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

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…

Fact Check: Ukrainian Refugees And U.S. Soldiers CANNOT Vote In Czech Municipal Elections

Fact Check

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.…

Fact Check: Czech Prime Minister Fiala Did NOT Say That Czechs Will Replace German Aid To Ukraine

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: New Option To Vote By Mail Will NOT Result In Two Million Voters From Abroad Impacting On Czech Elections

Fact Check

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.…

Fact Check: Ukrainians Do NOT ´Massively´ Fish Poach In The Czech Republic

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: NO Scaremongering In Czech CNN Prima News' Reporting On Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Fire In August 2024

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: The Czech Republic Did NOT Buy New CV90 Infantry Vehicles Because 'Zelenskyy Told Them To'

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: There Are NO Plans To Create A Ukraine, Poland And Czech Republic Confederation

Fact Check

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…

Fact Check: Ruble Exchange Rate Is NOT Proof That Sanctions Against Russia Are Not Working

Fact Check

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…