ROB CAMERON

A new unit has been set up at the Czech interior ministry to counter the spread of fake news and disinformation. The Centre Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats will seek to alert people to stories and posts that are demonstrably false, much of it published on either Russian or pro-Russia websites. But not everyone is convinced it can succeed.

One of the more bewildering aspects of the Covid crisis in the Czech Republic is the hostility and aggression directed at health workers. But it is a problem that existed before the pandemic, and is unlikely to end with it. “A year ago people were applauding health workers. Now they’re cursing them,” said Dr Milan Kubek, head of the Czech Medical Chamber.

A Czech primary school teacher is due to face trial for spreading Russian disinformation about the war in Ukraine to her pupils. Martina Bednarova told children last April there was “no war” in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. On the contrary, she claimed, Ukrainian soldiers were murdering the Russian-speaking inhabitants of the Donbas.