In recent years the Czech Republic has seen the launch of a number of official and private initiatives aimed at counteracting the spread of disinformation or “fake news”. One of the first efforts to systematically debunk false information was Hate Free Culture, which was founded amid the refugee crisis of 2015. Hate Free Culture is […]

In the Czech Republic, what is known as “alternative” news has become a successful industry, supported by the public’s low trust in traditional media. While journalists and media experts in the country cautioned that clear distinctions must be made among false content, opinionated stories, clickbait and propaganda, they agreed that the situation had become more […]

When Miloš Zeman brandished a gun marked “For Journalists” at a press conference in October, it was just the latest in a long line of hostile messages directed at the press. But contrary to the rhetoric, and the international headlines it is designed to generate — in another memorable incident Zeman joked with Vladimir Putin that […]

Independent journalism is under pressure across the Visegrád region – Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia – as political leaders seek to portray critical journalists as enemies of the national interest and governments and wealthy business interests aim to coopt independent media outlets. That was the consensus among the four prominent speakers at a […]