Poland’s National Research Institute, known as NASK, sent more than 65,000 reports to Discord, Google, Meta, X, Telegram, and TikTok during the first half of 2026, documenting suspected fake accounts and disinformation-related content. Platforms acted on fewer than one in four of those reports, according to Reuters, and Warsaw is now threatening financial consequences.
What Poland Found
NASK’s own figures reveal a stark gap between what Polish authorities flagged and what platforms chose to address.
NASK reported 65,220 flagged items in total during the January-to-June period. Platforms removed content or accounts in approximately 4,380 cases, roughly 7% of the total, according to figures cited by Reuters from the institute’s report.
Visible moderation actions, including labels or restrictions short of removal, reached around 11,270 cases, just over 17%. Combined, platforms took any measurable action on fewer than one in four flagged items, Reuters reported.
Poland’s Demands and the Penalty Threat
Polish Digital Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski has framed the platforms’ inaction as a security failure, not merely a policy disagreement.
Gawkowski described the platforms as a “silent ally” of Russian bots and the Kremlin’s GRU, according to Reuters. He cited the NASK figures alongside a threat to initiate financial-penalty proceedings against companies that fail to fulfill requests from Polish authorities.
Gawkowski called for dedicated Polish-language moderation teams capable of communicating with authorities in real time. He also demanded faster responses to reports and immediate removal of identified bot networks. An end to what he characterized as “sham” appeals procedures was part of his stated conditions as well.
As of October 21, 2026, no fines had been imposed. Gawkowski announced the possibility of enforcement proceedings rather than confirmed action. The precise legal basis, penalty amounts, timeline, and which companies would face individual proceedings were not specified in available reporting.
Platform and Russian Responses
None of the six named platforms offered a public position, and Russia continues to reject the underlying accusations.
Discord, Google, Meta, X, Telegram, and TikTok had not responded to Reuters’ requests for comment at the time of publication. Russia rejected the broader accusations, with officials arguing, according to Reuters, that Western governments exaggerate the threat of influence operations for political purposes. No specific Russian official was named in the available reporting.
The Yandex Footnote
A separate but related claim emerged at the Warsaw Security Forum, though its implications remain unverified.
At the forum on October 12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed Russian bot activity declined after drone strikes on Yandex data centers. Those strikes targeted facilities in Sasovo, Kaluga, and the Vladimir region between October 8 and October 11, according to Reuters.
Cloudflare Radar data cited by Euronews showed automated traffic from Yandex’s network fell by approximately 94% relative to average levels from the second half of September. Available data could not confirm whether Russian propaganda operations were directly affected, as the decline also included legitimate automated traffic such as search crawlers.
What Comes Next
The outcome of Poland’s threat depends on legal frameworks and platform decisions that remain unresolved.
The key questions are whether Poland files formal penalty proceedings and which Polish or European legal instrument it invokes. Whether any of the six platforms issue public responses or compliance data also remains to be seen. Poland’s move signals that content moderation has become a national-security concern for European governments, though the cited reporting does not establish that this shift applies uniformly across the continent.
