Hundreds of thousands of Czechs are anticipated to rally in Prague today, Sunday 15 November 2026, to protest against what they describe as a government attempt to stifle media freedom. The demonstration focuses on government plans to scrap mandatory licence fees that fund Czechia’s public broadcasters, instead proposing funding from the state budget.
Organisers, the Million Moments for Democracy group, state that the gathering could be one of the largest in the nation’s history, expecting between 400,000 and 600,000 people at Letná Plain. Protesters argue that funding broadcasters from the state budget would grant ministers increased influence over newsrooms, citing examples from Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, and Serbia.
The proposed changes, which would reportedly cut state television and radio budgets by approximately 15%, have drawn criticism from international media organisations including the European Broadcasting Union, the European Federation of Journalists, Reporters Without Borders, and the International Press Institute.
Prime Minister Andrej Babiš, who returned to power last year, has dismissed the protests, stating that claims about threats to media freedom are unfounded. Last week, he published an op-ed titled “seven lies,” asserting that his government would not interfere with editorial work and describing criticism as “hysterical outbursts.”