Did the Ukrainian beverage company Obolon buy a traditional Czech beer brand, Braník, a lager brewed by Pivovary Staropramen, part of the Molson Coors Beverage Company? No, that's not true: A spokeswoman for Pivovary Staropramen confirmed to Lead Stories that there was no such deal and that the information was false. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published…
Did Czech leaders ignore the floods that hit the Czech Republic in September 2024, not visiting the places most damaged by the disaster, unlike Slovak President Peter Pellegrini in his home country? No, that's not true: Czech President Petr Pavel and Prime Minister Petr Fiala and other ministers visited the region affected by the calamity. The government had also warned…
Did the head of the Czech senate, Milos Vystrcil, announce that Ukraine would lend the Czech Republic previously donated heavy military equipment to help with the massive flooding in the region? No, that's not true: Vystrcil never said that, and the post claiming that is a hoax, a spokeswoman for the senate, Andrea Kubova, wrote in an e-mail to Lead…
Can Ukrainians or U.S. soldiers stationed in Europe vote for the Czech municipal elections? No, that's not true: Only citizens of the European Union have the right to vote in municipal elections in any EU member state they reside in, under the same conditions as nationals of that country, according to the Charter of Fundamental Rights Of The European Union.…
Did Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala promise that the Czech Republic would replace German aid to Ukraine with its funds if Germany were to cut it? No, that's not true: The Czech Prime Minister never said that, and a photo pretending to show him saying that is an alteration of a social media post from Fiala's political party. The claim…
Will the newly introduced option to vote by mail for Czechs living abroad result in two million new voters, who could significantly impact the results of future elections in the Czech Republic? No, that's not true: The measure would apply to only about 600,000 Czech citizens living abroad, according to the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs, contacted by Lead Stories.…
Is there a serious problem with "massive" illegal fishing by Ukrainians in the Czech Republic? No, that's not true: data provided to Lead Stories from the national association about fishing activity in the country don't show anything like this. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on August 20, 2024. The caption of the video in…
Did CNN Prima News scaremonger in reporting on a fire at the Ukrainian nuclear power plant of Zaporizhzhia? No, that's not true: The event on August 11, 2024, was reported by all major world media outlets and followed by the International Atomic Agency in Vienna, the intergovernmental organization that closely monitors the plant, located in a territory occupied by Russia…
Did the Czechs buy Swedish CV90 infantry fighting vehicles because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told them to and Ukraine needs them at the war front? No, that's not true: The purchase of the vehicles was carried out in accordance with Czech laws and had been planned for years to modernize the Czech Army's equipment and fulfill its NATO obligations. A…
Does the Czech government plan to create a confederation of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Ukraine to boost the states´ defense strengths and their alliance against Russia? No, that's not true: There are no plans for such a step and no top Czech politician has publicly indicated such an intention, according to publicly available information. Also, the presence of Ukrainian…
Does the appreciation of the Russian ruble against the U.S. dollar prove that Western sanctions against Russia are not working? No, it doesn't: Economists argue that the relationship between sanctions and exchange rate developments is not one-to-one and that the effectiveness of sanctions cannot be inferred from the exchange rate. In some cases, sanctions can paradoxically strengthen the sanctioned country's…
Is there a deep Israeli state that runs the world, and are the assassination attempts on leaders like Trump or Fico the result of that? No, that´s not true: there is no evidence that such shadowy organization controls society.The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on July 14, 2024. The text overlaid over the video says…
Did Filip Turek, a candidate of the Czech non-parliamentary parties coalition Prisaha and Motoriste Sobe, who won a seat in the European Parliament in the 2024 elections, get the highest percentage of preferential votes in the history of the Czech Republic? No, that's not true: Another candidate received a higher percentage of such votes in the 2004 European Parliament elections,…
Is corporal punishment the best way to establish parental authority and raise physically and psychologically resilient children? No, that's not true: Various studies have repeatedly shown that educational methods involving physical punishment have a negative impact on human development. The evidence also suggests that such methods do not reduce defiance or aggression and do not promote long-term positive behavior in…
Is the Czech government lying about the start of the Czech ammunition initiative, where the Czech Republic offered to procure or mediate the purchase and finding of shells for Ukraine? And do the Czech media not provide enough information about the system? No, that's not true: The Czech President and Prime Minister publicly announced the ammunition initiative to other countries…
Can unused ballots discarded at polling places be used to tamper with election results? No, that's not true: Voters can discard unused ballots in bins after casting their vote, but there is a safe system in place and several measures to prevent discarded ballots from being used in any illegal way, a spokesperson for the Czech Interior Affairs Ministry explained…
Does paying by card when traveling abroad protect Czechs from additional costs or Czech companies with euro bank accounts from currency exchange costs when exporting goods? No, that's not true: Payments by card abroad still involve transactional costs charged by banks or other providers, and for companies, to have a foreign currency account is also more expensive than having a…
Has Russia been accused by the Czech authorities, without any evidence, of being responsible for blowing up two ammunition depots in the Czech village of Vrbetice in 2014, killing two people? No, that's not true: After ten years of investigation, prosecutors stated that the number of pieces of evidence and their detailed evaluation sufficiently substantiate the conclusion that two Russian…
Did the Czech government coalition refuse to condemn the assassination attempt of Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico? No, that's not true: All top government representatives condemned the act publicly, but the coalition lawmakers did not support an oppositional party proposal to include an extraordinary vote on condemning the act, during a parliamentary session. The claim appeared in a video (archived…
Did Czech President Petr Pavel say that the planned military logistic center in Mosnov, in the northeastern part of the Czech Republic, will serve as a base for foreign soldiers? No, it's not true: Mosnov, planned to be operational in seven years, will primarily serve the needs of the Czech army, as repeatedly stated by the Czech army and political…
