In 2017, the Centre Against Terrorism and Hybrid Threats, part of the Czech Interior Ministry, began operations in Prague. The so-called “anti-fake news unit” began with a team of 20 agents. Their aim was originally and primarily to monitor pro-Russia websites in the Czech language, in defense of the spread of possible falsehoods being spread by propaganda sources, with particular concern to electoral periods.
The Centre’s website explains that it is not a new unit, a law enforcement unit, or an intelligence agency, but rather a “specialised analytical and communications unit”. Read the Guardian’s reporting from 2017.
