Foreign Interference in Presidential Elections? Still More Questions Than Answers

• MPs demanded explanations from the Sejm regarding possible foreign interference in the election campaign through Facebook advertising.
• NASK did not present clear evidence of foreign financing, despite its earlier alarming announcement.
• The role of the government, the lack of warnings for all committees and the potential conflict of interest in the actions of Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs Paweł Olszewski, who is also on Rafał Trzaskowski's staff, are also controversial.

On Tuesday, during the parliamentary digitalization committee and on Wednesday during the plenary session, the deputies dealt with the issue of financing advertisements published on Facebook by the pages "Wiesz jak nie jest" and "Stół dorosłych" . On May 15, the matter was described by Wirtualna Polska, linking it to activists of the Akcja Demokracja foundation. A day earlier, NASK issued a statement in which it warned that it had identified "political advertisements on the Facebook platform that may be financed from abroad. The materials were displayed in Poland".

During the first session of the Sejm after the elections, the members of parliament demanded explanations from the government. According to both the members of Law and Justice and the Confederation, neither NASK nor the Ministry of Digital Affairs provided convincing explanations in this matter.

Outside Campaign Financing? More Questions Than Answers

During Tuesday's session of the Sejm's Digital Affairs Committee, MPs asked on what basis NASK concluded that there could have been an attempt of foreign interference in the presidential elections in Poland .

The case caught their attention, among other things, because Meta's representatives denied such interference when explaining it . Jakub Turowski, responsible for public sector relations in the company, confirmed during the meeting that the advertisements themselves were paid for by a person verified with Polish documents and operating from the territory of Poland .

However, this does not rule out the possibility that the funds came from outside the country – they could have been transferred, for example, to a foundation, which then paid for the advertisements from an account in Poland. However, the company can no longer see this in its data. NASK also does not have the tools to track financial flows. This was confirmed by its director, who noted that the case had been forwarded to the ABW.

When asked how NASK knew that the campaigns were financed from foreign sources, there was no answer. Radosław Nielek, the institution's director, spoke to MPs for several dozen minutes about numerous interventions by experts in cyberspace and about disinformation campaigns . He mentioned, among other things, an SMS campaign in which Polish subscribers received fake messages containing alleged promises of the Civic Platform and calling for voting for Rafał Trzaskowski. He emphasized that their structure was almost identical to the messages impersonating the PiS campaign in 2023.

Cieszyński: NASK report was a week before the announcement

Grzegorz Płaczek from the Confederation asked several times what specific evidence and analyses were the basis for the warning about possible interference. The NASK director first indicated that three analyses concerning the spots were circulating on the web – one published by a user of the X platform and two more, posted by the media: WP and OKO.press. He later admitted that NASK had reached conclusions similar to those of the authors of the analyses. He also added that analysts of institutions have fewer possibilities of action than journalists.

Former Minister of Digital Affairs Janusz Cieszyński asked when exactly NASK analyses were prepared. He informed that the information he had obtained indicated that the report on the matter was to be ready on 7 May – a week before the publication of the institution’s statement on possible interference. Neither Paweł Olszewski, Deputy Minister of Digital Affairs responsible for cybersecurity, nor the NASK director, who was present at the committee, answered this question.

MP Dariusz Stefaniuk (PiS) asked who is personally responsible for the operation of the "electoral umbrella" - a mechanism for protecting cyberspace during the campaign. Paweł Olszewski did not indicate a specific person. Instead, he hit the ball, recalling that during the government of Mateusz Morawiecki, the NASK department for counteracting disinformation submitted daily reports to the Chancellery of the Prime Minister regarding mentions of the government. The Prime Minister's Chancellery indicated the topics for monitoring. This activity was, among other things, one of the grounds for withdrawing PiS's party subsidy.

Need for systemic change - the deputy minister for cybersecurity cannot be in the staff

The question of why NASK, as part of the "electoral umbrella" operation, did not inform other election committees about the disinformation campaign being conducted also remains unresolved. The advertisements targeted candidates Sławomir Mentzen (Confederation) and Karol Nawrocki (supported by PiS), but no warning actions were taken.

MPs also discussed similar issues on Wednesday in the Sejm's plenary chamber. MP Paulina Matysiak (Razem) pointed out that it requires clarification whether Rafał Trzaskowski's campaign was involved in this campaign. She cited the fact revealed by internet users on X that films identical to those later published by the fanpage described by the media had previously been posted in their communities by KO politicians.

Przemysław Wipler from the Confederation announced that his party would continue to ask questions on the matter, including linking them to the settlement of Trzaskowski's election campaign.

Wipler also pointed out that the deputy minister responsible for cybersecurity in the government should not simultaneously be in the staff of a candidate for the office of president (Olszewski, who helps Rafał Trzaskowski, is in such a situation).

Michał Gramatyka from Poland 2050 argued, in turn, that the government should address the situation in which election campaigns do not have to consent to someone campaigning on their behalf. Mateusz Morawiecki's government allowed such actions in 2018.