Seznam.cz, the leading internet company in Czechia, has launched a strategic partnership with the respected fact-checking organization Demagog.cz. The collaboration comes in response to the upcoming parliamentary elections and a rising volume of political advertising, with the shared goal of safeguarding the integrity of the democratic process.
Under the new partnership, Seznam.cz will support Demagog.cz’s independent monitoring of pre-election campaigns and will also consult the organization on advertising content when there are concerns about potential misinformation.
“We have observed with concern the recent efforts to manipulate elections in countries like Romania or Germany,” said Peter Jančárik, who leads Seznam.cz’s efforts against disinformation and oversees content moderation. “We want to ensure that our advertising services are not misused for unfair political competition. Demagog.cz applies a clear, transparent, and time-tested methodology for assessing factual accuracy, which is why we are proud to support their work and rely on their expertise in evaluating political ads.”
As part of this initiative, Seznam.cz has also updated its Terms and Conditions for Political Advertising. In addition to conducting its own review of submitted ads, Seznam.cz now reserves the right to reject political advertising that Demagog.cz assesses as false or misleading based on its methodology. This methodology is publicly available on the Demagog.cz website.
“Politicians’ words carry even more weight during an election, especially when amplified by paid campaigns,” said Jan Fridrichovský, Chief Editor of Demagog.cz. “Thanks to our collaboration with Seznam.cz, we will be able to expand our fact-checking to political advertising and verify more factual claims made by parties and candidates. In addition to Seznam’s platforms, we will also monitor factual claims in other advertising formats, both online and offline.”
The partnership will run from July through at least 31 October 2025, with the possibility of extension. Both Seznam.cz and Demagog.cz are signatories of the EU Code of Conduct on Disinformation. Demagog.cz is also accredited by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) and adheres to its rigorous standards of transparency and impartiality.