288,850 – this is the number of entries and comments attacking Ukraine and Ukrainians identified in 2023 on the Polish Internet by the portal demagog.org.pl together with analysts from the Institute of Media Monitoring. Their reach amounted to over 54 million potential contacts. W, which shows that the vast majority of such content, as much as 82.4 percent appeared on the X website (formerly Twitter), which resulted in 238,000 entries. 11.9% appeared on Facebook. shameful posts and comments, and in other media (including YouTube and Instagram) – 5.7 percent.
The numbers we present in this report may be shocking to many people. This means that an average Pole over 15 years of age could have encountered the content referred to in the report almost twice. The scale of the problem is therefore clearly visible
– emphasizes Monika Ezman, member of the management board, director of the Quality Management Center and Analysis Department at IMM.
Anti-Ukrainian propaganda. Grzegorz Braun shines in it, and the amount is shocking
Analysts have tools that allow them to translate the value of such entries into money. The AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent) parameter is used for this purpose, i.e. the estimated value of the advertising equivalent of the materials. In the case of anti-Ukrainian entries that were analyzed, this value amounted to as much as PLN 189 million. “This means that if any entity wanted to reach us with an anti-Ukrainian message in the form of advertising, it would have to spend PLN 189 million,” explains the Demagogue website. “We are clearly dealing with a great reach and value of the message. It is a pity that it is disinformation and does not bring anything good,” says Monika Ezman.
Interestingly, it is not the social media entries themselves, but mainly comments on popular websites and entries on online forums that are responsible for as much as 97%. AVE, which in their case amounted to PLN 170 million. Anti-Ukrainian posts on Facebook generated 1.4 percent. the total value of AVE, and from website X – only 0.3 percent, even though over 80 percent comes from there. such content.
In the case of this platform, the most popular entries were those of the user TadKapla, which had a reach of approximately 1 million potential contacts. In second place was Grzegorz Braun with a reach of 642,000. The podium is closed by MartinDemirow (496,000). When it comes to Facebook, Grzegorz Braun was unrivaled here and generated a reach of 672,000. Among the 10 most popular such profiles, this is the only one with a name and surname. In second place is the Szlachta profile (483,000), and in third place – Konfederacja Korony Polskiej (350,000). Taking into account both portals, the largest reach, exceeding 1.3 million, was achieved by Grzegorz Braun.
This shows how much of a role social media – especially Elon Musk’s website – still has to play in terms of content verification. X is perceived by many people as a medium in which information appears the fastest – even in real time
– says Monika Ezman
If you want to know what is happening in the world, you should – in their opinion – keep up to date with what is happening on portal X. At the same time, content recipients do not always carefully analyze the credibility of the senders themselves. This is often difficult or even impossible. That is why it is so important to pay attention to fake news and their authors
– he adds.
What to do with anti-Ukrainian posts?
– The easiest way is to use the “Report” option, thanks to which we inform moderators that a given entry contains inappropriate or discriminatory information. And it is worth using it whenever we come across false content online, says Monika Ezman. Because although publishers have no legal obligation to moderate comments on an ongoing basis, they must react if an illegal entry is reported.
– If the comments are illegal, i.e. they meet the conditions specified in Art. 257 of the Penal Code, which refers to hate speech based on ethnic origin (but also Article 255, i.e. incitement to commit a crime), the publisher is obliged to remove such comments. Such an obligation is imposed on him by Art. 14 of the Act on the provision of electronic services – said lawyer Krzysztof Izdebski, expert of the Batory Foundation and Open Spending EU Coalition, in July 2023. If a publisher fails to respond to such an entry, which, for example, contains hate speech or incites violence, it may be subject to criminal liability.
Source: Gazeta
Mabel is a talented author and journalist with a passion for all things technology. As an experienced writer for the 247 News Agency, she has established a reputation for her in-depth reporting and expert analysis on the latest developments in the tech industry.
