Poland Creates Europe’s First Dedicated Centre for Countering Disinformation as Hybrid Attacks Escalate

WARSAW — Poland has announced the establishment of a specialised state Centre for Countering Disinformation, becoming the first country in Europe to create a dedicated agency with the sole mission of defending its information space from hostile influence operations. The decision, reported by Polskie Radio, was prompted by what the Polish government described as an unprecedented escalation of hybrid attacks and subversive operations by the Russian Federation and Belarus, aimed at destabilising the social and political situation in Poland. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski unveiled the initiative at the opening of the eighth Cybersecurity Forum at the Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw, where he outlined the new institution’s mandate and its place within Poland’s broader security architecture. The Centre will function as a permanent, independent body rather than a temporary task force, a distinction that signals a fundamental shift in how Warsaw views the threat of disinformation. For years, European governments have treated hostile narratives as a secondary concern, something to be handled by press offices or public relations teams. Poland’s new agency recognises that information warfare is now a central component of modern conflict, requiring specialised expertise, continuous surveillance, and close cooperation with intelligence and military institutions. The government’s move is expected to be followed by similar initiatives in other allied countries, but Poland is deliberately positioning itself as a pioneer in this field. According to officials, the Centre is intended to operate at the intersection of technology, intelligence, and strategic communication, bringing together capabilities that have previously been scattered across different ministries and agencies. This institutional consolidation is seen as essential for keeping pace with adversaries who are constantly refining their methods and expanding their reach.

The Centre’s core mandate includes round-the-clock monitoring of the information space, identification of harmful disinformation campaigns, and coordination of the activities of Poland’s relevant security agencies. Its principal task, according to the government’s announcement, is to promptly neutralise false narratives that undermine citizens’ trust in state institutions, Warsaw’s defence policy, and comprehensive assistance to Ukraine. This explicit reference to Ukraine is significant, as it acknowledges that Russian disinformation is not only aimed at Polish domestic audiences but also at weakening the Western alliance’s resolve to support Kyiv. The Centre will also be tasked with detecting narratives that attempt to portray Poland as an unreliable NATO member, as a country that might abandon its allies, or as a society deeply divided over its pro-European orientation. To do this effectively, the Centre will need to maintain a comprehensive database of known disinformation tactics, monitor both Polish-language and Russian-language media, and track the activities of pro-Kremlin influencers across multiple platforms. It will also cooperate with fact-checking organisations, academic researchers, and civil society groups, because no government agency can monitor the entire information ecosystem alone. The Centre’s analytical products will be shared with relevant government departments, parliamentary committees, and allied intelligence services, ensuring that decision-makers have a real-time understanding of the threats facing the country. Officials have stressed that the new body will not act as a censor or restrict lawful freedom of expression. Instead, its purpose is to identify foreign-backed operations that are designed to deceive, manipulate, and destabilise, and to provide the public with reliable information about these activities. By doing so, the government hopes to build a more informed and resilient society that is less vulnerable to hostile influence.

To carry out its mission, the Centre will rely on advanced big-data analysis and artificial intelligence technologies to detect the activities of bot farms, fake news websites, and coordinated attacks on social media. These tools are essential because modern disinformation campaigns operate at a scale that human analysts cannot possibly match. Algorithms can identify patterns of coordinated behaviour, such as networks of accounts posting the same content within seconds of each other, or websites that are created and taken down in rapid succession to avoid detection. Machine-learning systems can also analyse images and videos for signs of manipulation, including deepfakes, which are likely to become an increasingly common tool in future influence operations. The Centre’s specialists will be drawn from a variety of backgrounds, including cybersecurity, data science, linguistics, psychology, and international relations, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of the threat. They will work closely with the intelligence services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, the Polish Armed Forces, and similar institutions in NATO and EU partner countries. This international cooperation is crucial, as disinformation networks often operate from multiple jurisdictions and use infrastructure scattered across the globe. By sharing threat intelligence and analytical tools with allies, Poland can help build a collective defence system that is far more powerful than any single national effort. The Centre is also expected to participate in NATO’s strategic communications exercises and to contribute to the European Union’s efforts to develop common standards for countering hybrid threats. In addition, it will conduct regular training programmes for journalists, public officials, and military personnel, helping to create a broader culture of information resilience across the state apparatus.

The decision to create the Centre comes at a moment of intense pressure on Poland’s security environment. The government has pointed to an unprecedented escalation of hybrid attacks and subversive operations by Russia and Belarus, which have included not only disinformation campaigns but also cyberattacks on government institutions, attempted acts of sabotage, pressure on the eastern border, and efforts to infiltrate political and social debates. Polish officials have repeatedly warned that these operations are designed to destabilise the social and political situation in the country, to undermine public confidence in democratic institutions, and to weaken Poland’s support for Ukraine. Disinformation narratives promoted by Kremlin-controlled media and amplified through bot networks have sought to portray the Polish government as corrupt, the Polish military as unprepared, and Ukrainian refugees as a burden or a threat to Polish society. Other narratives have targeted Poland’s relations with the European Union and NATO, suggesting that the country’s allies are unreliable or that Warsaw is being manipulated by external powers. These campaigns are often subtle and carefully calibrated to exploit existing divisions, making them difficult to counter with simple fact-checking. The Polish government’s initiative reflects a growing recognition that hybrid information threats require the creation of institutionalised protection systems at the national level, rather than reactive responses after a crisis has already erupted. The new Centre is intended to provide that permanent protection, with the authority to act quickly and the resources to sustain long-term monitoring and analysis. It will also serve as an early-warning mechanism, alerting the government and the public to emerging threats before they can gain traction and cause real damage.

The Polish government expects the Centre not only to strengthen Polish society’s resilience to Kremlin manipulation and information provocations, but also to serve as a model for other European countries facing aggressive propaganda and hostile interference in their internal affairs. In recent years, many European governments have established specialised units or task forces to address disinformation, but most have operated on a temporary basis or as subordinate departments within larger communications or security agencies. Poland’s decision to create a permanent, fully funded agency with a dedicated mandate is an important innovation, and one that is likely to be carefully studied by allies. The Centre will also play a role in shaping European policy, by providing data and analysis that can inform the European Union’s approach to platform regulation, media literacy, and strategic communications. It may serve as a hub for training specialists from other countries, helping to build a network of experts who can respond to disinformation across the continent. The authorities have stressed that the Centre will operate within the boundaries of the law and with respect for democratic principles, focusing on hostile foreign operations rather than on domestic political debate. This distinction is essential for maintaining public trust, because a counter-disinformation agency that is perceived as a censorship tool would quickly lose its legitimacy and would play into the hands of those who claim that governments are trying to silence dissent. International partners, including NATO’s Strategic Communications Centre of Excellence and the EU’s East StratCom Task Force, are expected to provide technical support and share best practices with the new Polish agency.

Ultimately, the creation of the Centre for Countering Disinformation represents an important step in the evolution of European security. For years, democratic governments struggled to respond to hostile information operations because the threats were diffuse, fast-moving, and difficult to attribute. By establishing a specialised agency with clear responsibilities, modern tools, and close links to intelligence and military structures, Poland has signalled that it intends to treat disinformation with the same seriousness as conventional forms of aggression. The Centre will not be a silver bullet, and its effectiveness will depend on sustained political support, adequate resources, and careful respect for democratic values. But in an era when a single coordinated campaign can reach millions of people within hours, the ability to detect, analyse, and neutralise false narratives is becoming an essential attribute of national sovereignty. Poland’s decision to build a dedicated institution for this purpose may well prove to be a turning point, not only for the country itself but for the wider European project. As hybrid threats continue to evolve, the need for permanent, institutionalised defences has never been clearer, and Warsaw’s new Centre is likely to become a reference point for allies seeking to protect their own societies from the weaponisation of information. The eyes of Europe will be on Warsaw in the coming months, as the Centre begins its work and demonstrates whether a dedicated state agency can effectively push back against the relentless tide of foreign disinformation. If it succeeds, it may transform the way European democracies defend themselves in the digital age, making information security an integral part of national security policy for years to come.