A photo with the minister, patches and the second bomber. We clarify the disinformation surrounding the attack in Krakow

The Ministry of Digitization reported over 2,000 accounts involved in this practice. These included bots operating in an automated manner and publishing content in various languages, mainly Polish, English, French and Dutch.

Analysts also identified several dozen accounts that use Russian or contain Cyrillic characters or references to the Russian Federation in their profile name or description.

Artificial intelligence played an important role and was used to generate and edit images in order to manipulate public opinion and attribute specific political views to the attacker.

The graphics modified using AI showed the alleged image of the attacker with additional patches or emblems on his clothes. In some cases, even the poses of people in the photos were changed.

As NASK explained in one of its analyses, it is impossible to recover details from materials with low resolution, strong compression or blurred fragments that were not recorded in the original image.

“Generative AI systems can only estimate what details might have been in a given location, supplementing the image with believable-looking elements such as letters, contours, textures or background fragments,” the analysis reads.

Examples of disinformation

A photo of the attacker with a three-arrow-shaped patch added (associated with the anti-fascist movement) - in fact, there was no such symbol in the original photo.

Graphic showing Minister Marcin Kierwiński shaking the perpetrator's hand - PAP verified the image with the SynthID tool, which confirmed AI interference; it was established that the material was created from an authentic photo from April 24, 2024, in which Krzysztof Kucicki (candidate for the Białołęka District Council) was standing next to the minister.

An image of a masked man in a uniform with a Ukrainian patch and the caption "Thanks dad for the gun" - analysis with the SynthID tool showed that the image was generated by AI, and the case was described by the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications and Information Security (CSCIS).

A photo of a man with a "Refugees Welcome" banner, allegedly depicting the perpetrator - Konkret24 journalists determined that the photo came from the Łódź Anti-Racist March in March this year, and contacted the man visible in it, confirming that he had nothing to do with the perpetrator.

Photo of the perpetrator with a man presented as a PiS activist - the Demagogue portal established with the deputy director of the PKN External Affairs Department that the photo was taken during the final of the 4th Provincial Standardization Knowledge Competition, and the man accompanying the perpetrator was an employee of the Polish Committee for Standardization, not a political activist.

Reports of a late police response - the Małopolska police denied this information in an entry on the X platform, pointing out that the first patrol took action 23 seconds after the report, and Minister Marcin Kierwiński added that the policemen's shots were fired after three minutes.

Recordings pointing to the second attacker on the roof of St. Mary's Church - the Małopolska police explained that the intervention of the services documented in the films was a reaction to the presence of a priest who went out to the terrace of the church.

Claims that the attacker was a soldier - Deputy Prime Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz officially denied this information on the X platform.

Conspiracy theories about the government's attempt to ban the Independence March - Prime Minister Donald Tusk denied these reports in a post on the X platform.

Screenshots from the profile of the alleged brother of the attacker - the account owner himself informed on Instagram that it was a provocation by foreign bloggers aimed at gaining popularity.

Shooting in Krakow

The tragic attack took place on Saturday afternoon on the Main Market Square in Krakow. A 24-year-old man drove his car onto the market square and then opened fire with an automatic weapon on random passers-by. Six people were killed and 15 injured, including two policemen.

The attacker was shot by officers and died in hospital on Monday morning.

In the perpetrator's vehicle, the police seized four weapons - two AR-15 rifles and two pistols - as well as about five hundred rounds of ammunition. As it was established, the man had a firearms license and had no previous convictions.

In turn, the bodies of three of his relatives were found in the 24-year-old's family apartment in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski: his 53-year-old father, 52-year-old mother and 21-year-old sister. Gunshot injuries were found on the victims' bodies.

The findings of the investigation show that after committing the crime in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, Michał Oksiński went to Krakow.