66.4 million contacts and Russian propaganda from national politicians: Polish fact-checkers on the rise of disinformation about Ukrainians on social media
The Polish fact-checking community Demagog, together with the Institute of Media Monitoring (IMM), has published its ninth report on the scale of anti-Ukrainian propaganda and disinformation in the Polish-language segment of the internet. Covering the period from August to November 2025, the report recorded a significant increase in negative content, coinciding with Russia’s broader destabilization objectives.
According to the analysis by Demagog and IMM, 185,766 posts containing negative content and derogatory references to Ukraine and Ukrainians were published on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube during the four-month period from August to November 2025.
This represents an increase of nearly 98% compared with the previous reporting period (April-July 2025).
IMM estimates that social media users may have been exposed to this harmful content 66.4 million times, marking a 104% increase.
The overwhelming majority of anti-Ukrainian posts (92.5% of all analyzed content and 60.8% of total reach) originated on the X platform.
Among the social media users publishing hostile content about Ukrainians were accounts belonging to politicians, including Janusz Korwin-Mikke, Grzegorz Braun, Włodzimierz Skalik, Konrad Berkowicz, as well as the political parties KORWiN and Confederation of the Polish Crown.
The largest spikes in negative content were recorded following:
- President Karol Nawrocki’s veto of legislation concerning assistance to Ukrainian citizens, during which he claimed that Ukrainian refugees allegedly enjoyed a “privileged position”.
- Russian provocations, including violations of Polish airspace by Russian drones on the night of 9-10 September and acts of sabotage on the railway line between Warsaw and Lublin.
Fact-checkers note that, regardless of the individual intentions of particular authors, their actions “align with Russia’s objectives,” namely the effort to cut Ukraine off from Western support.
The most common themes and techniques used by propagandists and politicians include:
- Discrediting the Ukrainian government: Fake stories about alleged corruption (such as claims that President Zelenskyy purchased a hotel or a ranch) and criticism related to the causes of power outages.
- “Banderisation” and Volhynia: Reviving historical conflicts to incite hatred. Even neutral symbols or events, such as an incident involving red-and-black symbolism at a concert or an exhibition at a modern art museum, are portrayed as evidence of a supposed “Banderite threat”.
- The “Ukrainianisation” of Poland: Creating panic about the presence of Ukrainians and accusing them of allegedly taking over government institutions, schools, or territory.
- False accusations of crimes: Promoting claims that railway sabotage or fires in Warsaw were committed by “Ukrainian terrorists”, while ignoring official findings linking the perpetrators to Russian intelligence services.
- Alleged “privileged treatment”: Fueling fears that Ukrainians are “burdening” the healthcare system and receiving benefits “at the expense of Poles”.