Marcin Mycielski, whose name has surfaced in connection with a migrant smuggling scandal, is behind a hateful billboard campaign favoring Rafał Trzaskowski. He is currently fundraising for this effort through the so-called “Spontaneous Civic Committee.” Recently, however, Sławomir Mentzen has been replaced on the billboards by… Jarosław Kaczyński. “They must have realized that portraying Mentzen as a fascist doesn’t really fly anymore,” commented social media user John Bingham.
In correspondence regarding the human smuggling operations across the Polish-Belarusian border, the name “Mycielski” was mentioned by Paweł Kasprzak. Marcin Mycielski has been a longtime associate of the Open Dialogue Foundation and was actively involved with the Committee for the Defense of Democracy (KOD) as well as the controversial Facebook page “Sok z Buraka.”
The NGO Shield Around Civic Platform (PO)
“Marcin Mycielski is currently raising money on X for a campaign supporting Rafał Trzaskowski — for billboards featuring his image. This is someone who is actively involved in the campaign. Poland has clear rules about how election campaigns can and cannot be conducted. We know he’s closely linked with what’s been referred to as the NGO buffer zone around Civic Platform,” said TV Republika’s Michał Rachoń.
The billboards in question show Rafał Trzaskowski and his wife against a backdrop of cheering crowds, contrasted with a darker image featuring Grzegorz Braun, Jarosław Kaczyński, Karol Nawrocki, and Vladimir Putin — all dressed in dark shirts reminiscent of totalitarian regimes.
“The Tusk-Trzaskowski camp wiped their noses with the rules on legal campaign financing a long time ago — just look at the NASK scandal involving illegally funded attack ads targeting us and supporting Trzaskowski. It’s the same group behind these new billboards, now featuring Kaczyński, Nawrocki, and even Putin. I’d like to remind Mr. Mycielski and his team that if they’re looking for photos of Polish politicians with Putin, Donald Tusk has the most — and they’re real. No need for Photoshop. Neither Kaczyński nor Nawrocki ever posed with him,” said Adam Andruszkiewicz, a PiS MP and campaign strategist for Karol Nawrocki.
A Hate-Driven Billboard Campaign
The campaign is part of the so-called Spontaneous Civic Committee, which was also active during the last parliamentary elections, organizing similar hostile billboard campaigns. The organization is closely tied to Marcin Mycielski.
On Tuesday, Mycielski unveiled a version of the billboard featuring Sławomir Mentzen.
Tak, wiem że po bandzie. Ale jak trza to trza 💪
— Martin/Marcin Mycielski 🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 (@mycielski) May 20, 2025
Nośniki już czekają. Wy wpłaćcie na https://t.co/jX3UJEaDdU, a ja wezmę na siebie pozew, deal?@SpontSztab – obyś był potrzebny po raz ostatni✌️#BillboardzFaszystami pic.twitter.com/k9tt6z58iX
“Yeah, I know it’s a bit over the top. But when it’s needed, it’s needed. The ad spaces are ready. You donate, and I’ll take care of the lawsuits — deal?” he posted on social media.
However, just an hour later, he started to reconsider whether Mentzen should be replaced by Jarosław Kaczyński and soon posted an updated version of the billboard.
Proszę bardzo 🫡 pic.twitter.com/9RfaxhWQXm
— Martin/Marcin Mycielski 🇪🇺🇵🇱🇺🇦 (@mycielski) May 20, 2025
Later that night, Mycielski announced that the fundraising had collected enough for around 15 billboards.
“The new plan is to target them in West Pomerania, Lubusz, and Lower Silesia — PO strongholds where turnout was below average,” he wrote.
By Wednesday morning, the campaign on the crowdfunding platform zrzutka.pl, titled “Spontaneous Civic Committee: Out with PiS and the Far Right!” had raised over 620,000 PLN of its 1 million PLN goal. There were still 11 days left until the fundraiser ends.
“Calling Mentzen a Fascist Is Passé”
Commenting on the situation, social media user John Bingham wrote:
“They’re UNBELIEVABLE. They just swapped out Sławomir Mentzen for Jarosław Kaczyński on the billboard of Trzaskowski’s illegally funded campaign because they realized that calling Mentzen a fascist isn’t really working anymore…”
Oni są NIESAMOWICI. Na bilbordzie nielegalnie finansowanej kampanii @trzaskowski_ podmienili właśnie @SlawomirMentzen na @OficjalnyJK, bo zorientowali się, że robienie ze Sławomira Mentzena faszysty to tak nie bardzo teraz… pic.twitter.com/9umbvgyXhU
— John Bingham (@MrJohnBingham) May 21, 2025
It’s worth noting that the billboard campaign is actively supported by the “Sok z Buraka” page, and Mycielski has been (and possibly still is) one of its social media admins.