(../s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/6402c6c3b15c13a6595174de0ccc2986b56dbe50d63d1c6e12b9999c4fd4ed15/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_h100%3Bquality_100%3Bformat_webp/https%253A%252F%252Fs.yimg.com%252Fos%252Fcreatr-uploaded-images%252F2020-11%252F62e21440-2fbd-11eb-95ff-5673fa3d2f9f)  (../s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/30520259615f220ce64a8bbc9ca26c653be6dd0dae2b90295d59082a89bcc480/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_h100%3Bquality_100%3Bformat_webp/https%253A%252F%252Fs.yimg.com%252Fos%252Fcreatr-uploaded-images%252F2020-11%252F97e12050-2fbd-11eb-b7ff-09d0ec37765f)  (../s.yimg.com/lo/mysterio/api/7725a389f29af4040358f620c12c2e4be17a89bd3caf4c50ac51cf8281489deb/lightyear_networkapi/resizefill_w800_h533%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp/https%253A%252F%252Fmedia.zenfs.com%252Fen%252Freuters.com%252F202834840028cb26d46f9f7c6c38abef.jpg)  (_nca/_next/static/css/c65000d4f019eb1f.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/c28189b1906ac9b1.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/73e442d4282368e3.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/5f8523a452388440.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/e23cfac571e4148f.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/e388c648ba6d95b1.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (_nca/_next/static/css/357a3b55519ef61a.css@dpl=sha-29208af.css)  (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/_nca/_next/static/chunks/webpack-0bcf54d9842610c2.js?dpl=sha-29208af)  (https://consent.cmp.oath.com/version/7.0.2/cmp.js)  (https://s.yimg.com/oa/consent.js)  (https://s.yimg.com/aaq/f10d509c/d1irmdsmbztlvx.js)  (https://s.yimg.com/du/benji/benji-2.3.489.js)  (https://s.yimg.com/ss/analytics-3.87.0.js)   Poland says social media firms are 'silent ally' of Russia, threatens fines - Yahoo News UK         (https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/poland-says-social-media-firms-111211375.html)                                  (favicon.ico@b0867f93a36b360e)  (../s.yimg.com/cv/apiv2/default/favicon.ico)            (https://uk.news.yahoo.com/)      Search query for Search the web    (Search the web) ()          Search the web      (poland-says-social-media-firms-111211375.html#article-container) Skip to main   (https://uk.yahoo.com/) News  (https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/) Finance  More        (https://mail.yahoo.com/?.intl=uk&.lang=en-GB)   Mail                 Search the web        Advertisement   Advertisement     (https://uk.yahoo.com)   (https://uk.yahoo.com)   Return to homepage    (https://profiles.yahoo.com/brands/reuters/) (Reuters)   (Reuters)      Poland says social media firms are 'silent ally' of Russia, threatens fines Reuters Wed, 21 October 2026 at 11:12 am UTC  2 min read    Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.   (https://www.google.com/preferences/source?q=uk.news.yahoo.com)             (Previous photo)      (FILE PHOTO: Poland's ministers present plan to ban phones for under-16s in primary schools)   FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski speaks during a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki/File Photo      (FILE PHOTO: Social media apps are displayed on a mobile phone)   FILE PHOTO: Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Reddit applications are displayed on a mobile phone in this picture illustration taken on December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Hollie Adams/Illustration/File Photo      (Next photo)      FILE PHOTO: Poland's ministers present plan to ban phones for under-16s in primary schools 1 of 2    FILE PHOTO: Deputy Prime Minister of Poland and Minister of Digital Affairs Krzysztof Gawkowski speaks during a press conference in Warsaw, Poland, June 2, 2026. REUTERS/Kuba Stezycki/File Photo      WARSAW, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Social media platforms are a "silent ally" of Russia in a "digital war" and are doing nothing to curb disinformation, Polish Digital ‌Affairs Minister Krzysztof Gawkowski said on Wednesday, threatening fines for firms that ‌ignore state requests. Poland and other Western countries have on many occasions accused Russia of spreading disinformation to ​sow division and destabilise their societies. Moscow denies such accusations and says Western leaders are intentionally exaggerating the threat from Russia for their own political ends. Data from Poland's NASK National Research Institute showed platforms acted on fewer than a quarter of the more than ‌65,000 reports of fake accounts ⁠and disinformation it sent them in the first half of 2026. Advertisement  Advertisement    Advertisement  Advertisement    Discord, Google, Meta, X, Telegram and TikTok did not immediately respond to ⁠requests for comment. "A digital war with Russia is underway, and within this digital war lies a front of disinformation. On this disinformation front, there is a silent ally to the Russian ​bots ​and the Kremlin's GRU: social media platforms," Gawkowski ​said. "Social media platforms are doing ‌nothing about this," he added during a press conference. Poland's NASK data showed that, of all cases of disinformation and fake accounts reported, social media platforms deleted 7% and moderated over 17%. "The data points not merely to a failure, but to deliberate action by the platforms — which profit from disinformation, use it, and treat it as a source of ‌their revenue," Gawkowski said. Advertisement  Advertisement    Advertisement  Advertisement    He added that he issued ​a demand to the platforms to establish effective ​Polish-speaking content moderation teams, which would ​maintain a direct, real-time link to the relevant entities reporting ‌such content. He also demanded the elimination of ​what he called sham ​appeals processes, the immediate removal of any identified bot networks and a reduction in response times for all such reports. "Furthermore, I have made it clear ​that any state request left ‌unfulfilled by these platforms will trigger proceedings to impose financial penalties upon ​them," Gawkowski also said. 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