An organization associated with one of the world’s largest think tanks – the American Atlantic Council – has revealed the existence of a coordinated network of social media profiles that were used during the election campaign to attack the Law and Justice party. It was disclosed that at least 29 Facebook pages supported the Civic Platform during the election campaign, publishing identical political content, even on profiles whose names did not suggest the information being posted. According to findings, the central hub of this hate network was the page called ‘Sok z Buraka’.
During the election campaign leading up to the last parliamentary elections, internet users were inundated with content attacking Law and Justice and, incidentally, promoting the Civic Platform. It was difficult to come across positive comments about Jarosław Kaczyński’s party on the internet. Someone relying solely on social media for information might conclude that the majority of our country supports the Civic Platform and despises Law and Justice.
The influence on the favorable reception of Civic Platform materials on the internet could, of course, be attributed to the structure of voters. Young people more frequently use social media, and they are the most active group on the internet. However, it is not ruled out that the Civic Platform helped itself in building its online reach using troll farms.
Shocking Revelations
New light on this matter was shed by the Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab) report, an organization dealing with issues such as online disinformation. DFRLab is associated with one of the world’s largest think tanks, the Atlantic Council, based in Washington, which is linked to American Democrats. Numerous former prime ministers and presidents from around the world, including Poland, are involved in this think tank. The advisory board includes, among others, former president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former head of the Warsaw office Michał Kobosko, and collaborator Radosław Sikorski, a Member of the European Parliament from Civic Platform. It was this organization that drew attention to the fact that there was a group of interconnected websites in the Polish online space used for political warfare against Law and Justice.
“At least 29 Facebook pages supported the Civic Platform during the election campaign, publishing identical political content, even on profiles whose names did not suggest the information being posted,” it was revealed. According to the report, the central hub of this hate network was the ‘Sok z Buraka’ page.
The report conveyed that the examined pages regularly engaged in crossposting videos, i.e., publishing the same material in different places, mainly from the ‘Sok z Buraka’ page, without providing information about the material’s origin. The same materials were also crossposted on the profiles of local structures of this political formation.
Among the associated pages were Solidarni z WOŚP, Nie Oglądam TVPiS, Nie Oglądam Polsatu, Chcemy Delegalizacji PiS, Pycha i Szmal, Emeryci, Renciści i Pacjenci, Solidarni z Lechem Wałęsą, Donald Tusk Zrobi Porządek czy MEMNEWS.pl.
The truth comes into the light
Minister of Digitization Janusz Cieszyński admitted in an interview with ‘Codzienna’ that “Civic Platform thought it was anonymous on the internet.”
“And on the internet, nothing is lost, and today Civic Platform activists will experience firsthand that everything will come to light,” he concluded.
The entire text can be found in the weekend edition of ‘Gazeta Polska Codziennie.