Was the Ukrainian flag the only one flying at Prague Castle when Czech President Petr Pavel recorded his 2025 New Year's address there? No, that's not true. The Czech flag was also flying behind the president, on the other side from the Ukrainian one, but it wasn't always visible on camera, as confirmed to Lead Stories by the president´s press…
Does Switzerland, a state with a population comparable to the Czech Republic, have ten times fewer state employees than the Czech Republic? No, that's not true: According to reports from Czech and Swiss think tanks, the number of public sector employees is similar in both countries, around one million, and the figures used to illustrate the claim circulating on social…
Is the Czech NGO People in Need corrupt because it has not yet spent all the money it raised for flood relief in 2024? No, that's not true: The organization has regularly updated on allocating its funds. It has also said that it won't spend the funds all at once and explained the distribution of the aid will be carefully…
Will a growing number of Ukrainian refugees, including those with disabilities, receive higher social benefits than Czech citizens as a result of preferential treatment by the Czech government? No, that's not true: Up to now, disabled refugees have not received any extra help from the state compared to what their compatriots without disabilities can receive. A newly approved amendment allows…
Is the Czech government hiding the content of the treaty, also known as the Concordat, signed with the Holy See in October 2024? No, that's not true: The treaty's text was published on several government websites right after it was signed. It still needs to be approved by both houses of the Czech parliament and ratified by the president to…
Did the Czech Foreign Affairs Minister Jan Lipavsky attend the International Summit on Food Security in Kyiv, Ukraine, in November 2024 because he was not informed that the event was canceled as he is "insignificant?" No, that's not true: Lipavsky officially visited Ukraine on November 22-23, 2024, to attend the summit in Kyiv, which took place as planned. During his…
Did the United States skip the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024? No, that's not true: President Joe Biden did not attend, but a U.S. delegation was present, led by Senior Advisor to the President for International Climate Policy John Podesta. The other members of the delegation included Thomas Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture, and Secretary…
Has Hungary announced it will leave the European Union and soon join BRICS, an intergovernmental organization created by Brazil, Russia, India, and China? No, that's not true: No such announcement has been made, and Hungary remains a member of the European Union. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on October 27, 2024. It featured a…
Do 190,000 Ukrainian pensioners in the Czech Republic receive any kind of pension or retirement benefits? No, that's not true: According to the Czech authorities, only a few Ukrainians fled their homeland after the Russian invasion and received a pension in the Czech Republic.The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on October 13, 2024. The video…
Has the European Union abandoned the twice-yearly clock change to and from summer time? No, it has not: The European Parliament voted in favor of cancelling the switch to daylight saving time, or summer time, as it is also known, but the European Council, which brings together the leaders of all EU member states, has yet to agree on a…
Did Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ask NATO countries to send their soldiers to Ukraine right after the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels on October 17, 2024? No, that's not true: Zelenskyy did not make such an appeal there but spoke of the need for the Ukrainian army to continue to receive more military equipment from allies to fend off…
Does comparing the price of cheese before communism and now prove that the standard of living in the Czech Republic before the Velvet Revolution in 1989 was higher than it is now? No, that's not true: Such a comparison is a complex issue that includes many other factors, such as wage growth. Besides, in the case of cheese and most…
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…
