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Main Narratives in Poland in July – CEDMO REPORT
Politics
European Union wants to force the Polish government to accept migrants
Politicians from the ruling party are presenting the position of the Council of the European Union on the migrant relocation mechanism as an attempt to force Poland to accept newcomers from Africa and the Middle East. In doing so, they accuse EU institutions of taking deliberate steps to prevent Poland from vetoing the proposed mechanism. The narrative targets not only the EU, but also the migrants themselves. The politicians cite information on the number of people of foreign origin in countries open to foreigners, the low level of employment among these people, and crime rates in these countries.
Polish government fails to control migration from Muslim countries
On July 4, the chairman of the largest opposition party Donald Tusk posted a video on Twitter in which he presents data on work permits granted to foreigners. The data suggests that the scale of migration to Poland, particularly of people from Muslim countries, has increased significantly under the United Right government. While the number of work permits alone does not reflect the scale of migration well, the narrative of the loss of control over migration has been picked up by other opposition politicians. In doing so, they have repeatedly used false information (1, 2, 3, 4). This narrative is the opposition parties’ response to the ruling party’s narrative described above.
Ruling party uses power to influence election results
In early August, President Andrzej Duda set October 15 as the date of the parliamentary elections, marking the beginning of the election campaign period. Even long before this event, Polish politicians began to express their concerns about the campaign and voting. Opposition politicians have claimed that the ruling party is using state budget funds to gain votes and has introduced changes to the law that make the electoral process more partisan. Among the numerous statements, there were claims that there is no institution in Poland to control campaign spending and that the rules for nominating candidates to election commissions have been changed, which turned out to be untrue.
HPV vaccination program
After the announcement of a free and universal human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination program targeting teenagers aged 12 and 13, a large amount of false information about the vaccination appeared online. Various individuals and organizations have published false information on social media. The Organization of Independent Doctors and Scientists (PSNLiN), which had already published false information on COVID-19, published a “recommendation” stating that the information provided by the Polish Ministry of Health is against scientific knowledge. This turned out to be a false statement. Private users also published posts about the vaccine’s ineffectiveness, about mandatory vaccination, or about lack of proof of the vaccine’s effectiveness. One of the claims stated that the vaccination is supposed to be mandatory, which is not true—participation in the program is voluntary.
France protests
The topic of French protests following the death of 17-year-old Nahel, who was shot by a police officer during an intervention in Nanterre, was also present in the Polish infosphere. Messages about the release of animals from the Paris Zoo were leaked on social media. These messages were false, and the videos and photos posted as proof were misused (they came from earlier years and from different countries around the world). As in many other countries, a video of a burning building was shown in the media and presented as a library fire in Marseille. However, it was revealed that the video originated in the Philippines in May 2023, when a historical post office burned down. Footage of cars falling from a multi-story parking lot also appeared online. Internet users linked it to the protests, seeking to illustrate the critical situation in France. As it turned out, it was a scene from the movie “Fast and Furious” and had nothing to do with the protests in France.
NATO responsible for the war in Ukraine
The topic of the war in Ukraine is still present and a lot of false information is spread about it. One frequent narrative is about NATO and its influence on or triggering of the war in Ukraine. Some users online believe NATO intended to provoke the war, as it is supposedly an “offensive” alliance and was supposed to attack Russia by starting a war in Ukraine. Other social media posts included a video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reproducing false narratives about the war in Ukraine (e.g. NATO is provoking Russia because it made a promise not to expand its borders eastward). One of the claims appearing in the recording also blames the war in Ukraine on hidden motives of the USA, which is allegedly responsible for the war.
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