Nuclear prank could lead to jail for Czech artists

Posted By David Francis Friday, January 4, 2008 - 4:44 PM Share

Last June, during an evening newscast in Prague, a shot of the Krkonose Mountains in Bohemia was suddenly filled with a bright yellow light. When the light faded, a mushroom cloud was visible. A nuclear weapon had been detonated in the Czech countryside. Panicked viewers phoned state-owned CT2, the station which aired the image, asking if nuclear war had begun.

The shot was, of course, a fake. It was a prank, planted into the shot by Ztohoven, a Prague-based artists collective. The group wanted to show how easily images can be manipulated. And they succeeded. Take a look at the video:

The Czech government didn't find the prank funny. Six members of the group are now on trial and face up to three years in prison for spreading false information.

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