Google and Meta Accepted Dark Money for Ads Targeting Ukraine and the Hungarian Opposition

Zalán Zubor (Atlatszó)
Illustration: Csaba Segesvári 2025-07-24

Investigations More From Our Partners

A newly established Hungarian company is spending hundreds of thousands of euros on advertisements attacking Hungary’s opposition leader Péter Magyar and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky—far exceeding its reported income and without revealing the source of its funding. Meta eventually removed a wave of similar ads targeting Viktor Orbán’s opponents for violating its terms of service—but only after profiting from displaying them to millions of users.

In an ad campaign running on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, an animated video shows Zelensky and Péter Magyar being thrown away like garbage. The same imagery appears on hundreds of posters and billboards across Hungary, portraying the two men holding Ukrainian flags. The message is clear: to Viktor Orbán’s supporters, being linked to Ukraine is something to be ridiculed—and Péter Magyar is being smeared for it.

The latest poster and video campaign smearing Péter Magyar and Volodymyr Zelensky echoes a cartoonish attack strategy seen just before Hungary’s 2022 elections, when then-opposition leader Péter Márky-Zay was similarly targeted. While the ads clearly serve the interests of Viktor Orbán’s ruling Fidesz party, they are not officially published by the party or the government. Instead, they are attributed to private companies.

One such company is Resistance Movement Non-Profit Ltd. (Ellenállás Mozgalom Nonprofit Kft.), founded just last year with a starting capital of only €7,500. Despite this modest beginning, the company has recently spent hundreds of thousands of euros on political advertising—without disclosing where the money came from. What is known, however, is where it’s going: into the coffers of American tech giants Meta and Google, whose ad platforms host the Hungarian smear campaigns. Even though the ads likely violate platform rules, enforcement has been delayed or absent.

A current paid ad campaign running across Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube portrays Magyar and Zelensky as garbage to be thrown away. The same imagery now covers public spaces across Hungary—hundreds of posters featuring the two politicians holding Ukrainian flags, a clear attempt to discredit Magyar by associating him with support for Ukraine, which Orbán allies portray as shameful.

While the exact cost of the street campaign is unknown, even the most conservative estimates suggest it exceeds hundreds of thousands of euros. At minimum market prices, a national campaign using 500 billboards and 1,000 so-called citylight posters would cost around HUF 107.5 million (€270,000).

We contacted pro-Orbán pundit Bence Apáti, the sole shareholder of Resistance Movement Ltd., asking where the funding comes from. The question is especially relevant as the Hungarian government claims to champion financial transparency for groups influencing public life—as demonstrated by its recently proposed “transparency law.” Yet Apáti did not respond. He did not disclose whether the company receives public funding or money from abroad.

Additionally, VSquare also reached out to Meta and Google, but neither responded to our request for comment.

Hundreds of Ads Removed—Only After the Campaigns Ended

This is not the first opaque smear campaign in Hungarian politics. In March 2025, a Facebook page called Aktuális started running ad campaigns attacking both Ukraine and Péter Magyar. The page and brand were already active during the 2022 elections. Back then, Aktuális Media Non-Profit Ltd., founded by another pro-government media pundit, ran a similar wave of ads funded by unknown sources—then dissolved the company just before the election.

After a years-long hiatus, Aktuális returned with headlines like:

• “Péter Magyar and his allies aren’t just applauding the war—they’d send weapons.”
• “TISZA would admit Ukraine to the EU! Is that okay with you?”

In March 2025 alone, Aktuális spent HUF 14.8 million (€37,100) on Meta ads. In April and May, this more than doubled to HUF 31.8 million (€77,700), followed by a smaller June campaign of HUF 3.3 million (€8,270).

Who funds these ads remains a mystery. In Meta’s Ad Library, the sponsor is simply listed as “Aktuális”—despite the fact that the registered company no longer exists. Nearly all of the 2022 ads from Aktuális were eventually removed by Meta for violating policies on political advertising. Most likely, they breached rules against false representations of individuals or failed to disclose funding sources. But by the time they were taken down, the ads had already reached millions of users—and Meta had pocketed the ad revenue.

Removed ads by Aktuális from 2022 in the Meta Ads Library

Intentionally Opaque Finances

According to company registry data obtained by Átlátszó, the other company running similar ads, Resistance Movement Non-Profit Ltd. was founded in 2024 and is solely owned by Bence Apáti, a pro-government media personality. Its registered address is a Budapest law firm’s office once owned by current Minister of Justice Bence Tuzson. According to the documents, Apáti can use the law firm’s office rent-free.

In its most recent financial report, the company posted a balance sheet total of HUF 22.45 million (€56,300) and a net profit of HUF 19.4 million (€48,640). The source of this revenue is not identified—and now, the company has somehow gained access to significantly more funds.

One of the billboards published by Resistance Movement Ltd, source: reddit.com

According to Meta’s Ad Library, Resistance Movement Ltd. spent HUF 32.2 million (€80,236) on Facebook and Instagram ads in July alone. Google’s Ads Transparency Center shows the company spent around HUF 70 million (€175,516) on just six YouTube ads. The most expensive ad—“Like two eggs”, depicting Magyar and Zelensky as trash—cost HUF 24 million (€60,180) and became Google’s most costly political ad in Hungary in the 30 days leading up to July 12.

Initially, the company tried to hide its spending by categorizing its ads as “business ads,” which don’t fall under Google’s political ad transparency rules. The classification was later corrected, revealing the real figures. But delayed enforcement means the rules have little practical effect: by the time action is taken, the damage is done.

Even repeat violations carry no real consequences. Despite having hundreds of ads removed for policy breaches, the Aktuális page continues to run similar campaigns unhindered.