The new institution will be headed by Paweł Olszewski, until now a deputy digitisation minister.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk signed the order establishing the centre on Tuesday, Gawkowski said at a cybersecurity conference in Warsaw. The decision took effect on Wednesday.
"Poland will be the first country in Europe to have a national centre for fighting disinformation," Gawkowski said.
He said the centre would support the government and develop a framework for combating disinformation.
Olszewski said a draft strategy for tackling disinformation had been drawn up and would be consulted with civil society organisations.
He said protecting civil liberties would be a priority, but added that "freedom of speech does not mean freedom to spread hate speech and Russian propaganda."
"I will personally point the finger at those who ... translate into Polish Russian narratives that harm Poles and undermine state security," Olszewski said.
He specifically named controversial far-right politician Grzegorz Braun and his political milieu, as well as the Kamraty Brothers radical right-wing, neo-fascist and pro-Russian movement, accusing them of posing a threat to state security, social cohesion and Poland's membership in the European Union.
"Such narratives must be condemned and must be exposed," he added.
The centre will issue statements on identified disinformation activities and create a website addressing the most widespread disinformation narratives. It will also draw up guidelines and recommendations for public administration on preventing and combating disinformation, state news agency PAP reported.
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Source: IAR/PAP
Click on the audio player above for a report by Marcin Matuszewski