The Russian disinformation apparatus is taking advantage of any emerging opportunities to reinforce actions detrimental to the image of the Republic of Poland. One such example was the disinformation campaign about the incident with a South African delegation. As a result of the lack of appropriate permits, delegation members could not leave the plane with the weapons held by security (the persons concerned, however, could leave their weapons on board), which landed on 16/06/2023 at Warsaw Chopin airport. The Russians used this issue to start activities of creating our state as a “racist” structure which “blocks peacekeeping missions”.
In keeping with their strategy, the Russian side chose to emphasise relatively neutral statements about the incident as soon as reports of it emerged. This decision was then bolstered by commentary from publicists and specialists, which further twisted the truth to an even greater level. The following stage was the activation of media authorities from African and Middle Eastern countries, which supported the basic narrative promoted by the Russians – preventing the delegation from leaving the plane “as a result of racism”.
Messages on the subject were actively developed in the period between the 16th of June and the 18th of June, 2023 by reinforcing the indicated leading narratives (“racism” and “blocking the peace mission”), as well as building up side threads. One of them referred to creating a “deep foundation” for the leading narrative (“Polish racism”). This involved the broadcasting of material pointing to the “colonial past” of the Second Polish Republic – suggesting that the Second Republic was a racist state that acted to enslave the people of Africa. Therefore, the action included an attempt to convince the recipients that the “manifestations of Polish racism” have “historical roots”.
The indicated narratives boiled down to the depreciation of Poland’s image in the international arena to root the view that Poland is not a country that can be trusted in the context of conducting a “dialogue” regarding peace talks. As part of these activities, Poland was presented as a “racist” state which “blocks” any attempts to stop the armed conflict in Ukraine. Indirectly, the activity in question lent credence to the narrative of Poland’s alleged complicity in the persistence of the state of war in Ukraine.
Author: dr Michał Marek
Public task financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland within thegrant comp etition “Public Diplomacy 2023”
Fot. Nicolas Economou/ NurPhoto /AFP