Direkt36

Description

Direkt36 is an investigative journalism outlet in Hungary. It is published by the nonprofit company Direkt36 Nonprofit Kft, established in 2014. Its editorial team is led by managing editor Pethő András. It produces reporting on subjects such as hospital infections, Orbán and the economy, Hungary’s foreign relations, Russian connections, Pegasus surveillance, the business dealings of the Orbán family, and offshore secrets.

As a nonprofit, Direkt36 cannot distribute profits to its owners. It puts its funds into its operations, expanding staff, building reserves and financing larger projects such as a documentary film. Its finances rely mainly on individual supporters. Their microdonations and 1 percent tax designations, channelled partly through the Independent Journalists’ Foundation, cover most of its annual budget. In its 2025 financial year these sources covered nearly the whole of an annual budget of close to 156 million forints.

It also receives institutional support from foundations that do not interfere in its editorial work, including the Sigrid Rausing Trust, Civitates, and the Foundation for Democracy and Pluralism. It participates in a collaborative cross-border journalism project led by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, partly funded by the European Union’s Creative Europe programme. Direkt36 also has professional partnerships with the Global Investigative Journalism Network and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project. Its editorial office is located in Budapest.