TV Republika’s portal has uncovered more hate-fueled advertisements targeting Karol Nawrocki. Gazeta Wyborcza has now joined the media “peloton of defamation.” The latest ad – registered in the Meta Ads Library under number 670461735854369 – is costing the editorial team up to PLN 899 per day. It is potentially reaching over one million users and, since its launch on May 28, 2025, has already gathered 60,000–70,000 views. This follows a similar case reported yesterday involving TVN24. This time, at stake, is not only the reputation of a particular politician but also the boundaries of decency in an election campaign conducted by media claiming to represent the “fourth estate.”
The Price List of Slander – What Does Meta’s Ad Library Say?
In the section “Started Running: May 2025,” a green “Active” icon appears, followed by a set of numbers that leave no doubt this is a high-impact campaign. The estimated audience size exceeds one million people, the daily budget is in the range of PLN 800–899, and after just one day the number of impressions hovers around 60,000–70,000. This is no experiment or “A/B test” – it is a deliberate injection of a negative narrative, funded by an editorial office that simultaneously claims the role of an independent guardian of democracy. Wyborcza also notes with an asterisk that “The ad has several versions,” meaning different variants of the same message are simultaneously being targeted at distinct user segments. A user in one information bubble might see a harsher headline; another might get a spicy detail or altered photo – yet the overarching message remains unified: Karol Nawrocki = controversial associations, ergo – a suspicious candidate. This model, known from political marketing handbooks, works like a drip – a slow but steady infusion of suspicion, which over time permeates even the minds of those otherwise uninterested in elections.
First TVN24, Now Gazeta Wyborcza
In the span of just one day, two liberal-left editorial teams launch campaigns that cleverly defame Karol Nawrocki. Is it a coincidence or a coordinated effort? This matter should be urgently investigated by NASK and the National Electoral Commission. With less than two days remaining until the election silence period, a negative media-driven campaign is gaining momentum. Officially, it’s just promoting articles—but is it really? – commented yesterday strategic communication expert Piotr Okulski.
The Rhetoric of Accusation Without Evidence – Words That Tarnish
The content of Wyborcza’s ad is a classic example of the “guilt by association” tactic. The quote from the article begins innocently: “Among Karol Nawrocki’s acquaintances, there are figures who stir extreme emotions.” It quickly escalates into a litany of slurs: stadium hooligan, local neo-Nazi, homophobic priest, gangster arrested by the ABW (Internal Security Agency), MMA fighter accused of pimping. No names, no dates, no documents – and, crucially, not a word on whether the candidate actually had anything to do with these individuals, aside from possibly shaking hands at a public event. The ad traffics in labels because labels are the cheapest currency in the trade of emotional manipulation. Five bold terms are enough to, in mere seconds, affix to a politician the portrait of a man covertly leading an army of extremists – with no need to demonstrate any logical connection. From the standpoint of press law, it’s convenient – it’s harder to accuse one of lying when there’s no explicit claim, just a “description of the environment.” From an ethical journalism standpoint, however, it’s a pure degradation of standards, as the reader no longer distinguishes fact from suggestion. The question “Is it true?” gives way to the suspicion: “There must be something to it.”
Image Is as Powerful as Words – Symbolism in a Frame from the Basilica
Though most users fixate on the headline, subliminal influence occurs in the visual layer. Wyborcza chose a frame from inside a church – Karol Nawrocki smiling broadly, with a group of fans in club scarves jostling in the background. The juxtaposition of the sacred with the rowdy football crowd crafts a subtle narrative: “This man combines religious fundamentalism with street aggression.” The photo’s colouring – a brightly lit face in the foreground against a shadowy, chaotic crowd – accentuates the figure as seemingly triumphant amid turmoil. The effect? A liberal-leaning voter gets a clear red flag, while a traditional Catholic is made to feel that the candidate is mingling with a vulgar subculture. No caption is necessary for the message to function like a meme. Curiously, transparency ends when one tries to determine the photo’s context – what event it’s from, and whether the fans in the background even belong to Nawrocki’s circle. In the digital environment, such details are lost in the scroll, while likes and comments reinforce the narrative regardless of the photo’s actual content.
When a Newsroom Becomes a Campaign Office – The Side Effects of Media Activism
Wyborcza’s case demonstrates that the line between engaged journalism and outright electioneering is becoming increasingly blurred. A newspaper that for decades has declared a mission to hold power to account now grabs the megaphone and decides who should be disqualified at the starting line. With a budget close to PLN 1,000 per day and tens of thousands of daily views, it effectively becomes a political actor with its own campaign staff operating within Meta’s ad manager. This move has several serious consequences. First, the editorial office begins to be judged not by journalistic standards but by the criteria of negative campaigning – where effectiveness, not reliability, is what matters. Second, channelling money into sponsoring suggestions that haven’t undergone full verification undermines trust in all subsequent publications from the paper; every political piece can be perceived as yet another puzzle piece in the “anti-Nawrocki” narrative. Third, the audience becomes accustomed to a constant tone of scandal, starting to see public life as a battlefield of dirty tricks where arguments don’t count – only ad spend does.
The End of This Story Has Not Yet Been Written, but it is already clear that the role of the media in the 2025 campaign is slipping beyond traditional definitions. If Gazeta Wyborcza and TVN24 still wish to be seen as a “fourth estate” safeguarding the public interest, they should immediately disclose the full source materials on which such heavy insinuations are based. If, however, the entire effort rests solely on the rhetoric of “questions that must be asked,” then we are dealing with the media equivalent of throwing stones from the shadows. In a democratic society, responsibility for one’s words should outweigh the allure of a clickbait headline. For now, that responsibility seems lighter than the total of the wire transfers in the ad manager.