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The National
Broadcasting Council

Powrót

'There are concerns that Russian security services can directly influence the shape and nature of broadcasting in Poland, and thus Poland's internal and external security'

14.08.2024

National Broadcasting Council Chairman Mr Maciej Świrski asks Prime Minister Donald Tusk to take concerted action to prevent the co-shaping of public opinion by those under the influence of foreign security services.

Budynek KPRM

Mr Donald Tusk, Prime Minister

 

Dear Prime Minister,

On 12 August 2024, the website Frontstory.pl published an article entitled ‘A Magnet to Putin’ [Pol.: ‘Magnes z Putinem’].[1]

The publication refers to the activities in Poland of the Russian GRU officer Pablo González/Pavel Rubcov, who was arrested by the ABW in 2022, held in Polish custody, and then handed over to the Russian side on 1 August 2024 in a prisoner swap for, among others, German and American citizens. According to the publication, the officer was assisted by a Polish journalist charged with aiding and abetting espionage.

The publication, 'A Magnet to Putin', states that during his several-year stay in Poland, GRU officer Pablo González/Pavel Rubtsov 'worked out the circles of journalists and correspondents', including possibly downloading data from their electronic devices. In this way, it is likely that a large amount of data and information from the ‘circles of journalists and correspondents’, including potentially sensitive or compromising data, came into the possession of the Russian GRU service, which could then be used as a tool to influence these individuals (e.g. by threatening them with disclosure or publication). This influence may consist, for example, of recommending that issues important for the Polish state should not be addressed or described in terms of the interests of a foreign (e.g. Russian) state or in carrying out disinformation activities consisting, among others, in presenting facts in a false or manipulated context. As a result, the activities of the Russian services may directly influence the shape and character of the Polish state and indirectly, among others, on Poland's internal and external security.

In light of the above, and based on Article 6(2)(1) of the Broadcasting Act of 29 December 1992 ('The duties of the National Council shall include, in particular: 1) ‘to draw up, in agreement with the Prime Minister, the directions of the State policy in respect of radio and television broadcasting’), I want to ask the Prime Minister, in consultation with the National Broadcasting Council, to take measures to prevent the above risk. In the absence of appropriate measures, there is a danger that public opinion will be co-shaped in the coming years by those influenced by the security services of a foreign state.

 

Yours sincerely,

Maciej Świrski

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