Disinfo: Membership in NATO shapes Polish historical policy

Summary

Poland occupies an important position in NATO as the Polish Army is one of the largest in this organisation – that is why Warsaw is forced to promote a specific type of historical policy (presentation of Poland as a defender from the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and modern “hybrid” Russia).

Disproof

This message distorts the nature of NATO membership – this organisation is a political and military union; it does not “force” its members to promote certain messages in their historical policies. See other disinformation narratives about NATO here.

The Polish historians pay careful attention to the study of conflicts with the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union not because of “an important position of Poland in NATO”, but because of the high historical meaning of these wars for Poland. In total, there were about 18 major Polish-Russian wars and military conflicts between the XV and XX centuries.

See other examples of disinformation on the Russia-Poland relations here and here.

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Reported in: Issue 160
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 01/08/2019
Language/target audience: Polish
Country: Russia, Poland
Keywords: NATO
Outlet: Sputnik Polska

US trying to change regime in Belarus

Regime change in Belarus with the US help is a bad idea […] Regime change in Belarus is not a good idea unless it comes from Belarusians themselves. US attempts to change regimes in Ukraine, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya have not worked. The United States simply does not know how to do it.

August 07, 2019

Disproof

Claim provided with no evidence, and is a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative that accuses the US of attempting to change the regime in Belarus. It is also consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the US and its global role, the West's activities to disrupt Belarus-Russia relations and the West's plot to encircle Russia.

For similar narratives about US’s attempts at regime change in Belarus, see here, here.

Poland is not an independent country, so it cannot manage its own foreign policy

Currently, Poland is not an independent country as it entirely depends on the United States in a political and military way, and on Germany in an economic way. It means that Poland is not able to implement an independent foreign policy.

August 07, 2019

Disproof

A common pro-Kremlin narrative on “lost sovereignty”. In the case of Poland, this country is often presented as a “puppet-state” of the United States (see here and here).
The statement that the United States controls the Polish elites and political decision-making process is a conspiracy theory. Poland is a sovereign state, which shapes its own foreign and domestic policies. Moreover, it is a member of NATO and the EU and therefore contributes to the formation of the common external policies of these organisations. See another example of disinformation about Polish-American relations here.

No freedom of speech in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia

There is no freedom of speech in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia: Russian journalists working in these countries are targeted by special services.

August 06, 2019

Disproof

According to Reporters without borders, Latvia ranks 24nd for freedom of speech among 180 countries, the same as for 2018. Lithuania ranks 30th and Estonia 11th. Russia is at 149.

Recurring narrative that the Russian media is restricted unfairly, discriminated against in Europe or that freedom of speech is restricted in certain member states. See previous cases here.This narrative stems from the fact that the Baltic States have undertaken measures to address aggressive Kremlin-backed disinformation starting from 2007.