President Pavel calls fake anti-Czech-Polish campaign a "provocation"

Czech President Petr Pavel has thanked Czechs and Poles for not falling for a targeted disinformation campaign designed to turn them against each other. He made the remarks on Friday evening during a visit to the Těšín region, where he came to open the Beskydská sedmička ultramarathon in Třinec — the very town where the perpetrators had tried to organize a fake protest.

It had previously emerged that Czech and Polish intelligence services suspect Russia of orchestrating the operation. A fake profile posing as the Czech ambassador to Poland, a counterfeit Czech Radio website, and an article planted on a hacked Polish regional radio site were all meant to convince people on both sides of the border that Poland was supposedly preparing to annex part of Czech territory.

"Based on everything I know, and on the reaction of the Polish authorities, this was a targeted provocation. And I'm very glad that people didn't fall for it — neither politicians nor ordinary citizens on either side of the border," Pavel said.

A fake protest and the public's response

Through Facebook ads that reached tens of thousands of people, a fake profile under the name Adam Sikora tried to rally a demonstration in Třinec against nonexistent Polish actions. Other fake accounts helped reinforce the impression of widespread Czech outrage.

As soon as journalists established that this was an influence operation, major Polish media reported on it. Polish social media filled with messages of solidarity with the Czechs, and civil society and local media in the Těšín region responded in a similar spirit. Poland's prime minister and foreign minister both condemned the provocation.

Pavel emphasized that relations between residents on both sides of the border have traditionally been warm. "People are used to simply walking from one side to the other, meeting one another," the president said, recalling messages painted on the riverbanks during the Covid pandemic: "Czechs, we miss you" and "Poles, we miss you."

The case is now being handled by the intelligence services of both countries. In the Czech Republic, the opposition Pirate Party has filed a police complaint against those suspected of being behind the campaign, citing possible incitement to hatred and illegal activity on behalf of a foreign power. The case is already being examined by the National Centre against Terrorism, Extremism and Cybercrime, while Polish police are conducting a similar investigation.

The Kremlin and "divide and rule"

According to Pavel, he does not yet have proof of Russian involvement, but the methods and goals of the operation match the modus operandi of Russian intelligence services. "Russia clearly doesn't care about supporting one side or the other. What matters to Russia is causing as much friction as possible within a society — in this case, within two societies," the president said, comparing the tactic to the "divide and rule" principle, which he said had already been used during Brexit.

Government silence and expert criticism

Unlike the president, Czech government officials have so far offered no comment on either the campaign itself or Russia's possible involvement. Foreign Minister Petr Macinka (Motoristé sobě) ignored journalists' questions all week before posting an infographic on social media acknowledging that Poland has indeed long sought compensation for roughly 300 hectares of territory lost historically, while stressing that both sides are seeking a mutually beneficial solution and that Poland remains one of the Czech Republic's closest partners.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš also did not respond to questions, merely reposting on Wednesday a message from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk featuring the flags of both countries and a handshake symbol. By contrast, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski had already debunked the lie about an alleged planned occupation on Tuesday evening, just hours after the investigation was published.

The opposition and some experts have criticized the Czech government for its slow and weak response. Security specialists note that the campaign may also be testing the resilience of Czech defenses against influence operations — especially since Babiš's team, after coming to power, significantly cut expert positions at ministries responsible for countering such threats and dissolved the strategic communications unit within the government office.

"If the state's strategic communication unit still existed, analysts would have spotted this long ago, and senior officials could have responded. It's a good thing we have our Polish brothers," commented Oldřich Brůža, the former head of that unit.

According to Halina Szczotka, editor-in-chief of the local magazine Zwrot, there is nonetheless a kernel of truth in the campaign: Poland has indeed long laid claim, at the diplomatic level, to roughly 368 hectares of territory, without any threat of unilateral seizure. She noted that the historical issue can still resonate among some residents of the Těšín region, even as attempts are now being made to artificially inflate it.

Source: seznamzpravy.cz