Zeman Supporters Targeted in Disinformation Campaign

Milos Zeman

Prague, Jan 12 (CTK) – Calls on President Milos Zeman’s voters not to take part in the presidential election’s first round for he advances to the second round automatically as the current head of state are disinformation, the Interior Ministry said in a press release today.

 

People have been sharing this call on Zeman’s voters on social networks.

 

According to information by the Presidential Office, leaflets with this content were distributed into people’s letterboxes in the Moravia-Silesia region.

 

Gabriela Holcakova, the former deputy chairwoman of the Citizens’ Rights Party (SPO) founded by Zeman’s supporters, filed on Thursday a criminal complaint for marring the election on account of the leaflets. She did not receive the leaflet personally but was told about it by her acquaintances.

 

“It’s terrible. It doesn’t matter now if it concerns Milos Zeman or another candidate. Such news will influence many people, especially the elderly. They may think the leaflet is true. It is an unfair fight,” she said.

 

The police are searching for the author of the leaflet and call on citizens that received it to contact them.

 

The leaflet was distributed in letterboxes in a house in Ostrava, north Moravia, Holcakova said.

 

Similar calls were registered prior to the general election last year when people were sharing information for Freedom and Direct Democracy (SPD) and ANO voters that they may vote for more than one party at the same time if not decided yet.

 

Presidential candidates Jiri Drahos, former Academy of Sciences head, and Mirek Topolanek, former PM, denied having anything to do with it.

 

Topolanek said he distanced himself from its content.

 

“Unlike Milos Zeman, I don’t think that one third of the inhabitants, as mentioned before, are imbecile, that each seventh citizens is cretinous, dim-witted or alcoholic and that approximately one half of this country’s inhabitants have lower than average intellect,” Topolanek said hinting at Zeman’s earlier statement.

 

Drahos noted he led an honest battle and had nothing in common with such practices.

 

“As Milos Zeman himself recently said, we ought not to underestimate Czech voters’ intelligence,” Drahos quoted another Zeman’s statement, in which he responded to a warning against influencing the election from abroad and disinformation.