Greek fact-checkers exonerated after years of legal disputes against country’s most established physicist’s association

We are delighted to share some positive developments, marking the conclusion of years of legal disputes involving Ellinika Hoaxes and a long-standing non-profit scientific association established in 1930, the Association of Greek Physicists.

Following the publication of two investigative pieces in early 2019, our organization became entangled in a legal dispute with the Association of Greek Physicists, its board of directors and an individual, who asserted the invention of a water-operated free energy device.

Through our work, we highlighted the Association’s support to the so-called inventor and his “perpetual motion machine”, a concept that ‘defies’ the laws of thermodynamics, which was determined to be operational upon examination by the Association. Additionally, our investigation revealed instances where the esteemed association supported pseudoscientific mysticism.

The ‘infinite’ energy generator that operates with water

On January 8, 2019, we published an article entitled “Petros Zografos and the fraud of the production of electricity from water” where we analyzed and documented the claims of the “inventor” Petros Zografos who asserted to have built a machine – a water electrolysis reactor with high frequency combination – which is allegedly able to generate large amounts of electricity using water. Despite making appearances on television shows and participating in so-called scientific conferences, Mr. Zografos, backed by the Association of Greek Physicists, failed to provide conclusive evidence in a controlled environment proving the functionality of his generator. [Read More]

Cases where a renowned scientific association stood by pseudoscientific mysticism

On February 12, 2019, our second investigative piece titled ‘The Promotion of Pseudoscientific Mysticism by the Association of Greek Physicists’ was published. This article delved into instances where a board member advocated claims about the DNA of Greeks, suggesting that it preserves its superior traits through miscegenation. Both the president and vice president of the board of directors endorsed activities and educational sessions that lack a scientific basis, instead being rooted in concepts such as chakra and quantum healing. [Read More]

Reactions from the Greek Scientific Community

Amid these events, members of the Association expressed their discontent by resigning, highlighting their dissatisfaction with the Association’s disregard for scientific principles. Other scientific associations, including academic departments of physics, in the country also voiced their objections. Throughout the legal proceedings, academics provided testimonies in court labeling Zografos’ device as “scientific fraud”. They also remarked that the Association’s endorsement of it is a disregard for its scientific reputation.

Judicial Proceedings

The dispatch of two pre-action notices against Ellinika Hoaxes eventually evolved into a lawsuit, with members of the Association’s board demanding the devastating sum of 700,000 euros as compensation citing claims of moral damage, unauthorized processing of personal data, and defamation.

Taking proactive steps, our team sought assistance from the Media Legal Defence Initiative to defend our investigative work. On September 1st, 2020, the First Instance Court of Athens dismissed the lawsuit. Nevertheless, our plaintiffs appealed the decision, bringing the case to a higher court.

In July 2023, the Court of Appeals of Athens finally delivered a decisive verdict, rejecting the legal claim. The court, affirming our right to freedom of speech and adherence to journalistic ethics, deemed the claims of our plaintiffs regarding defamation, moral damage and unauthorized processing of personal data unfounded and dismissed them.

We believe that this conclusive judicial ruling stands as a crucial safeguard for press freedom, promoting purposeful criticism irrespective of the status or qualities of individuals or entities involved. Above all, it serves to protect the impactful and challenging work carried out by fact-checkers.