Je titul Ph.D. české ministryně spravedlnosti Evy Decroix neplatný, protože studovala v zahraničí a nemá českého magistra? Ne, není to pravda: Univerzita Karlova uznala zahraniční vzdělání Evy Decroix jako srovnatelné s českým magisterským studiem. To stačí pro přijetí do doktorského studia, i když politička nemá právo používat titul Mgr., který dostávají absolventi magisterských programů v Česku. Tvrzení se objevilo ve…

Bylo důvodem masivního výpadku elektřiny, který v červenci 2025 zasáhl Prahu a části Česka, přetížení sítě přítokem elektřiny z obnovitelných zdrojů z Německa? Ne, není to pravda: výpadek způsobil pád vysokonapěťového vedení, což potvrdil provozovatel české přenosové soustavy ČEPS i Ministerstvo průmyslu a obchodu. Oba úřady opakovaně vyloučily přeshraniční toky či neregulovaný dovoz obnovitelné energie jako příčinu blackoutu.Tvrzení se objevilo…

Způsobuje očkování nárůst počtu případů rakoviny jak ve světě, tak v České republice? Ne, není to pravda: neexistuje žádný důvěryhodný vědecký výzkum, který by spojoval vakcíny, včetně těch využívajících mRNA technologii, s vyšším výskytem nádorových onemocnění v populaci nebo mezi mladšími lidmi. Podle odborníků hraje roli řada faktorů včetně stárnutí populace, životního stylu, stravovacích návyků nebo i změn střevního mikrobiomu.…

Is former Czech President Vaclav Klaus the real owner of the largest Czech investment and financial group, PPF? No, that's not true: The holding was founded by the late Czech billionaire Petr Kellner in the early nineties and is now owned and run by his family. In the past, the group supported the Vaclav Klaus Institute, a think tank established…

Did the Czech central bank, or CNB, announce at the start of 2025 that it would utilize ChatGPT to forecast inflation rate developments? No, that's not true: The bank did not announce plans to use ChatGPT to forecast inflation. Instead, in early 2025, the CNB published a blog post describing an experiment it conducted testing AI's initial potential for inflation…

Is Czech Television, a state-owned TV broadcaster, funded with U.S. foreign aid grants, which could influence its content? No, that's not true: Czech Television confirmed to Lead Stories that they do not receive any funding from the U.S. government or from U.S. agencies that provide such support. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on April…

Did the Czech Civic Democratic Party, the government coalition's leading party, only allow a paid audience to attend a public debate with the Prime Minister, Petr Fiala, at a pre-election event in a Czech town? No, that's not true: No evidence supports this claim. The party's spokesman, Jakub Skyva, confirmed to Lead Stories that such events are open to all,…

Do the obligations of real estate owners to pay annual property taxes to the authorities mean that they do not own the property at all? No, that's not true: property ownership comes with rights and obligations, as defined by law. Owners have the right to own, dispose of, or bequeath properties, as is also guaranteed by the EU's Charter of…

Did Danuse Nerudova, a member of the European Parliament for the STAN Czech government party, known for its staunch support of Ukraine, appear on the Czech state television as a young girl, reciting a poem admiring the communist regime in the former Soviet Union and Stalin? No, that's not true: Nerudova confirmed to Lead Stories that she is not the…

Did the Czech Constitutional Court cancel the early elections in 2009 because its president at the time, Pavel Rychetsky, did not like the parties that would likely win according to pre-election polls? No, that's not true: The Constitutional Court upheld a complaint of one of the then-lawmakers against the constitutionality of the early dissolution of the parliament. The court ruled…

Did the EU establish the Temporary Protection Directive a few years before Russia invaded Ukraine, since it knew the war was coming and that there would be an influx of refugees? No, that's not true: Such a directive was already approved in 2001 following the conflicts in former Yugoslavia. It had never been triggered before March 4, 2022, when it…

Did Czech President Petr Pavel directly address citizens on the Seznam Zpravy news website in a plea to defend their country? No, that's not true: Petr Pavel did not make any such direct appeal via Seznam Zpravy. The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on March 20, 2025. The person speaking in the video says in…

Did German diplomat Christoph Heusgen become emotional on stage at the Munich Security Conference because US Vice President J.D. Vance had earlier criticized Europe in his speech at the event? No, that's not true: Heusgen became emotional while bidding farewell as the event chairman. Both Heusgen and the Munich Security Conference explained that the video showing Heusgen's emotional reaction to…

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…

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…

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…

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…