Plurality in Hungary

In Hungary, no Hungarian translation of the book *Plurality* has been found, and reporting on Audrey Tang or E. Glen Weyl is scarce. The overlaps are civic groups trying to learn from Taiwan's measures against disinformation, and Budapest's citizens' assemblies chosen by lot and its participatory budgeting.

In the summer of 2020, an invitation from the city arrived in the mailboxes of 10,000 people in Budapest. It asked residents to come together as citizens chosen by lot, discuss climate problems and give recommendations to the city. The book Plurality by Audrey Tang of Taiwan and E. Glen Weyl also takes up choosing the participants of a discussion by lot (sortition) [1]. How far have the book's ideas reached Hungary?

In short

As of October 2026, no Hungarian translation of Plurality has been found. Only a little Hungarian-language reporting on Tang or Weyl was found [2][3].

What overlaps with Plurality are civic groups trying to learn from Taiwan's measures against disinformation, and the meetings of citizens chosen by lot (citizens' assemblies) that the city of Budapest has held since 2020, along with participatory budgeting, in which residents decide how part of a budget is spent [4][5]. The material gathered so far is still thin, however, and what this article can say is limited.

For example

A question from a Hungarian journalist. Tang's transcripts include an interview by Nagy Gábor, a journalist at the Hungarian outlet HVG.hu. Nagy began with "I’m talking from Hungary", said that in Hungary people did not trust the government even before the coronavirus, and asked how Taiwan had built trust [6].

Tang answered by pointing out that in March 2014 the administration's approval rating was around 9.2% or 10%, that at that time she and others occupied the legislature for three weeks, and that around the end of that year the government adopted "open government" as the national direction [6]. Note that this record is dated January 19, 2020, but the exchange touches on the spread of the coronavirus in Europe, so the date and the content may not match [6].

A study visit to Taiwan (December 2022). The Hungarian organization Political Capital visited Taiwan for five days together with organizations including Lakmusz (whose editor-in-chief is Zöldi Blanka). The visit was arranged by Hungary's representative office in Taipei and Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The group met Taiwanese civic groups that track down and expose disinformation, among others. According to Political Capital, the purpose was to inform the "Magyar Digitális Média Obszervatórium" (Hungarian Digital Media Observatory), which it was to launch the following month [4].

Budapest's climate citizens' assembly (2020). The city sent invitations to 10,000 people chosen at random from the register of residents' addresses. From those who applied, 50 people are chosen by lot so that there is no imbalance in age, gender, education or place of residence. The city held the assembly with the participation and coordination of the DemNet Foundation, and over two weekends the participants heard from experts, discussed and put together recommendations [7].

In more detail

No translation of the book has been found

None of the 160 copies (forks) of the book's original repository (on GitHub) has a Hungarian directory (a provisional count by this site, October 2026). Hungarian is not in the language list of the official site plurality.net either [2]. No translation of Weyl's earlier book Radical Markets has been confirmed. A 2026 article in Hetek gives the title in English [8]. The catalog of the National Széchényi Library has not yet been checked.

Weyl and Tang in the press

In July 2026, Hetek mentioned Weyl in an article about a papal encyclical (an official letter issued by the Pope) and AI companies. According to the article, Weyl wrote in a contribution to the British magazine The Economist that Silicon Valley needs a god. The article introduces Weyl as a Microsoft researcher and the founder of RadicalxChange, and writes that Radical Markets stirred debate from both the right and the left in 2018. This is Hetek's view [8]. → Radical Markets

As for Tang, Napunk, a Hungarian-language publication on the Denník N site, mentioned her in a 2022 piece introducing Taiwan. There Tang is introduced as "az első vállaltan transzgender tagja a kormánynak" (the first openly transgender member of the government) [9].

Can the coverage by different outlets be compared?

A paper introduced below discusses the character of pro-government media in Hungary [10]. Does coverage of Tang, then, differ from outlet to outlet? Searching for "Audrey Tang" within major news sites gave 0 results at Magyar Nemzet, Index and Telex (a provisional count by this site, October 2026). At HVG, 444, Qubit and Origo, the search results could not be read properly. Zero results are not proof that no articles exist [3]. With the material available now, differences in coverage between outlets cannot be compared.

Hungary in Tang's conversations

Where Tang's transcripts mention Hungary, it is mostly in remarks by the other person. For example, in 2018 Beth Simone Noveck, describing a picture that others paint ("They very chillingly paint the picture"), said that the dangers democracy faces today are not tanks in the streets. As examples, Noveck named "Orbán in Hungary" alongside Putin, Erdoğan and others [11]. In 2020, Jonas Parello-Plesner of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation said that some leaders are using the coronavirus crisis to consolidate power, and that "In Europe, Hungary stands out" [11]. Both are the speakers' own views.

Disinformation and Community Notes

In January 2025, Lakmusz reported Meta's announcement that it would end outside fact-checking and move to a system modeled on X's Community Notes (in which users add context to posts). The article also introduced criticism from international fact-checking organizations, and wrote that Meta's partner in Hungary is AFP [12]. In July of the same year, it introduced a University of Oxford study that examined about 220,000 Community Notes [13]. → Community Notes

In July 2024, atlatszo.hu reported on China's information war aimed at Taiwan, and interviewed Billion Lee, a co-founder of Cofacts, Taiwan's fact-checking system [14]. → Cofacts

Citizens' assemblies and participatory budgeting

The city of Budapest held citizens' assemblies three times: in 2020 (the climate emergency), at the end of 2021 (the EU) and in 2022 (air pollution) [5]. At the 2020 assembly, participants raised eight themes, including energy in buildings, transport and how to communicate the climate crisis. The city said that a team of climate experts would include them in a new climate strategy [15].

In the announcement, deputy mayor Kerpel-Fronius Gábor said that a citizens' assembly is a way for the various opinions and goals in society to "egy helyen találkozzanak egymással" (meet one another in one place) [7].

According to the Hungarian Wikipedia, participatory budgeting (közösségi költségvetés) increased sharply after the 2019 local elections. There are no rules for it in national law, and each local government decides whether to adopt it [16]. In December 2025, however, the Budapest city assembly decided to postpone the city's participatory budget for 2026 until the city's finances are stable. Implementation of projects selected up to then is said to continue, but the funds for some projects were moved to projects such as cycle routes and tram works [17].

In civic tech (activities in which citizens use technology to tackle social problems), K-Monitor has worked since 2007 under the banner of transparent use of public money and less corruption. K-Monitor says that, to stay independent, it does not accept support from the Hungarian state [18]. → Civic tech

What is debated

What supports citizens' assemblies. A 2025 paper by Pospieszna and others writes that Hungary has no legal framework that explicitly addresses citizens' assemblies. It also writes that pro-government media suppress dissent and largely follow the official agenda (this is the authors' view, citing a 2020 study by Hann and others) [10]. The same authors write that the right-wing populist government has weakened checks on power and reduced citizens' routes to policy participation, and that the financial freedom of local governments, including Budapest, has been severely restricted in recent years [10]. None of the material used in this article presents the government's own view.
Will Community Notes reduce disinformation? Meta explained its move by saying that experts also have biases, and that the fact-checking system too often became a tool of censorship. In response, a representative of European fact-checking organizations criticized the move as looking more politically motivated than an evidence-based decision [12]. Lakmusz writes that when it tried Community Notes in Hungary itself, it noticed problems such as notes being added even to posts with no factual errors, and the notes themselves possibly containing errors [13].
Participation and money. The city's 2026 participatory budget was postponed to wait for the city's finances to stabilize [17]. The paper above also names the restrictions on local governments' financial freedom as a challenge for local democracy [10].

Where it fits in Plurality

The English edition of the book does not take up Hungary. In Chapter 5-4, "Augmented Deliberation", the book treats sortition, choosing citizens for a discussion by lot, as one way of selecting participants [1]. But no source was found that directly links the tools of discussion and participation the book deals with (Augmented Deliberation and Quadratic Voting) to the Hungarian cases.

The overlaps stop at interest in Taiwan's civic tech (Cofacts and Taiwan's digital democracy), debate over Community Notes, and citizens' assemblies chosen by lot. The Hungarian Wikipedia has an article on the "Method of Equal Shares" (egyenlő részvétel módszere), one way of counting votes in participatory budgeting, but it gives no example of its use in Hungary [19].

Articles on other countries and regions: Plurality in Poland, Plurality in Czechia, Plurality in the German-speaking world and Plurality in Taiwan

Sources

Plurality, 5-4 "Augmented Deliberation" — https://www.plurality.net/v/chapters/5-4/eng/ ［CC0］
List of forks of pluralitybook/plurality (GitHub, checked 2026-10-02) — https://github.com/pluralitybook/plurality/forks ［CC0］
Searches for "Audrey Tang" on Hungarian news sites (Magyar Nemzet and others, 2026-10-02) — https://magyarnemzet.hu/kereses?global_filter=Audrey+Tang
Political Capital, "A Political Capital látogatása Tajvanra 2022 decemberében" (Political Capital's visit to Taiwan in December 2022) (2022-12-22, in Hungarian) — https://politicalcapital.hu/hirek.php?article_read=1&article_id=3136
Budapest Főváros Önkormányzata (Municipality of Budapest), "Budapesti közösségi gyűlés" (Budapest citizens' assembly) (in Hungarian) — https://budapest.hu/nyitott-budapest/reszveteliseg/budapesti-kozossegi-gyules
Record of the interview of Tang by Nagy Gábor of HVG.hu (CC0) — https://github.com/audreyt/transcript/blob/main/2020-01-19-Interview-with-HVG.hu.md ［CC0］
Budapest Portál, "Klímaügyi közösségi gyűlésre hív 10 ezer budapestit a Fővárosi Önkormányzat" (The Municipality invites 10,000 Budapest residents to a climate citizens' assembly) (2020-08-07, in Hungarian) — https://budapest.hu/hirek/2020/08/07/klimaugyi-kozossegi-gyulesre-hiv-10-ezer-budapestit-a-fovarosi-onkormanyzat
Hetek, "A Szilícium-völgy legnagyobb átverése: Hitrendszert kódolnak a gépekbe, de kihagyják belőle a Teremtőt" (Silicon Valley's biggest con: they code a belief system into the machines but leave out the Creator) (2026-07-09, opening only checked, in Hungarian) — https://www.hetek.hu/cikkek/kulfold/2026julius/a-papai-enciklikatol-az-mi-laborok-uzleti-terveig
Napunk, "Ázsia bajnoka – Tajvan, a létező, nem létező ország" (Asia's champion: Taiwan, the existing, non-existing country) (2022-08-15, in Hungarian) — https://napunk.dennikn.sk/hu/2967942/azsia-bajnoka-tajvan-a-letezo-nem-letezo-orszag/
Paulina Pospieszna and others, "Diverse roles and perceptions of public officials and NGOs in local citizens' assemblies – A comparative analysis of the cases of Poland and Hungary" (Local Government Studies, 2025, CC BY 4.0) — https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2025.2481390 ［CC BY 4.0］
Collection of Tang's transcripts (the 2018-09-20 conversation at New York University, the 2020-04-07 interview with Jonas Parello-Plesner and others, CC0) — https://github.com/audreyt/transcript ［CC0］
Lakmusz, "Zuckerbergnek hirtelen eszébe jutott, hogy mégsem jó a Facebook tényellenőrző programja, amire eddig büszke volt" (Zuckerberg suddenly realized that Facebook's fact-checking program, a program that had been a source of pride until then, is not good after all) (2025-01-08, in Hungarian) — https://lakmusz.hu/2025/01/08/zuckerbergnek-hirtelen-eszebe-jutott-hogy-megsem-jo-a-facebook-tenyellenorzo-programja-amire-eddig-buszke-volt
Lakmusz, "A republikánusok még Musk platformjának önkéntes tényellenőrei szerint is több dezinformációt terjesztenek, mint a demokraták" (Even according to the volunteer fact-checkers of Musk's platform, Republicans spread more disinformation than Democrats) (2025-07-02, in Hungarian) — https://lakmusz.hu/2025/07/02/a-republikanusok-meg-musk-platformjanak-onkentes-tenyellenorei-szerint-is-tobb-dezinformaciot-terjesztenek-mint-a-demokratak
atlatszo.hu, "Igazi és AI-generált influencereket is bevet Kína a Tajvan elleni információs háborúban" (China deploys both real and AI-generated influencers in its information war against Taiwan) (2024-07-11, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, in Hungarian) — https://atlatszo.hu/vilagterkep/2024/07/11/igazi-es-ai-generalt-influencereket-is-bevet-kina-a-tajvan-elleni-informacios-haboruban/ ［CC BY-NC-SA 4.0］
Budapest Portál, "Edukáció, épületkorszerűsítés és forgalomcsillapítás - így küzdenének a klímaváltozás ellen a budapestiek" (Education, building modernization and traffic calming: how Budapest residents would fight climate change) (2020-10-01, in Hungarian) — https://budapest.hu/hirek/2020/10/01/edukacio-epuletkorszerusites-es-forgalomcsillapitas-igy-kuzdenenek-a-klimavaltozas-ellen-a-budapestiek
Hungarian Wikipedia, "Közösségi költségvetés" (CC BY-SA 4.0) — https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6z%C3%B6ss%C3%A9gi_k%C3%B6lts%C3%A9gvet%C3%A9s ［CC BY-SA 4.0］
Budapest Főváros Önkormányzata (Municipality of Budapest), "Később indul a közösségi költségvetés" (The participatory budget will start later) (2025-12-22, in Hungarian) — https://budapest.hu/hirek/2025/12/22/kesobb-indul-a-kozossegi-koltsegvetes
K-Monitor, "Rólunk" (About us) (CC BY-SA 4.0, in Hungarian) — https://k-monitor.hu/rolunk ［CC BY-SA 4.0］
Hungarian Wikipedia, "Egyenlő részvétel módszere" (CC BY-SA 4.0) — https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyenl%C5%91_r%C3%A9szv%C3%A9tel_m%C3%B3dszere ［CC BY-SA 4.0］

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