Disinformation report misrepresented to claim Poles hold Kyiv responsible for drone incursion

Published on 24/09/2025 - 10:45 GMT+2

A study showing the online prevalence of Kremlin-friendly narratives blaming Ukraine for this month’s incursion of drones into Polish airspace is being misrepresented arsenic showing that Poles chiefly clasp Kyiv liable for the incident.

Analysts astatine Res Futura, a Polish NGO specialised successful accusation security, gathered arsenic galore arsenic 179,000 Polish societal media posts and comments successful the aftermath of the September incursion, and recovered that 38% of those comments blamed Ukraine portion 34% blamed Russia.

This, according to Res Futura, was driven by an “organised disinformation campaign” coordinated by pro-Russian accounts, aimed astatine sowing distrust successful the Polish authorities and the NATO alliance.

The posts successful questions showed a “coherent pattern” emblematic of pro-Russian disinformation, indicating a “deliberate information-psychological operation”, according to the Res Futura analysis.

The study included a barroom graph showing the percent of the sampled societal media comments pinning work connected antithetic actors. 

Out of these, 38% signalled Ukraine arsenic responsible, 34% blamed Russia, portion 15% pointed to the Polish government.

But the aforesaid barroom graph is present being utilized successful a question of misleading societal media posts claiming it is the effect of a caller sentiment poll, which purportedly indicates that the Polish colonisation chiefly holds Ukraine liable for the incursion.

Euronews’ fact-checking team, EuroVerify, detected these unfounded claims circulating successful respective languages – including Arabic, English, French, Hungarian, Polish and Spanish – connected Facebook, Telegram, Instagram and X, garnering millions of views.

Several media outlets person besides published mendacious headlines, claiming that “one successful 3 Poles blasted Ukraine for the drone incursion into Polish airspace.”

'Pscychological' warfare

But the survey by Res Futura does not successful immoderate mode suggest that the Polish colonisation holds Ukraine liable for the incursion, but alternatively that this was the astir predominant communicative circulating connected societal media, peddled by disinformation actors.

The analysts besides recovered that this communicative was portion of a wider disinformation run that was unleashed connected societal networks successful the contiguous aftermath of the drone incursion.

“The accusation abstraction successful Poland has go polarised, filled with conflicting versions, hostile comments, and affectional accusations,” the investigation explains, adding that a deficiency of a “dominant, credible” communicative by the Polish authorities helped substance conspiracies.

Conflicting reports astir Polish intelligence's appraisal of the incursion fuelled misleading claims connected societal platforms instantly aft the attack. Western officials are inactive unclear connected whether they judge the incursion was intentionally provoked by Moscow oregon not.

It's provided ample accidental for hostile actors to beforehand conspiracies. EuroVerify has antecedently detected other mendacious narratives related to the incursion being peddled by pro-Russian actors.

As galore arsenic 20 drones entered Polish airspace connected the nighttime of September 9, prompting Polish and NATO airplanes to scramble to down them.

Since then, 3 MIG-31 Russian combatant jets person entered Estonian airspace, prompting steadfast warnings from European allies that objects entering NATO airspace volition besides beryllium intercepted.