Russian disinformation and propaganda are a serious and ongoing threat to the borders of Poland but also of other countries, he says in an interview with KosovaPress Jakub Sliz, founder of the Polish organization for fact-checking and media education (Pravda).

Both Kosovo and Poland are among the countries most exposed to Russian and Serbian disinformation. Poland, due to its geographical proximity to Russia and its strong support for Ukraine, is a constant target of Russian propaganda. On the other hand, Kosovo, due to tensions with Serbia, is constantly the target of disinformation campaigns aimed at damaging the country in the international arena.

Polish expert says Kosovo and Poland can cooperate in combating Russian-Serbian propaganda.

Russia Today, Telegram, but also the WhatsApp application, according to Sliz, are used by Russia to spread fake news.

For Poland, Jakub Sliz says that Russian disinformation continues to pose a threat despite the techniques they use to combat it.

"The biggest problem is that we are under constant pressure from Russian disinformation. But on the other hand, because of the fact that we are constantly under attack, and because of historical reasons, that we have been under occupation, we have somehow gotten used to it and we understand how to deal with Russian disinformation, so I think in our society we have a defense mechanism, our grandparents, our parents lived under communism, so they understand what Russian propaganda and disinformation is. So, on the one hand, yes, on the other hand, there is this constant threat on our borders," he says.

That Russia takes every opportunity to spread propaganda, the Polish expert on fact-checking says, is evidenced on many websites.

"If we talk about the situation with Russia, of course, we Poles, speaking in the framework of the most general policy, support Ukraine, so there is a barrier between us and Russia. We feel outside the approaches, soft influence and threats from cybersecurity. This is how we see interaction with Russia. If we talk about diplomacy, of course, because of the war we have cut all ties. But in the information sphere, we see a lot of processes, we see a lot of news sites that promote and push propaganda, although there is a lot of balance, for example in 'Russia Today'. We see a lot of content that is pushed through Telegram, through WhatsApp channels, and we see this very clearly," says Sliz.

“There are many similar challenges, the techniques are different because in the Balkans you consume media in a different way than in Poland. We, for example, are becoming a little more oriented towards social media. I know that traditional media is still a very big thing in Kosovo. There is a different diet, but at the end of the day, the food that goes into certain dishes is the same. There is not that much difference from my point of view,” he says.

Most recently, Serbia has been accused of interfering in the last parliamentary elections in Kosovo, held on February 9. In a press conference, acting Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that “there is evidence that Serbia directly interfered in the February 9 elections.”

Manipulative content Russian media outlets also spread disinformation about the elections in Kosovo. RT Balkans and Sputnik Serbia published a wealth of disinformation during the pre-election campaign in Kosovo, from January 11 to February 9.