Czechs gather in big numbers to reject government's plan to overhaul funding of public media

PRAGUE (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Prague on Sunday against a plan by the government of Czech billionaire Andrej Babiš to overhaul funding for public broadcasters that many say will erode media independence and democracy.

The massive protest took place at the capital's Letná Park, where huge crowds gathered during the 1989 Velvet Revolution, which ended more than 40 years of communist rule in the country.

The rally, just two days before the anniversary of the 1989 protests, drew an estimated 350,000 people, said Mikuláš Minář, the lead organizer from the Million Moments for Democracy group. They demanded that the government withdraw its plan and expressed concern that Babiš and his coalition partners pose a threat to democracy.

“We do witness here something extraordinary today,” Minář said.

Under the plan, the country’s public radio and television broadcasters would be financed from the state budget, replacing the existing system of regular fees paid by individuals, households and businesses. The broadcasters would receive about 15% less money than they do now, which could lead to layoffs, limited production and program cancellations.

Critics say the overhaul would give the three-party coalition the means to take control of the media, similar to what populist governments did in Slovakia under Prime Minister Robert Fico and in Hungary, before former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was ousted from power in April.

“We refuse the Slovak scenario,” one protest banner read. “Hands off the media,” said another.

The ruling coalition unexpectedly moved ahead with the plan in the lower house of Parliament on Oct. 24. Its lawmakers limited the opposition's speaking time before voting at 4:36 a.m. to advance the bill through the first of three parliamentary readings.

Thousands took to the streets the following day to protest the rushed process, and public media employees went on strike on Nov. 3. The strike was backed by labor unions, universities, students, churches, artists, athletes and international media organizations, among others.

“We are here to stand up against the rule by force in the style of 4:36,” Minář said Sunday, referring to the time the bill cleared its first reading.

Media freedom and the rule of law in the Czech Republic were debated Wednesday in the European Parliament. EU Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath said national legislation must ensure that funding for public service iis based on transparent and objective criteria and guarantees "adequate, sustainable and predictable financial resources.”

Babiš vowed to press ahead with the plan despite the protests and denied that it would affect media freedom.

He returned to power in the Czech Republic after his ANO, or YES, movement, won the country’s election last year and formed a coalition with two small political groups — the anti-migrant and pro-Russian party Freedom and Direct Democracy, and the right-wing Motorists for Themselves.

Babiš has opposed some key European Union policies on environment and migration and rejected financial aid for Ukraine and guarantees for EU loans to help it fight the Russian invasion.

His government has been under fire from NATO allies for failing to spend enough on defense. Protesters also condemned its defense policy and demanded the resignation of Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna, from the Freedom party.

People gather for a demonstration in support of public media and criticizing the government's handling of the legislation in parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Michal Turek)

People gather for a demonstration in support of public media and criticizing the government's handling of the legislation in parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Michal Turek)

People gather for a demonstration in support of public media and criticizing the government's handling of the legislation in parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Michal Turek)

People gather for a demonstration in support of public media and criticizing the government's handling of the legislation in parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Michal Turek)

People gather for a demonstration in support of public media and criticizing the government's handling of the legislation in parliament in Prague, Czech Republic, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Michal Turek)

In a comeback tale like one from Harry Potter battling back his nemesis or a “Heated Rivalry” hockey hero rebounding from injury, a top global fandom site that was sidelined by a security incident is now on the mend.

The activist group behind the popular Archive of Our Own, or AO3, platform, a collaborative online space which serves up fans’ spinoff narratives derived from well-known published stories, says it’s undergoing a limited return after a shutdown on Oct. 29.

“AO3 is now up!” said a status page for the Organization for Transformative Works, an activist group behind the platform, on Sunday.

The outage sent fans of the platform — readers and authors alike — into a desperate void for the past two weeks, with a “Bad Gateway” message stirring frustration. Some authors were outraged when readers uploaded their works to Google Drive and other platforms without their permission during the outage.

The return drew many expressions of joy Sunday.

The organization, in a summary it posted on Instagram of its 2025 results, said nearly 2.6 million AO3 works were created, with nearly 40 billion page views. Nearly 2 million accounts have been created, it said.

AO3 hasn't been without its critics, who have warned about sexual content that could be available to minors and fandom racism through the platform.

The group said some features like user icons have been disabled and importing of external work isn’t available, while downloads are currently only possible in the web-language HTML format. It promised those features will ultimately return.

“We understand that the wait and uncertainty surrounding AO3’s return have been difficult, and we apologize for the inconvenience,” the status update said.

In late October, the team predicted that the security incident would take up to four weeks for AO3 to get back up, while floating the prospect of a partial revival “in a degraded state” — which appears to be what was taking place on Sunday.

The organization said contributors’ “works, bookmarks, kudos, etc., are still safe” and that no drafts were deleted during the outage — but it couldn’t rule out that the user database might have been compromised.

AO3 is a hub of content from fans who have produced content that riffs off fiction, art and other culture and entertainment: Imagine a repository of sequels, prequels and derivatives dreamt up by adoring aficionados of some of the world’s best-known titles.

The result is catchy products like “fanfic” — fiction from fans — and similar fanart, as well as “podfics,” readings of narratives shared in audio form.

A recent listing of “ship stats” — or the number of references to relationships of stars from literature — shows that pairings of characters featured in the Harry Potter, Heated Rivalry and anime fandoms were the most prominent this summer.

The platform, which is run by volunteers, went fully public in 2009, and has shown strong user growth: In June, the Organization for Transformative Works said AO3 had 11 million registered users — up from 10 million four months earlier. It said the archive was nearing 18 million works.

The reaction from many fans of the fandom platform was swift and exuberant about its return.

“So, we've all agreed we don't need to sleep tonight, now that AO3 is finally back, right? Right!?” quipped a user going by the name of yet.another.loon on the Threads social media site.

User Verkielos gushed: “Just got email from AO3 about a fic update. The world is healing!”

Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.

The AO3 website displays a message welcoming readers and stating that the site is back online and no data has been deleted, in Berlin, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David Keyton) Photo taken with a smartphone.

The AO3 website displays a message welcoming readers and stating that the site is back online and no data has been deleted, in Berlin, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/David Keyton) Photo taken with a smartphone.