Russia’s disinformation network has massively ramped up anti-Ukrainian propaganda in Poland and it’s mainly coming from the same places that have been spreading anti-vaccine propaganda.
Translation:
ALERT
The largest increase in the number of pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian mentions since the beginning of February 2022 + 500% in the last 24 hours in Polish socialmedia.
Michał Szułdrzyński: Russian propaganda on the web
Yesterday’s fierce anti-vaccines are hitting Ukraine today.
Publication: 22/02/2022 18:17
For the first time, probably at the beginning of February, I drew attention to a new and interesting phenomenon in one of the daily reports prepared by the Institute for Internet and Social Media Research, which runs the Polityka on the Web website. Along with the decline in interest in the topic of the coronavirus, as well as vaccination, IBIMS noted that part of the anti-vaccine movement in the network changes the subject and begins to comment on the potential conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This coincided with the information about the increase in the presence of American troops in Poland and Polish aid to Ukraine. Thus, part of the movement previously generated by anti-vaccine content has been changed to “unequivocally negative” comments about the presence of US troops in Poland and aid to Ukraine.
In the report from February 22, we read that, on the one hand, the Polish network is dominated by negative sentiment towards Russia’s aggressive actions. “However, there has been an increase in the number of entries criticizing sanctions against Russia and helping Ukraine. Often these are accounts that have previously distributed anti-vaccine material and are mechanical in nature. "
The reports of the team at the European Commission dealing with Russian disinformation EUvsDisinfo have spoken of the fact that it is the Russian media that supports the anti-vaccine movements for many months. A year ago, the Wall Street Journal, citing intelligence, claimed Russia was behind disinformation campaigns targeting vaccine manufacturers.
Of course, this does not mean that all anti-vaccine materials were the work of Russian propaganda. Some of them resulted from natural fears and fears, which are natural during the turmoil of a pandemic. However, it was Russian propaganda that provided ready-made answers to these concerns. Especially in the accounts of, for example, Confederation supporters, you can see the anti-Ukrainian increase. Where, until recently, anti-vaccine disinformation was distributed, alleged sanitaryism was fought, there was talk of a “plandemic” and the fact that covid exists only in the media, now we read about the Bandera state, UPA Ukrainians instead of Ukrainians, declarations such as “I do not sympathize with Ukraine” are repeated. , the words of Moscow that Ukraine is not a sovereign state, etc. are noted with satisfaction. There is also criticism of the Polish Church,
Again, it would be an abuse to claim that all anti-Ukrainian content is the work of Russian propaganda. The situation in the East causes natural fears and anxieties. But the content thrown up by Russian propaganda responds perfectly to it.
What is the goal? The same as with previous anti-vaccination campaigns - to divide an already divided society as much as possible. In the present case, there is one more factor: the strong anti-vaccination circles on the Polish Internet, by adopting anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, are able to change the public opinion’s attitude towards Russian aggression. Because if the Ukrainians are so bad, then maybe they deserved this aggression and Putin is not threatening Poland at all, but he is doing it a favor by attacking the enemy who has not settled his account with Volhynia? It is in the Kremlin’s best interest to cause confusion and negative emotions towards Ukrainians, even if it is not directly inspired by the Kremlin.
Contrary to the often repeated thesis on the Vistula River that Poles are immune to Russian propaganda, the disinformation coming straight from the Kremlin is developing very well and very quickly. The ease with which it is possible to enter individual topics and threads using multiple accounts, multiplying the content on Twitter or uploading to many groups on Facebook, makes the algorithms start promoting these posts. The same thing happens in open internet forums. And due to the fact that we increasingly learn about the world from the Internet, disinformation operations are all the easier.