Anti-migrant disinfo hits Polish presidential campaign

By AFP
May 02, 2025
Polish Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia holds his glasses during the date announcement of the presidential election that will be crucial for the centrist governments hopes of implementing its agenda, in Warsaw, Poland January 8, 2025. —Reuters
Polish Parliament Speaker Szymon Holownia holds his glasses during the date announcement of the presidential election that will be crucial for the centrist government's hopes of implementing its agenda, in Warsaw, Poland January 8, 2025. —Reuters

WARSAW: False claims about migrants have spread online in the run-up to Poland´s presidential election, with right-wing and far-right candidates attacking the ruling pro-European government´s migration policy.

Ahead of first-round voting on May 18, Germany has been accused of sending Muslim and black migrants to Poland while Ukrainian refugees have been criticised for supposedly exploiting the social benefits system.

Karol Nawrocki, backed by the nationalist Law and Justice party (PiS), and Slawomir Mentzen, candidate for the far-right libertarian Confederation, trail behind pro-European Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski in the polls.

But they still command hundreds of thousands of followers on social media, which has become a sounding board for false claims targeting foreigners. One example of footage claimed to show street prayers “in Warsaw” when it was actually filmed in Italy.

Another purportedly presented a group of young migrants in a Polish village during “Easter 2025” but is an old photo taken several months ago.