Russian Social Media Bots are Targeting Poland Following Massive Floods

Russia has launched a large-scale disinformation campaign on the recent floods in Poland, aiming to destabilize Polish society, General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces reported on September 30.

Polish military reported that Russia activated a network of social media bots, created for many years, to sow panic among the public. This network was previously used to spread anti-vaccination content during the COVID-19 pandemic and later to promote anti-Ukrainian messages.

Russian intelligence services built this network to influence Polish public opinion. At their command, the bots would post targeted messages to manipulate it and spread specific beneficial for Russia narratives.

Following the abnormal floods started on September 16 due to Cyclone Boris, internet traffic coming from Russia and Belarus to Poland surged by 300%. According to the military, the traffic originated from accounts and IP addresses previously involved in psyop and disinformation operations during the early stages of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, trying to worsen relations between Ukraine and Poland.

“This pattern repeatedly proves that a planned information war is ongoing,” stated the Polish General Staff.

The bots published conspiracy theories and fear-mongering posts aimed at spreading panic, distrust, and chaos, complicating efforts by Polish authorities and emergency services. In addition to the online disinformation, unknown individuals in the flood-affected areas spread rumors about a planned sabotage of a local dam.

Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) apprehended one disinformation agent, who was disguised as a soldier driving a car with fake military license plates. He was arrested for three months.

“This is no longer a game or amateur action; these are serious issues,” said Prime Minister Donald Tusk during a crisis meeting in Wrocław.

Additionally, Poland’s Central Bureau for Combating Cybercrime detained two Polish citizens, aged 25 and 28, who were behind a bot network spreading alarming messages such as, “A little girl fell into the raging river. Disaster. They are dying, and no one is helping them. The dams will be blown up, the government has such a plan.”

Earlier, Poland’s Cyber Defense Forces reported that Russia started mass disinformation campaigns targeting poland’s floods.