Czech Fear Merchants Capitalise on Far-right Rallies

Czech opportunists have made an enterprise out of disinformation. Rallying 70,000 people to Prague in pro-Russian events and receiving considerable donations from thousands of supporters, these fear merchants can reach vulnerable people across the country with grave consequences.

During the pandemic, it became apparent that to succeed as an investigative journalist, it is no longer enough to only cover political corruption or organised crime. The Czech experience with COVID-19 has painfully illuminated the activities of fear merchants: disinformation agents who try to make money by spreading lies. With the help of social media, they are dangerously good at it and have now heavily invested in spreading Russian propaganda.

In the Czech Republic, the most successful provocateurs number in the dozens. Yet the Czech democratic society, which is still sensitive to restrictions on freedom of speech due to its totalitarian past, is unable to defend itself. Although disinformation flows to the Czechs through other channels, these opportunists have a wide and impactful reach.

Ambulance Chasing

It was while investigating the work of Patrik Tušl that a pattern began to emerge. At a time when dozens of people were dying of COVID-19 every day in overcrowded hospitals in the Czech Republic, Tušl was chasing doctors or scientists who were fighting the pandemic through the streets while filming the pursuits on his mobile phone and streaming them all live on Facebook. About 5 million people in the Czech Republic use Facebook, which is roughly half the population.