The newspaper, citing the EU’s “EU vs Disinfo” centre, reports that Russia is attempting to influence the outcome of Poland’s upcoming presidential election by spreading false information online. Among the claims being circulated are that the European Union is seeking to prevent far-right candidate Sławomir Mentzen from running in the May election - and may even cancel the vote entirely.
Poland’s National Cybersecurity Agency (NASK), which oversees cybercrime efforts, has also issued a warning about the Russian disinformation campaign, which is being carried out primarily on the social media platform X.
The false narratives are reportedly being pushed by accounts previously involved in spreading anti-Ukrainian content.
Experts quoted by Rzeczpospolita warn that Russia’s influence operations may intensify as election day approaches, potentially involving direct cyberattacks on voting infrastructure - such as voter registration databases or electronic voting systems. Such disruptions could force a manual ballot count, as seen in the UK during the 2022 elections.
Similar tactics were used in previous elections in Germany, Moldova, and Romania.
(m p)
Source: IAR/NASK/Rzeczpospolita/X/@rzeczpospolita