Pegasus Project Reveals Hungarian Journalists and Politicians Surveilled

On July 18, 2021, the Pegasus Project — a consortium of international investigative journalists including Hungarian outlet Direkt36 — revealed that Hungary was among the heaviest users of the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware, deploying it against journalists, lawyers, opposition politicians, and businesspeople. At least 10 Hungarian journalists and media figures were confirmed as targets, including personnel from Direkt36 and 444.hu. The Hungarian government denied wrongdoing. The European Parliament launched an inquiry, and NSO Group subsequently faced international sanctions pressure.