some Western “conservative intellectual” to write a love letter to Orbán or explain why Hungary is the glorious model of the future.
NER using Hungarian taxpayers as an ATM for its international ego project.
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