At the center of the operation was a fake account called "Adam Sikora", which posed as a local resident on the Czech side of the region and accused Poland of pursuing "polonization" there. The account also promoted a fabricated demonstration in Trinec, held under the banner "Cieszyn Silesia is Czech". Investigators later found the profile itself was fake, its picture generated by AI.
To reinforce the narrative, the campaign circulated AI-generated images of a house in Ropice that does not exist, meant to suggest residents were being pressured to sell property out of fear of Polish encroachment.
Operators also impersonated real officials, setting up fake profiles resembling the Czech ambassador to Poland and a Polish deputy foreign minister and posting AI-generated material under their names to lend the false claims an air of authority.
The effort was not limited to organic posts. A paid Facebook ad promoting the fictitious demonstration drew hundreds of reactions and stayed active for several days, evidence that the campaign was deliberately pushed to a wider audience rather than spread by chance.
The false claims were built around a real historical episode — the 1958 adjustment of the Polish-Czechoslovak border — which organizers wove together with invented material to make the campaign more convincing.
Poland's state research institute NASK said the tactics echo methods previously tied to Russian-linked influence operations, though it has not established who orchestrated this campaign.
Researchers say the effort's core achievement was manufacturing a false impression: that a serious dispute exists between Poland and the Czech Republic over borders and the national identity of Cieszyn Silesia's residents.
(jh)
Source: TVP Info