Poland’s Media War: Does Restoring the Rule of Law Justify Bending It? ⋆ Visegrad Insight

Tusk’s renewed control of TVP Info is celebrated as a victory for democratic forces, but the methods used spark debate

4 December 2024

Marcin Król Fellow

Has Poland’s new government done enough to rebuild trust in its public broadcaster after years of propaganda under the previous administration? Though the Tusk government’s seizure of TVP INFO has been celebrated as a victory for democratic forces, the methods used have sparked debate about how to restore the rule of law – and keep it.

On 20 December 2023, European media witnessed a historic moment. After eight years of Law and Justice (PiS) dominance, Poland’s new coalition government had moved swiftly to restore impartiality to public media.

Yet, on TVP Info, the news channel of Polish public television, PiS propaganda continued unabated. The usual glowing red news crawlers were replaced by sombre black, mirroring the emotional state of PiS supporters.

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Bartosz Wieliński

Marcin Król Fellow

Bartosz Wieliński is a Marcin Król Fellow 2024 at Visegrad Insight. He joined the editorial staff of Gazeta Wyborcza in 1998 as an almost 20-year-old intern. In 2005 he became a Wyborcza’s correspondent in Germany and in 2019 was promoted to its deputy editor-in-chief. He most enjoys covering Germany, especially its history. He has published two books: “Bad Germans” and “Hitler’s War of the Doctors.” Studied political science and Journalism at the University of Silesia and at the International School of Political Science in Katowice. He also graduated from postgraduate studies in diplomacy at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow.