Warsaw

Russia is exploiting the coronavirus crisis to wage information warfare. Poland, a longtime target of Russia’s propaganda machine, has in recent days been hit with two pandemic-related disinformation campaigns. The goal is to smear Poland and pit it against the rest of Europe.

Alessio D’Amato, the top health official in Italy’s Lazio region, was quoted on March 22 as saying that Poland had seized protective equipment destined for his coronavirus-stricken region. More specifically, he said the cargo—more than 23,000 protective masks—was taken by Polish customs officials. Mr. D’Amato’s accusations were immediately picked up by some of the biggest media outlets in Italy.

The story went viral. Internet users in Italy accused Poland of lacking empathy and breaking European solidarity. Social and traditional media blamed the scandal on the Polish government, which was condemned for dividing Europe and stealing from Italians in their hour of need.

But Poland’s Foreign Ministry firmly denies the accusations. The seizure of masks never took place. It’s hard to say why Mr. D’Amato came to believe that it did. There was no blocked transport of protective masks from Poland to Italy—that was fake news. In response, the Italian Embassy in Warsaw has since confirmed that “the delivery of the masks to Italy will soon carry on without major problems,” but hasn’t said whether the initial stories were true or false.