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Together against manipulation

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Republic of Poland

28.04.2025

Appeal by the Polish Foreign Minister's Advisory Resilience Council against Disinformation.

Last year, election campaigns took place in many nations across the globe. In as many as 90 countries, the European External Action Service (EEAS) identified cases of outside interference, originating mostly from Russia and China. For most Poles, 2025 is a particularly important year as our state and society prepare to elect a new president. A key element in this process is the election campaign, now approaching its culmination and attracting ever more attention from our adversaries. We should be mindful that external actors seek to influence its course.

In the debate over our future president, emotions as well as arguments play a prominent role. Emotions serve to forge bonds between candidates and their supporters, but also highlight divisions between us. As we hold to these democratic values, we should also remember what unites us as a civic community—respect for freedom, equality, the rule of law, and for each other. As voters, we have a responsibility that extends beyond the ballots we cast to others who do not have the right to vote, especially young people and foreign residents, who may be particularly vulnerable to disinformation.

To more effectively protect this celebration of democracy, the Resilience Council calls on the media, politicians, and the public to act prudently and responsibly, and especially:

• to refrain from inciting strong, negative emotions, such as hatred or anger;
• to express opinions, including those shared on social media, in a way that respects the rights, feelings, and views of others;
• to cite only verified information;
• to avoid spreading radical views and content, especially those likely to undermine trust in authorities, institutions, and the state as a civic community;
• to rely on verified and credible sources of information, while ensuring they have not been manipulated by AI and giving all due consideration to their possible impact.

We make this appeal after witnessing in recent years mounting attempts to undermine and destroy the foundations of democracy, largely through manipulation based on half-truths or outright lies intended to distort reality and negate facts. That is how disinformation works. Often inspired and promoted by non-democratic states, its goal is to dismantle Europe as an area of freedom and erode trust in the rule of law. Foreign interference in the democratic process within EU member states and their allies has become a grave and escalating threat, expanding in scope to the point that it can now be classified as hybrid warfare.

Such interference is especially noticeable during election campaigns, when partisan emotions are stirred up and often obscure rational thought and everyday reality. The deliberate fuelling of social divisions, distrust in authorities, and feelings of alienation, helplessness and frustration can all lead to dangerous consequences. The aim is to sap people's motivation to act and defend their values, instilling an atmosphere of surrender where power is ceded to those wishing to destroy a democratic order we have built over decades. These anti-European and anti-NATO narratives target Ukraine, now fighting for its very existence, while stoking fears of migration, hybrid threats, and even war on our own soil. We must not let ourselves be manipulated in this way!

Hostile disinformation campaigns have been detected in many recent elections. Prominent examples have occurred in the US, the UK, France, and more recently, in Slovakia, Moldova, Germany and Romania. Poland, too, has been no exception. One such instance involved setting up fake websites masquerading as major Polish media outlets just before the 2024 European Parliament elections.

The Council recognises the vital role in verifying and publishing reliable news played by the professional media (radio, television, and print), reputable websites, and fact-checking organisations adhering to standards developed by the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) and the European Standard Fact-checking Network (EFCN).

As members of a civic advisory body drawn from nearly 100 socio-economic and academic organisations, we call on everyone—individual citizens and public and private institutions alike—to pass on this appeal and mobilise communities to act in defence of freedom of speech and access to information and opinion free from distortion, falsehood and lies. Together against manipulation!