Just Because It's Trending Doesn't Mean It's True — Fact checking at the speed of likes since 2015

Fact Check: Zelenskyy's Statements In February 2025 Interview Do NOT Prove He Embezzled US Aid For Ukraine Worth $100 Billion

Fact Check

Are Zelenskyy's statements on U.S. aid received by Ukraine during an interview evidence of corruption and abuse of presidential power for personal benefits? No, that's not true. In an interview with the Associated Press on February 1, 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he did not know where $100 billion from U.S. funding went, not that he embezzled them, as…

Fact Check: Head Of The Czech Constitutional Court Did NOT Say The Court Plans To Interfere With 2025 General Election

Fact Check

Did the head of the Czech Constitutional Court, Josef Baxa, say that the court plans to intervene in the upcoming parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic in 2025? No, that's not true: Baxa expressed his view in general terms, not referring to a specific case, in an interview on a legal podcast. He spoke of the theoretical background on how…

Fact Check: Zelenskyy Did NOT Ask Europeans To Send 200,000 Soldiers To Reinforce Ukrainian Army In Fight With Russia

Fact Check

Did Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ask Europe to send 200,000 troops to reinforce Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia? No, that's not true: Zelenskyy referred to 200,000 soldiers at the Davos Economic Forum in January 2025, but he did not ask for a reinforcement of his army, which is smaller than Russia's. He said that that would be the…

Fact Check: Czech Republic's Legislative Bodies Are NOT Oversized Compared To The U.S. Federal And State Legislatures

Fact Check

Is the state legislative apparatus in the Czech Republic oversized compared to the United States, given the respective population of each country? No, that's not true: The United States has a federal government and the U.S. Congress, the legislature of the U.S. federal government. Single states also have their own local governments and legislatures, which reflect the structure and perform…

Fact Check: Czech Prime Minister Fiala Did NOT Fake Call With Schallenberg Despite Photo With Camera App Open On Phone

Fact Check

Did Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala "fake" a phone call with Austrian Chancellor Alexander Schallenberg, as a picture on his X social media account shows him with a photo app open while holding his phone during the call? No, that's not true: Both Fiala and Schallenberg confirmed on social media that they had spoken. In addition, Fiala's press office confirmed…

Fact Check: Prague Castle DID Fly The Czech Flag Alongside The Ukrainian One During The President's 2025 New Year's Address

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Switzerland Does NOT Have Ten Times Fewer State Employees Than The Czech Republic

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: 'People In Need' Is NOT A Corrupt NGO Because It Has Not Yet Spent All The 2024 Flood Relief Money It Raised

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Disabled Ukrainian Refugees Are NOT Set To Get Higher Social Benefits Than Czechs

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Czech Government Is NOT Hiding Content Of Concordat Signed With Holy See In October 2024

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: The Kyiv Food Security Summit Was NOT Cancelled

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: A US Delegation DID Attend COP29 UN Climate Conference In Baku

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Hungary Has NOT Announced It Will Leave The EU And Join BRICS

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Hundreds Of Thousands Of Ukrainian Retirees Do NOT Receive Old Age Allowances In The Czech Republic

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: The EU Did NOT Abolish Seasonal Clock Changes In October 2024

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Zelenskyy Did NOT Ask NATO Countries To Send Troops To Ukraine After October 2024 Ministerial Meeting In Brussels

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Lower Cheese Price During Communism Does NOT Prove Czechs Were Better Off Then

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Ukrainian Beverage Producer Obolon Did NOT Buy Traditional Czech Beer Brand Branik

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Czech Leaders Did NOT Ignore Floods in Czech Republic And Visited The Most Damaged Areas

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Czech Republic Will NOT Get Back Military Equipment From Ukraine for Czech Flood Relief

Fact Check

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…