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The body of the article goes on to disclose the problem of the impact of digital technologies and media on democracy, its grounds and values. The author addresses the problem of the broad using of cutting-edge technology in Poland by those in power, serving their goals and posing a clear threat to democratic outcomes, in particular during the election campaigns. Furthermore, the author states that through advanced technological capacity and the use of highly targeted behavior modification techniques, different governmental institutions have been applying new and more-sophisticated forms of propaganda and disinformation enabling deepfakes, trolls, bots – artificial intelligence technology and other malicious software so that to refine and shape public opinion with an easy reach and power. In this context, the findings of the research, conducted in Poland and the EU, on the threats of hostile social manipulation and disinformation in the information space are significant, whereas the poll results testify to the Poles' concerns about who is supposed to be in control of efficient debunking 'fake news' as well as their aspirations to be internet-literate in terms of deepfakes. The author concludes by arguing that well-informed societies are more resistant to being encroached and manipulated, and a quick and effective joint reply to potential threats requires strategic mass communication. The researcher emphasizes that recently in Poland Mass Communication have launched fact-checking services, in particular several Polish fact-checking projects set up designing websites that provide fact-checking. Regrettably, so far none of the Polish platforms has been involved in closer international cooperation in the framework of the European initiatives. Several landmark studies observed that Poland has also failed to create a common front in countering disinformation even during the elections. Each organization works according to its own vision of solving the problem. However, in recent years in Poland there has been a tendency of developing the government agencies' capacity to strengthen their response to the threats of disinformation and manipulation: namely, the state key institutions for cyber security successfully implemented their cooperation and coordination initiatives.

This research constitutes a relatively new area that has emerged from dealing with the spread of online disinformation and misinformation to ensure the protection of European values and democracy. The spread of both disinformation and misinformation may have a variety of consequences, such as threatening EU security and environment at risk. The author attempts to delve into approaches to identifying and understanding of the complex problem of as a multifaceted and intricate issue. Recent theoretical developments have revealed that purposeful disinformation poses a threat of undermining both the European countries' information security and basic norms and democratic values, on which the institutional legitimacy and political stability of the European Union depend. A challenging problem, which arises in this domain, is the necessity to provide an objective and evidence-based understanding of the content, scale, scope, nature of the existing issue as well as to develop possible strategy to tackle it, taking into account that the problem of disinformation is deeply intertwined with the digital ecosystem and constantly innovated technologies. It should be articulated that disinformation campaigns are intensified by new technologies, such as social media. Social media is an effective way of spreading disinformation on a rapid and global basis, which in recent years has been actively used by public actors to influence both their own citizens and the global audience. Social media once proclaimed as a force for freedom and democracy, is now at the centre of research for its role in increasing disinformation, inciting violence, and declining trust in the media and democratic institutions. The researcher emphasizes that the problem that makes it difficult to study the phenomenon of 'disinformation' is the presence of numerical terminology that denotes false information, including fakes, misinformation, propaganda, information manipulation, information disorder, hybrid warfare. The inconsistency of definitions indicates a lack of consensus among key stakeholders on the scope of understanding the issue. Clarity of goals and terminology are required to develop strategies and mechanisms to counter misinformation.

The article gives an in-depth analysis of the modern Poland government policy in taking on public media and the European Union stance regarding these reforms.
The author argues that Poland public media have been the subject of political disputes since the 90s of the last century. Noteworthy, in October 2015 the newly elected Polish government, namely, the ruling Law and Justice party (known by its Polish initials as PiS) announced its public media to radically reform. To be more precise, the government aimed at replacing the current public media with a national broadcaster that would promote national interests under closer government control.
According to PiS elite, Polish public media is presently supervised by the National Media Council, an organization that consists of members elected by the president and the Lower House of the Polish parliament. This means that Poland's public media is under direct control of the government. The reform of the public media has been part of PiS plans to re-orientate Polish society towards traditional values since the party came back to power. What is more, the heads of the ruling Law and Justice party consider that the present-day public media are the tools of propaganda of the ruling in 2007-2015 and currently the oppositional liberal party – the Civic Platform.
The researcher notes that the Polish government launched a new parliamentary initiative as a result of legislative changes, and eventually, the government has returned to the state-known media-dependent government-owned model in the past. Furthermore, from the point of view of a democratic state, law and its main provisions, this reform stipulates the authorities and the mass media symbiosis. However, public media should guarantee freedom of speech, information and creative independence and the separation of public media from politics. Remarkably, in a country, where public media used to be a tool of the communist dictatorship until 1989, media and constitutional reforms pose threats to civil liberties.
According to NGO 'Freedom House' research, freedom of the press suffers from oppression by the authorities, the government's intolerance to independent or unbiased journalism, political influence on the media and restrictions on freedom of expression regarding Polish history and consciousness. Interestingly according to the latest studies done in 2017, Poland public media have become partially free for the first time since 1990.
To conclude, in December 20, 2017 the European Parliament adopted the resolution, backing the European Commission decision, to initiate the sanctions imposition on Poland over judicial reform. Consequently, the European Commission triggered a procedure against undermining and shrinking of democracy, violation of human rights, freedom of speech, as well as pluralism and the formation of a dependent judicial system in Poland.
Keywords: Republic of Poland, public media, freedom of the press, EU sanctions

The paper attempts to outline the Polish National Broadcasting Council's establishing and evaluating its activities. The author observes that after 1989, one of the most essential achievements of the Polish media market was the creation of the National Broadcasting Council (Krajowa Rada Radiofonii i Telewizji KRRiT), that laid the foundations for a new media landscape in Poland. In a broader perspective, despite being criticized, the National Broadcasting Council is to meet high expectations for the electronic media regulation, its impact on state policy in implementing cultural and educational tasks by the Polish community broadcasters. Concurrently, making mistakes and handling criticism was partly caused by the Council politicization bias, a large executive subordination that doesn't comply both with the Law "On Television and Radio Broadcasting" and European practice. Notable, the success of community broadcasters, who value interaction with viewers and listeners, should be a model for audiovisual sector to emulate.
Keywords: Mass Media, the National Broadcasting Council, Advisory Council, audiovisual sector