Polish authorities announced on Wednesday they have detected what they suspect could be foreign-funded interference in the country’s presidential election campaign—allegedly channeled through political ads on Facebook, though Meta, the platform’s parent company, has pushed back against the claim.
The discovery comes amid heightened vigilance across Europe, following Romania's abrupt cancellation of its own presidential vote in December over fears of Russian manipulation—accusations Moscow denies.
Poland's first round of voting, set for Sunday, features three major contenders: liberal Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski of the Civic Platform party, historian Karol Nawrocki, head of the Institute of National Remembrance, and far-right candidate Slawomir Mentzen.
According to Poland’s cybersecurity institute NASK, its Disinformation Analysis Center uncovered a spike in Facebook ad spending tied to political messaging. The funding behind these ads, the institute warned, may have originated outside of Poland.
“The political ad campaigns we identified appear to have been financed from foreign sources and targeted Polish users,” NASK stated, adding that the ad spend in the past week exceeded that of any registered campaign committee. No specific country was named as the suspected origin of the funds.
Meta swiftly rejected the suggestion of foreign meddling. “Anyone looking to post ads on political or social issues must verify both their identity and residence in the country in question,” a Meta spokesperson said. “Our checks confirmed that the account in question is authentic and operated from within Poland. We have not found evidence of any foreign influence.”
While NASK claimed Meta took down the suspicious ads after they flagged them, Meta disputed that account, telling Reuters that no such content had been removed.
NASK also raised concerns about the intention behind the ads, warning they may have been designed as a false flag operation—seemingly endorsing one candidate while actually aiming to harm their credibility and stir unrest.
Andrzej Kozlowski, who leads NASK’s Narrative Trend Analysis team, said in an interview with state broadcaster TVP Info that the ads appeared to promote Trzaskowski while subtly undermining Nawrocki and Mentzen. He speculated the campaign may have been a deliberate provocation to sow confusion.
NASK has handed over its findings to Poland’s Internal Security Agency, which is now working to trace the source and financial backing of the ads.
Given Poland’s pivotal role as a logistical hub for aid to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the country has repeatedly warned that it is a top target for Russian cyber operations, sabotage, and espionage.
Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski recently described the interference threat as “unprecedented,” specifically blaming Russian actors. Speaking on Wednesday, Gawkowski said that hundreds of thousands of zlotys had been spent on the ad campaign, though he acknowledged that there is still no concrete evidence linking it to Russia.