Czech Foreign Minister Petr Macinka Faces Backlash Over AI‑Generated Photo Claim

Advisor to Foreign Minister Petr Macinka, Pavel Šik, posted an unverified claim that journalist Světlana Witowská, presidential adviser Petr Kolář and Constitutional Court judge Pavel Šámal had sat together at the Smetana Litomyšl festival. The alleged photograph was later identified as fabricated by artificial intelligence. Witowská, Kolář and Šámal all denied the meeting; Witowská announced she may pursue a criminal complaint or civil suit and urged Šik to delete the post and apologise, which he has not done. The Constitutional Court issued a formal statement rejecting the fake image and warned that such misinformation could undermine public confidence in state institutions.

The controversy added to criticism of Macinka’s conduct at a folk festival in Strážnice, where his comments provoked audience backlash and prompted Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and other cabinet members to reprimand him. After pressure from the coalition, Macinka issued an apology for his festival remarks. The incidents together have heightened scrutiny of the foreign minister’s relationship with the presidency and the judiciary.