Hardly any other phenomenon has influenced the world in recent years as much as social media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Co. are platforms on which we inform ourselves, exchange opinions and discuss. But they are also places where fake news and disinformation flourish - with far-reaching consequences. A recent example is a photomontage featuring Yevgeny Prigozhin that purports to be a Polish Army recruitment poster.
| Claims | Fact check |
|---|---|
| The Polish army has launched a recruitment campaign using the image of Yevgeny Prigozhin. | Incorrect . It was confirmed that the poster circulating on social media was a photomontage and not an official campaign by the Polish Army. |
| The photomontage was an official poster from the Polish Ministry of Defense. | Incorrect . The Polish Ministry of Defense confirmed that the poster was not real and condemned the use of its logo as illegal. |
| The original image on which the photomontage was based could not be found. | Incorrect . After detailed investigation, the original photo was identified as an advertisement for a bank at a bus stop in Kraków. |
| The photomontage was mainly distributed in Poland. | Incorrect . The photomontage was distributed in various languages and seen and shared in many countries. |
The Polish Army's fake recruitment call with Yevgeny Prigozhin
In the summer of 2023, a photomontage purportedly showing a poster of the Polish army spread on social networks. The supposed recruitment poster gave the impression that the Polish Ministry of Defense was using the face of the Russian Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner troupe, to incite fear and lure the Polish population into the army.

The origin of photomontage
The fake photomontage, which circulated on Twitter and Facebook, showed a photo of Prigozhin with a red line drawn across it and surrounded by a burning landscape. A small Polish flag and the logo of the Polish Ministry of Defense could be seen, as well as the slogan “Poland – the shield of Europe” and the call for “Voluntary military service. Let’s protect Europe from the crazy Russians.”
The spread of photomontage
The photomontage quickly spread across social networks in various languages and was seen and shared by thousands of people. In addition to the Polish original, there were translations into Russian, Slovak, Spanish, French, English and Turkish.
The debunking of the hoax
However, the picture quickly turned out to be a fake. The French news agency AFP was able to identify the original photo: it was an advertisement for a bank at a bus stop in Krakow. The Polish Ministry of Defense, the Kraków transport company and the relevant advertising agency confirmed that such a poster does not exist.
The search for the original
The search for the original image on which the photomontage is based was initially unsuccessful. Various inverse image search techniques could not provide a suitable image. , a public statement from the Polish Army's regional recruiting centers and a fact check by Polish fact-checking website Konkret24 refuted the fake poster's claims.
The identification of the bus stop
Close analysis of the image eventually led to the identification of the bus stop in Kraków where the original photo must have been taken. Comparisons with other bus stops and a close examination of the tram lines shown in the picture confirmed the assumption.
Here is the original image

The reaction of the Polish authorities
The Polish Ministry of Defense condemned the use of its logo in the photomontage as illegal and described the hoax as another example of disinformation on social networks. The head of the Central Recruitment Center in Poland also warned against the photomontage and called for people not to spread “fake news”.

Conclusion
The Polish army did not use the face of Wagner's troop commander Yevgeny Prigozhin in a recruitment campaign to spread fear and recruit more soldiers. The poster distributed is a photomontage. Although the fake was exposed, the image was able to spread widely on social networks. This shows once again how vulnerable these platforms are to disinformation and manipulation and how important careful verification of information is in today's digital world.
Also read: Fact check: Is “Because of bees and flowers!” a compulsory textbook in German schools?
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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

