AI-generated TikTok videos promoted Polish EU exit, prompting EU investigation
AI-generated videos on TikTok promoted Poland's exit from the European Union in late December, reportedly as a test campaign ahead of 2027 elections. Polish authorities reported the content to the European Commission, which launched an investigation into TikTok's compliance with content moderation rules.
What happened
Videos of young women in patriotic dress delivering far-right messages and calling on Poland to leave the EU surfaced and gained traction on TikTok in late December. Poland's State Secretary for Digital Affairs Dariusz Standerski said he believed the videos were AI-generated and constituted "tests for the narratives before the election" scheduled for 2027.
The Polish government has not established who was behind the campaign, though Standerski suggested foreign actors with interest in dividing Polish society. The government filed a complaint with the European Commission on December 29, prompting the EU executive to examine TikTok's compliance with the Digital Services Act.
Reported impact
A December survey found that support for a Polish exit from the EU, while still relatively low, has shifted from the far right toward the center right. Disinformation campaigns of this type are typically designed to divide societies and increase political tensions, according to security experts quoted by the Polish official.
Index analysis
Poland's junior digital minister characterized the videos as a deliberate campaign to test which narratives and content would spread most easily, in preparation for influencing the 2027 parliamentary election. He stated that foreign actors, potentially from the "far east," may have orchestrated the campaign, but acknowledged it was too soon to say definitively.
Governance controls
TikTok said it was "in contact with Polish authorities and the European Commission" and had removed content violating platform rules. Standerski said the company had been "very cooperative" and quickly removed the content, but requested that the Commission investigate how the videos came to be on the platform.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.