Musk Pulls the Plug on Funding Against Paks II

Media outlets that claim to be independent but have criticized the Paks II project with foreign financial assistance now face a somewhat harder time, as they will no longer receive US support. Magyar Nemzet discussed this development with Zsolt Harfas, a nuclear energy expert, to understand how some publications waged politically motivated campaigns against the project, which is essential for the production of carbon-free electricity In Hungary.

Elon Musk (Photo: AFP)

One of the most discussed initiatives of the new US leadership has been the cutting of unnecessary expenses, carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk. The logic is simple: when the economy is struggling, it’s prudent to examine where the money is going and stop funding extravagances like supporting media outlets in Hungary.

Documents confirm that the Biden administration provided funds to several media outlets that repeatedly published articles portraying the Paks II project in a negative light.

"These platforms and the organizations behind them exploited the fact that the average person finds it difficult to obtain reliable information about nuclear energy. It's hard to see clearly in the tangle of interests and counter-interests," said nuclear energy expert Zsolt Harfas. According to the owner of the Atombiztos.org website, it is clear that the sites in question typically claim to be independent.

Promoting democracy over sovereignty

It is worth noting that well-known Hungarian media outlets, such as 444, G7, Klubradio, Magyar Hang, Greenfo, and Atlatszo, won the US embassy’s media support grant in the independent media category. By suspending funding to these outlets (or, more precisely, halting the disbursement of amounts won through grants), the new US administration is saving a total of 173 million forints.
"The US Agency for International Development (USAID) used American taxpayers' money to gain political and economic influence worldwide. The supported organizations, among other things, launched massive attacks on the Hungarian government’s nuclear energy policy and the Paks II project," explained Harfas, who then provided specific examples.

"The right to determine the energy mix is a sovereign national competence, and Hungary is building a new nuclear power plant in this spirit. However, the project has been attacked for years by Atlatszo.hu, which, according to its official financial report, received its largest financial support from the US National Endowment for Democracy in 2023 and in previous years. The outlet also received funding from the US Embassy in Budapest," the expert pointed out.

Captive Europe

Over the past few years, Szabad Europa has published a steady stream of false information questioning the need for the Paks II project and about Rosatom, the technology supplier, all at the expense of American taxpayers.

Szabad Europa also followed the American narrative that casts doubt on the performance and reliability of the currently world-leading Russian nuclear energy industry, while sympathizing with the American nuclear energy industry, which has been at a competitive disadvantage for years, or rather decades,

said the expert, who has previously exposed the falsehoods published on the news site.

Deliberate obfuscation

Speaking about misleading readers, Zsolt Harfas also mentioned Greenfo, another outlet that lost US embassy funding, pointing out its regular publication of anti-Paks II articles written by Bence Tordai, leader of the Dialogue for Hungary – Greens parliamentary group. In his latest opinion piece, for example, the politician suggested that the Hungarian authorities have failed to help reduce the temperature of the water that cools the old and new nuclear power plant units before it is returned to the Danube. It is a fact that protecting the river’s ecosystem from overly warm cooling water is essential, which is why peak cooling systems will be built to ensure that the water returned is below the regulatory temperature limit. This is not a secret, and numerous articles have covered the issue. In fact, as the expert pointed out, the cooling systems are even featured on the visual design illustrating Tordai’s article.

And the list goes on. The US embassy also provided support for a podcast called Nyugati Palyan. The little-known entity (22 episodes published since 2022) has spent a handsome sum of money, 140 million forints so far, on advertising, according to Facebook's ad library data. "The German Grassroots Foundation supported blog posts from Atomcsapda, which contained blatant falsehoods about nuclear energy. The Paksi Riot group, which also criticized the Paks II project, was funded by George Soros's Open Society Institute," Harfas continued. He also recalled that the Austrian Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism funded the anti-nuclear activities of Energiaklub for years to initiate various legal proceedings against Paks II. This was documented in their 2019 financial report, and the civil sector organization continued to receive Austrian funding apparently as recently as 2023, the expert said. In conclusion, Zsolt Harfas emphasized that  in the country's interest, Hungary must continue to protect the construction of its two new Paks II nuclear blocks by all means necessary, as it is clear from the above that the project has been, and still is, under significant attack from various sources.

Cover photo: Elon Musk (Photo: AFP)