In a shocking turn of events, Hungarian-born American writer Kati Marton found herself at the center of an elaborate dirty-tricks operation aimed at smearing critics of Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orban. What started as a seemingly innocent conversation with a supposed friend of Gen. Wesley Clark, NATO’s former commander in Europe, turned into a web of deception and manipulation.
The man, posing as a “results-oriented wealth and investment manager” exploring green energy opportunities in Eastern Europe, led Ms. Marton to discuss Hungary, a topic she is well-versed in due to her extensive writing on the country. Little did she know, the conversation was secretly recorded and snippets were later released on social media by an account called MagaBabe, known for promoting pro-Trump content.
The recordings, which also included interactions with General Clark, were quickly used by Mr. Orban’s media machine to accuse Ms. Marton and others of being “black belt” agents of Hungarian-born financier George Soros, plotting against the government. The distorted voice of the supposed investor can be heard pushing Ms. Marton and General Clark to implicate Mr. Soros in funding opposition groups in Hungary.
Despite the lack of substantial evidence in the recordings, Hungarian outlets like Origo and Mandiner seized on the opportunity to paint Ms. Marton and her associates as enemies of the state. The situation escalated further with the involvement of a newly established Hungarian state agency, the Office for the Defense of Sovereignty, which cited the videos as grounds for possible criminal investigations.
The operation against Ms. Marton and others involved with Action for Democracy, a New York-based organization supporting activists in Hungary, bore resemblance to tactics used by Black Cube, an Israeli intelligence company known for targeting Hungarian activists on behalf of undisclosed clients. LinkedIn confirmed the misuse of its platform to engage in reconnaissance or intelligence operations against individuals associated with NGOs in Hungary.
American communications consultant Eric Koch also fell victim to a similar scheme, where he was lured into a meeting under false pretenses and later manipulated into making statements linking his work with Action for Democracy to George Soros. The edited video segments were then used by Hungarian media to further propagate conspiracy theories involving foreign interference in Hungarian politics.
As tensions rise between Hungary and its critics, the international community is closely monitoring the situation. American ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, expressed concern over the targeting of American citizens by Hungarian intelligence services, signaling a growing unease over the implications of such covert operations on U.S. soil. The events surrounding Ms. Marton, General Clark, and others serve as a stark reminder of the dangers posed by disinformation campaigns and political manipulation in the modern era.