05.11.2026, 10:51 (UK time)
VERDICT: FALSE – videos bearing BBC, Euronews and Deutsche Welle logos about the Prime Minister’s address and the Tribunal dispute did not come from those outlets. MANIPULATION – the “300,000 patriots on the bridge” video is from 2017, and the image from the Tribunal entrance was altered with AI.
News
More and more fake material is circulating online around the dispute over Poland’s Constitutional Tribunal (TK). As the Polish Press Agency PAP reported on 4 November, English-language accounts posted videos bearing BBC, Euronews and Deutsche Welle logos referring to Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s Saturday (31 October) address about Russian bots. One video suggested the investigative outlet Bellingcat had found that the Prime Minister’s words were based on a German intelligence report. Bellingcat published no such material. Another attributed an opinion about the Prime Minister to a French journalist – Euronews broadcast no such material.
Another video, described as a protest by “300,000 Polish patriots” on Warsaw’s Poniatowski Bridge, actually comes from the 2017 Independence March. NASK’s Disinformation Analysis Centre confirmed that some accounts use old photos and graphics to stir emotions around the Tribunal and warned of further such narratives.
A separate case concerns an image of the scuffle at the Tribunal entrance after President Karol Nawrocki’s visit. The incident really happened and there is genuine footage of it. However, a frame altered with artificial intelligence also circulated, shared among others by politicians. Fact-checkers at Demagog judged that it was not a direct frame from the footage. NASK reported such posts to X, citing its rules on labelling AI-altered content.
What it means
The Tribunal dispute is real and serious. But a second, fake reality is growing around it: forged “reports” from well-known media, old videos with new captions and AI-retouched images. Fakes appear on both sides of the dispute. Their aim is not to inform but to provoke anger and fear.
Why it is happening
When emotions run high, people share faster and check less. Analysts tracking Russian influence operations have linked the impersonation of Western media to a campaign known as “Matryoshka”. According to PAP, similar posts with almost identical captions were published by accounts, some of which were reportedly run from Africa. AI tools mean an edit can be made in minutes.
Risks
- A well-known broadcaster’s logo in the corner of a video does not prove it is their material – logos are easy to fake.
- Old footage with new captions can mislead about the scale of protests and the mood in Poland.
- AI-altered images look credible because they resemble real footage.
- Sharing a fake – even in good faith, in a family WhatsApp group – helps spread it.
What could happen next
NASK expects further disinformation narratives. As long as the Tribunal dispute continues, expect new “recordings”, “leaks” and “quotes”. It is not known whether X will remove or label the reported posts. We need to watch, wait for confirmation and stay careful.
What to do
- Before sharing a video, check whether it appears on the official website or channel of the broadcaster whose logo is shown.
- Look for the date and place of recording. A reverse image search (e.g. Google Lens) often shows a video is old.
- Check fact-checking services (Demagog, NASK, AFP Sprawdzam) and several independent media outlets.
- If something triggers a strong emotion, pause for a moment. That is a good time to check.
- Report fake content on the platform where you see it.
Contact us
Have a question or need help in Polish? Email [email protected], use the live chat on our website or call 07508 267866 (Mon–Fri 9:00–13:00 and 15:00–18:00, Sat 11:00–14:00).
Sources: Dziennik.pl / PAP – Disinformation around the battle for the Constitutional Tribunal; Zero.pl – NASK reported posts with AI images; WP.pl – AI image from outside the Tribunal
Photo: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL, Wikimedia Commons.
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