Key findings
- Throughout the election campaign period, Russian and pro-Russian actors have inflamed negative sentiment towards Ukrainians in Poland (the largest migrant group in the country).
- Russia-aligned campaign Operation Overload (also known as Matryoshka) spread false content on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky accusing Ukrainian refugees of preparing terrorist attacks targeting the elections in Poland, with posts receiving more than 654,100 views and 5,725 likes and shares on X.
- A parallel Operation Overload effort falsely claimed Ukrainians were plotting attacks on leading politicians in neighbouring countries. This content garnered 533,000 views and 4,530 likes and shares on X, with the engagement again coming from an amplifier network.
- ISD found that ChatGPT reproduces misleading claims from a Russian network of websites known as ‘Pravda’ or ‘Portal Kombat’, for example allegations that Ukrainians are responsible for rising violent crime rates in Poland.
- A satirical video was picked up and spun by a pro-Kremlin influencer to promote the claim that Ukrainians are taking advantage of the Polish welfare system. This was spread through a coordinated network of Facebook pages and groups, and accounts on Telegram and X. These accounts called for the deportation of Ukrainian refugees, sparking a wave of online hate and threats. The influencer’s response received 161,500 views, 900 shares and 380 comments on Facebook alone, with many of the comments containing hateful and derogatory language.