Twitter suspends Hungarian pro-government media account

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Twitter has suspended the account of a government-supported Hungarian media organisation, just days after a government account was suspended in error.

The social network confirmed to Euronews that action had been taken against @RMXNews under their policy on platform manipulation and spam policy.

Under these rules, Twitter accounts are not permitted to mislead others by operating fake accounts, artificially inflate online conversations or misuse platform tools.

Remix News says it was given no reasons for Twitter's action and says the move amounted to "a blatant attack on press freedom".

"The removal of Remix News means it and other Central European platforms will be unable to participate fully in the free exchange of ideas and distribution of our content to a wider audience".

Twitter has given no further detail over why the account has been suspended.

Earlier this week, the Hungarian government also said that an official Twitter account was temporarily suspended and then restored without explanation.

The account @aboutHungary shares information about the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and other press releases from Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

But unlike other social media accounts of official European governments, the profile has not been verified by Twitter.

The company confirmed to Euronews that action had been taken against the @abouthungary account in error and it had been reinstated.

Government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said on Wednesday that Hungary was awaiting "an official explanation" from Twitter.

Kovacs also noted that the account’s suspension came on the same day that the European Commission published a report on the state of democracy and the rule of law in the bloc.

Member States Hungary and Poland have been cited by the EU for risking a “serious breach” of the EU’s core principles.

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