After the political changes in Hungary, pseudoscientific claims started to proliferate in the beginning of the 1990s. There was a group of scientists from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, led by the late professor of anatomy János Szentágothai who, along with science writers at the journal Természet Világa and columnists of the time, who formed a group called Tényeket Tisztelők Társasága. However, this was not an officially existing body, only a fellowship of like-minded scholars and journalists, including internationally recognised SETI astronomer Iván Almár, TV hostIstván Vágó and many others. Also, the approach of this group was fairly different from that seen in other skeptical organisations around Europe and the world, lacking grassroots activism and focusing on high-ranking scholars, expressing their opinion to a wider audience.
Founding the Hungarian Skeptic Society
In the second half of 2006, skeptical activists, brought together by the annual Conference of Hungarian Skeptics in Székesfehérvár, teamed up with critically thinking individuals and small groups who had frequently shared their ideas on the internet or other channels. On 15 December 2006 the Hungarian Skeptic Society was founded with 19 participants., it has around 100 members from across Hungary. The Hungarian Skeptics originally began with the atheist movement, but they discovered that the two groups had different strategies, Hraskó explains that both are important, but the atheist group is more philosophical and has already reached the conclusion that God does not exist, no need to investigate. Whereas skeptics are more focused on the scientific method.
Campaigns and activities
Online
The HSS has an intensive online presence with an official , an official Facebook that is rapidly growing in popularity, a discussion with thousands of members, a and a , along with a Twitter handle and a YouTube .
In 2007, the organisation launched a campaign to celebrate the life and achievements of Charles Darwin and the scientific importance of evolution and joined the international Darwin Day with a few local events and a , that was later followed by a .
Skeptic Club
Every month, lectures are held in the centre of Budapest, covering different topics ranging from philosophy to homeopathy and featuring many well-known experts on each individual field.
In 2011 the HSS joined the, a worldwide challenge to raise awareness about the ineffectiveness of homeopathic remedies and the implausibility of the mechanisms they claim to work in the background of it. As part of the campaign, members and supporters of the organisation executed a homeopathic overdose in 3 Hungarian cities: Budapest, Székesfehérvár, Szeged, As part of the campaign, a "Hungarian 10:23 Homeopathy - There's nothing in it" and a was launched as well.
