A wave of disinformation after the attack in Krakow. The information chaos was fueled by, among others, politicians

As Minister Gawkowski emphasized, "false information began to appear on the Internet just a few dozen minutes after the attacker entered the Krakow market square and started shooting at passers-by." Numerous conspiracy theories appeared on the Internet, which quickly gained popularity thanks to their being picked up by Russian accounts.

The Minister of Digital Affairs explained that false content was reproduced by Russian bots and trolls who presented it as reliable information. Russia's support for these false, organic narratives has also been diagnosed, Gawkowski said. Because they were conquered by politicians, our organic reach was greater than in typical situations that we monitor every day, he added.

The most popular fake news

According to the NASK Disinformation Analysis Center, the most frequently repeated false narratives include claims that the attack was planned by the Polish government with the support of the European Union and its aim was to cancel the Independence March.

False information was also spread that the perpetrator was a soldier (reaching nearly 18 million) and that the shooting was related to protests in front of the Constitutional Tribunal (reaching up to 14 million). There were also false reports online about the attacker's Ukrainian origins or his alleged connections with the Ukrainian army, as well as suggestions that the attack was staged with the participation of extras.

Quick response of the services

In response to the flood of disinformation, the crisis response team at the Ministry of Digitization began operations on Saturday at 5 p.m. NASK and the special services were involved in the action, and the operational teams met every four-five hours, also at night. In the first 24 hours, we reported over 2,000 user accounts for blocking and content moderation, Gawkowski said, noting that this number is constantly growing.

The minister appealed to the public to verify information from official sources and report suspicious content to CERT Polska. He also emphasized the need to use social media responsibly, especially in crisis situations.

Controversies surrounding media coverage

During the press conference, Minister Gawkowski also referred to the way some media reported the events. He criticized Telewizja Republika for spreading false information about the absence of the police at the scene of the incident. I hope that the National Broadcasting Council will behave honestly and fairly and there will be a big fine for television, he said.