FRAGMENT #2524: Ministry of Digitalization and NASK vs conspiracy theories - 400 YT views in a month

On my blog, I analyze the mechanisms of disinformation and conspiracy theories. Today’s signal about how not to fight this problem - especially when NASK, the main campaign executor, just got hammered by OSCE for “delayed and ineffective” response to electoral disinformation.

Poland’s Ministry of Digitalization launched the “Recipe for Disinformation” campaign - a series of eight educational films about mechanisms of information manipulation online, broadcast until June 5 on main Polish Television channels. The third episode “Spicy conspiracy theories” hit YouTube on May 14, 2025.

A pinch of truth, a doctored photo, all seasoned with fear - this is the simplest “recipe for disinformation.” Under this very title, the Ministry of Digitalization launched a new educational campaign to counter disinformation. It consists of a series of educational films that explain in an accessible way the mechanisms and effects of information manipulation online. Ministry of Digitalization, A pinch of truth

The result? After a month: a pinch of 400 views. Less than an average cat video gets on TikTok in a minute.

For comparison: the first episode “Appetizing set” about photographic manipulation has 408 views, the second “Climate salad” about climate disinformation - 239 views. All from the same publication date - May 14, 2025.

What’s in the film about Conspiracy Theories?

The film explains the “recipe” for a conspiracy theory: a handful of facts + a large portion of sensation + a pinch of mystery. It addresses the psychology of patterns (why we look for connections where there are none), mechanisms of conspiracy attractiveness (the feeling of being “initiated”) and emotional manipulation.

The content is decent. Authors: NASK experts, university representatives (Prof. Dariusz Jemielniak), media experts. Minister Gawkowski: “There’s no better tool for fighting disinformation than an aware society.” The level of banalities went off the scale, but since the action needed to be checked off, as is typical in bureaucracy, mission accomplished, time to go home.

NASK under OSCE fire

The timing couldn’t have been worse for the action and its execution. OSCE just criticized NASK for “delayed and ineffective” response to election ads financed from abroad, lack of transparency and “risk of undermining trust in the democratic process.” The institution is hiding a key report on electoral interference, citing internal security clauses.

This is the same organization that now teaches about fighting disinformation.

Problem: zero promotion, zero moderation

The comments section? Classic. @Psychosomasis quotes Orwell and suggests the campaign is a tool for information control. @emmbowe5948 attacks the president of “Democracy Action.” @mvv_cine mocks TVP as a disinformation specialist. Someone who stumbles upon this film by pure chance will fall into a rabbit hole of misleading comments…

Ministry? Silence. Mission accomplished, everyone can go home.

No moderation, no responses to accusations or questions. A film about conspiracy theories left at the mercy of conspiracy theory creators in the comments. This isn’t Kafka and Orwell’s ‘84, this is Poland ‘25. The campaign creators probably have no idea how the Internet works and the cognitive biases that fuel conspiracy theories. The entire action turns into a parody.

My comparison: An average material promoting conspiracy theories gets 400 views in the first hour then snowballs with geometric growth. A government educational film needs a month for this and there’s no sign of even arithmetic growth potential.

The entire “Recipe for Disinformation” series is a reach disaster: all episodes published on the same day, all with similarly pathetic statistics. This isn’t coincidence - it’s systemic failure of digital communication. Do the people dealing with these matters have any clue about internet marketing, social media, new formats, promotion, or do they sit in their echo chamber without sticking their nose outside the little room where they work?

Film “Spicy conspiracy theories”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOGnz5-bnD8
Complete “Recipe for Disinformation” series: Ministry of Digitalization channel on YouTube

• NASK
• Ministry of Digitalization
• Conspiracy Theories
• Disinformation
• OSCE
• Educational Campaign
• YouTube