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…

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…

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…

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…

Is there a deep Israeli state that runs the world, and are the assassination attempts on leaders like Trump or Fico the result of that? No, that´s not true: there is no evidence that such shadowy organization controls society.The claim appeared in a video (archived here) published on TikTok on July 14, 2024. The text overlaid over the video says…