Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg | Geoff Caddick/AFP via Getty Images Greta on Hungarian media watch list: ‘This shows the importance of democracy’ Internal emails reported by POLITICO show state media staff need permission to write about Thunberg.

Freedom of the press is “non-negotiable,” teen climate activist Greta Thunberg tweeted Monday night after it emerged that Hungarian state media staff need permission to write about her.

Thunberg was reacting to leaked internal emails, reported by POLITICO, which showed editors working in state media are provided with lists of sensitive topics, and any coverage related to the issues mentioned requires staff to send draft content for approval.

“Lists like these should never exist. But since they do, I guess it’s an honour to be on them,” Thunberg tweeted. “This shows the importance of democracy. Freedom of the press is non-negotiable."

The list of political issues requiring special consent ahead of publication included EU politics, migration, European terrorism and church issues. Coverage of reports from leading human rights organizations were also banned, according to the internal correspondence.

After POLITICO's initial reporting, the Media Service Support and Asset Management Fund (MTVA), which wields significant influence over Hungarian media content, portrayed state media’s decisions on coverage as part of a normal editorial process.

The question of "which issue, in which form, on what scale and in which area of the state media" is published is a matter of editorial decision-making, "just like every other editorial office in the world,” a statement said.

Lists like these should never exist. But since they do, I guess it’s an honour to be on them...

This shows the importance of democracy. Freedom of the press is non-negotiable. https://t.co/M21jdHXm0O — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) March 2, 2020