Hungary's opposition fights Orban's media strength one letterbox at a time

Samizdat-like leaflets called Nyomtass Te Is! (You Should Print, Too!) are seen in Budapest, Hungary, February 1, 2022. Picture taken February 1, 2022. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo

Setting a brisk pace, 79-year-old Peter Nogradi pounds the streets of a sleepy village by the Danube river each Wednesday, dropping a newsletter into mailboxes as part of a campaign by opponents of Hungary's Prime Minister ahead of April elections.

The simple A4 sheet, folded in two and printed in black-and-white, calls itself a weekly "newspaper" and features articles selected from websites by activists. It is distributed around Hungary by more than 1,300 volunteers with the aim of bringing news items to the attention of a rural audience, who organisers say can only access media loyal to the government.