Poland Faces Six Major Disinformation Campaigns in 2025, Analysts Report

Polish Cybersecurity Experts Identify Six Major Disinformation Waves in 2025

Poland battled an unprecedented rise in disinformation campaigns during 2025, with the second half of the year seeing a particularly sharp increase in false narratives, according to Poland’s national cybersecurity research institute NASK.

Agnieszka Lipińska, head of the Disinformation Analysis Center at NASK, told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that much of the misleading information was linked to Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine. She identified six distinct waves of disinformation that swept through Poland’s information landscape last year, orchestrated primarily by Russian and Belarusian actors seeking to influence public opinion in countries supporting Ukraine.

“These were sophisticated cyber warfare operations designed to sow doubt and division within Polish society,” Lipińska explained.

The first significant wave followed reports of drone incursions into Polish airspace during a Russian strike on Ukraine in September. Social media platforms were flooded with claims that Gerbera-type drones found deep within Polish territory could not have come from Russia due to their purported 500-kilometer range limitation. These narratives suggested, without evidence, that Ukraine was attempting to draw Poland into the conflict.

Military expert Mariusz Cielma, editor-in-chief of the defense magazine Nowa Technika Wojskowa, dismantled these claims, noting that while the nominal drone range is around 600 kilometers, simple modifications significantly extend this capability. “Russia frequently replaces warheads with additional fuel tanks, including improvised solutions, to allow for extended flight distances,” Cielma told PAP.

November saw intensified disinformation activities following two railway sabotage incidents in Poland. In one case, an explosive device damaged railroad tracks, creating derailment risks for passing trains. In another incident, a passenger train carrying 475 people was forced to make an emergency stop due to track damage.

False narratives quickly emerged online attempting to shift blame onto Ukrainian operatives while discrediting Polish security services. Claims circulated that Poland’s national railway operator PKP had received advance warnings and that Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the attacks.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk later confirmed that individuals suspected of involvement in the railway sabotage were Ukrainian citizens working with Russian intelligence services. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War identified these attacks as part of Russia’s broader campaign to destabilize European nations.

The third major wave coincided with Poland’s 2025 presidential election. A PAP report published before the vote warned that the Kremlin had a strategic interest in disrupting democratic processes by supporting specific candidates and amplifying disinformation.

The Polish government responded with its “Election Umbrella” program, which employed the Arakis-Gov early warning system and CSIRT NASK’s incident response team to monitor online threats. Officials reported neutralizing thousands of fake social media accounts, including profiles impersonating candidates, and intercepting false SMS campaigns.

Despite these efforts, a June poll found that 40.1 percent of adult Poles believed the presidential election may have been compromised, highlighting the corrosive effect of disinformation on public trust in democratic institutions.

Energy sector disinformation constituted the fourth wave, with Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski revealing that up to 5 million users may have encountered false information about Poland’s energy industry during the first half of 2025. Energy Minister Miłosz Motyka noted that nuclear power, renewable energy projects, and alleged health effects of power transmission were frequently targeted by misleading content.

The fifth wave focused on stoking anti-migrant sentiment, particularly targeting Ukrainian refugees living in Poland. In October, the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces warned of an “intensive Russian cognitive operation” designed to damage emotional ties between Poles and Ukrainians through online hate campaigns, cyberattacks, arson incidents, and GPS signal disruptions.

Health-related disinformation made up the sixth wave, coinciding with debates over school health education programs and HPV vaccination campaigns. Lipińska observed that medical disinformation typically intensifies during late winter and autumn, aligning with seasonal vaccination cycles.

Looking ahead to 2026, Lipińska warned that disinformation campaigns could further escalate if the European Union’s Digital Services Act is not effectively implemented and major internet platforms fail to strengthen content moderation practices.

Of particular concern is the growing sophistication of AI-generated fake content. Recent examples include TikTok videos featuring AI-generated representations of attractive young women making anti-EU statements, prompting the European Commission to request evidence from Poland as part of potential enforcement proceedings.

The Polish Ministry of Digital Affairs has urged citizens to verify information sources before sharing content online and to remain skeptical of emotionally charged photos or videos that may be manipulated or miscontextualized. The ministry maintains a dedicated reporting website for suspicious content, operated by NASK.

A Pew Research Center report published in August found that 85 percent of Poles now consider disinformation a greater threat than terrorism or disease—placing Poland among the highest of 25 countries surveyed in terms of information security concerns.