Fake news about Ukrainians' protest in Katowice being spread in Polish segment of X and TikTok

Polish-language accounts on social media platforms TikTok and X spread information claiming that nearly 8,000 Ukrainians in Katowice had protested against the conscription of men, residing in Poland, to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The protesters allegedly chanted "This is not our war!" Such posts on social media are accompanied by a photo showing a crowd, with allegedly Ukrainian symbols, carrying a blue and yellow flag.

This is a fake. The photo has nothing to do with an event involving Ukrainians. It shows the flag of Upper Silesia, not Ukraine. In the background of the photo, there are people carrying yellow and blue flags. The Ukrainian flag consists of blue and yellow stripes, with the blue stripe on top.

The photo itself was taken during the11th Silesian Autonomy March in 2017 (an annual demonstration in support of the idea of restoring self-government in Upper Silesia - ed.). The image was mirrored for this fake. The manipulation was designed to make reverse searching for the photo more challenging.

In a comment to Ukrinform, representatives of the Katowice authorities said that the information about the Ukrainian protest was fake, and no events on this topic took place in the city.

The fake post, which was published by @MichalSchurmann account on social media platform X, received more than 366,000 views and 615 reposts. The author, Michalina Schurmann, claims to be a scientist, a member of the medical and military councils, the climate and UFO councils, and the president of the Poliniak dla UA association. No information about Michalina Shurman is available online. The association Poliniak dla UA allegedly helps Ukrainians in Poland, although there is no information about its activities either. Anti-Ukrainian content regularly appears on the account. This was also emphasized by representatives of the Katowice authorities.

The fake news about the Ukrainian protest in Katowice is specifically designed to target the Polish audience and is intended to create discord between Poles and Ukrainian refugees residing in Poland.

Earlier, Ukrinform refuted fake new about the introduction of restrictions on consular services for Ukrainian men.

Polish pro-Russian forces often use the yellow and blue colors of the Silesian flag in an anti-Ukrainian context. In particular, before the local elections in Poland in April this year, they spread the fake claiming that Ukrainians were "climbing to power in Poland."

Dmytro Badrak