Open to refugees, open to the EU: The week that turned the tables in Poland
The Russian assault on Ukraine has allowed the Polish government to present itself as a pro-EU state, even as it remains an illiberal regime.
Wojciech Cieśla
About Wojciech Cieśla
Posts by Wojciech Cieśla:
- Blog
- China
- Civil Society
- COVID-19
- Czech Republic
- Ecology
- Environment
- fake news
- Hungary
- IJ4UE
- Militarized Patriotism
- Poland
- Populism
- Radicals with Reach
- Russia
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“In Poland, the party decides what I am allowed to watch”
In August 2021, Poland enacted a controversial media law. This so-called “Lex TVN” — which targets one specific private TV channel — is one more blow in the ruling party’s assault on the free press.
The bittersweet story of a campaign to kill the sugar tax
We reveal a disinformation effort undertaken behind-the-scenes in an area where Poland’s PR and business sector meet.
The operation ‘Lame Rebellion’
False Twitter and Facebook accounts improve the way the public sees the chairman of the Polish national state broadcaster TVP, help politicians in their election campaigns, act as lobbyists for armaments companies and carry out attacks directed at journalists. These accounts reach millions of recipients. A large-scale disinformation campaign is organized by a Warsaw-based PR company and an ex-politician, while the whole thing is co-founded by the National Disabled Persons Rehabilitation Fund. The clues from the troll farm lead us to Bartłomiej Misiewicz, who is currently suspected of corruption.
Vulnerabilities of a Chinese Tech Giant
Huawei is at the center of heated political debate around the world. There is a general assumption among experts on China, ICT (Information and Communications Technology) experts and politicians that the company uses its ICT devices to spy on its users and provide this data to Chinese government. Though there have been separate cases of Huawei breaches […]
Exit the Dragon
Early in the morning on January 8th, agents of the Polish Internal Security Agency entered the homes of Piotr D. and Wejing W. The former, who used to work in special services, was a manager at Orange, a telecommunications company. The latter was the head of sales at Poland’s Huawei’s office. They were charged with […]
An apple with a bonus: who is poisoning us?
Pesticides which can cause brain damage in children are sold and consumed across Europe. Polish fruits and vegetables regularly cause alarm during store inspections abroad.
Make Spain Great Again
An anti-abortion movement operating in Poland and Hungary is quietly providing financial support for the far-right party, backed by American alt-right and the Russians.
Silk route and realities
Polish politicians have a mouth full of clichés about the entry of big Chinese businesses into the country. The only person looking after their interests today is Marek Suski, the head of the Prime Minister’s political cabinet. He is doing it unofficially. And he has no idea about China or business.
Usovsky’s network active in Poland
Russian citizen Yekaterina C., a part of Alexander Usovski network, was detained by the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW) for her efforts to damage the Polish-Ukrainian relations