Was Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, photographed in an embrace with her alleged lover after her husband's death? No, that's not true: A photo of her hugging Russian entrepreneur Evgeny Chichvarkin is a fake, a reverse image search shows. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on February 27, 2024, with…

Did Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis divulge that Britain, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia expressed their willingness to send troops to Ukraine during the February 26, 2024, talks in Paris? No, that's not true: A statement posted on his website indicated that Mitsotakis did not mention these countries in his remarks following the summit. The claim appeared in a post…

Does Hungarian-American billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros own Seznam.cz, the largest Czech search engine? No, that's not true: A company press release from 2016 and publicly accessible company filings confirm that the search engine's shareholders are its founder, Ivo Lukacevic, and Seznam.cz itself. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on December 13, 2023. The text…

Did Oxford University politics tutor Matthew Williams give five reasons why Ukraine is a dictatorship and not a democracy? No, that's not true: A video circulating on social media showing Williams has faked audio. It's taken from an Oxford University social media post where Williams discussed tips for students to get into Oxford. Williams told Lead Stories that he never…

Did German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock say that everyone knew the sanctions against Russia were useless before they were introduced? No, that's not true: Baerbock defended the sanctions during a discussion organized by the Wall Street Journal, saying they are important because they show those who violate basic laws that they will be held accountable.The claim appeared in a video…

Did French President Emmanuel Macron call a meeting among European Union and NATO leaders to agree on sending soldiers to Ukraine, and was Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico the only European leader to reject the idea? No, that's not true: The meeting was called to discuss European military and financial assistance to Ukraine. While the issue of ground troops was…

Did Russian President Vladimir Putin compare Bud Light beer to "gay piss," predict that Donald Trump will "whup some ass" after winning the U.S. presidential election and accuse Hillary Clinton of killing Jeffrey Epstein in his interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson? No, that's not true: The interview, released on February 8, 2024, on Carlson's website, does not…

Is there little evidence that the late Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition leader who recently died in prison, was poisoned with Novichok in 2020? No, that's not true: Laboratory results from samples of Navalny's blood, urine and skin, performed by multiple laboratories in Germany and other countries, proved that Navalny was poisoned with a Russian nerve agent code-named Novichok. The…

Did Czech Health Minister Vlastimil Válek say the planned production of penicillin in the Czech Republic could inadvertently lead to the production of pervitin, a Czech name for methamphetamine? No, that's not true: Valek never mentioned pervitin during a discussion about the need to increase local production of penicillin. The claim was fabricated in a post designed to appear as…

Did Czech President Petr Pavel say that Russia will win the war in Ukraine? No, that's not true: An interview with the president by Czech public radio was edited so that the president's statement was taken out of context. Pavel did say the words in the interview, but not in that order or context. The claim appeared in a video…

Was former Czech ice hockey goalkeeper Dominik Hasek an informant of the Communist-era Czechoslovak secret police? No, that's not true: An online search of publicly available archival records shows that Hasek did not collaborate with the StB, as the Communist-era secret police in Czechoslovakia was known. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on December 22, 2023.…

Did Czechoslovakia continue to exist, which means the Czech Republic and Slovakia cannot be part of NATO? No, that's not true: Czechoslovakia officially ceased to exist on January 1, 1993, when it divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The Czech Republic has been a NATO member since 1999, Slovakia since 2004. The claim appeared in a video (archived here)…

Did six vehicles filled with riot police monitor the Czech interior minister's town hall meeting with dissenters in the northeastern Czech city of Karvina on January 22, 2024? No, that's not true: Both a police spokesperson and the woman who took the photograph of a policeman in tactical gear that was included in the video confirmed to Lead Stories that…

Did Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala say he was glad that the media "almost ignored" his omission of a $1 million investment in his asset declaration and claim to have concealed all his funds in a location beyond the reach of even top investigative journalists? No, that's not true: Fiala did not make that statement, and the audio in the…

Is Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala being ignored by foreign delegations compared to his Slovakian counterpart Robert Fico? No, that's not true: Government press releases and official posts on social media show that both heads of government have received foreign representatives in the capitals of their countries. The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on TikTok on January 21,…

Did Russia kill several French "officers" or "mercenaries" during an attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine, in January 2024? No, that's not true: There is no evidence to support the Russian claim, and French officials dismissed it as part of a Russian disinformation campaign, saying the names of the alleged French victims circulating on Russian Telegram channels had been previously reported in…

Did the Czech Republic not participate in a December 2023 meeting of the United Nations Security Council called by Russia because its ambassador was in Prague? No, that's not true: Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky decided the Czech Republic would not take part in the UN meeting because he considered it part of Russian propaganda efforts aimed at spreading lies.…

Does the Czech government want to give citizenship to foreigners to sway the vote in its favor? No, that's not true: The Czech government has approved a proposal by lawmakers that would allow descendants of emigrants from Czechoslovakia who were illegally stripped of their citizenship by the communist regime to become citizens of their ancestral country. Some opposition politicians, promoting…

Is postal voting a scam that the Czech government wants to exploit and change the election law before the next parliamentary elections in 2025? No, that's not true: It is a legitimate way of voting that is used in many countries, and the Czech government wants to introduce it only to simplify the procedure for Czechs living abroad who may…

Is residence abroad a reason why some Czechs are excluded from voting in national elections? No, that's not true: According to Czech law, 18 years of age and Czech citizenship are decisive for the right to vote. The country where people live is not the deciding factor. It would be illegal to exclude from voting people who live abroad. The…