Disinformation is a manipulation tool that consists of deliberate and planned dissemination of false or highly misleading content. Unlike simple mistake (misinformation), disinformation is a strategic action, often coordinated by hostile state centers within disinformation and hybrid warfare. Its mechanism is based on a simple biological fact: our brain in a threat situation reacts emotionally, not logically.

Authors of these activities construct messages in such a way as to evoke extreme emotions such as fear, anger, or a sense of injustice. This content gives appearances of authenticity, often impersonating well-known editorial offices, medical authorities, or popular people online, which makes recipients eager to share it without checking credibility. It is precisely emotions that are the enemy's ammunition – the more a given message terrifies or infuriates you, the more likely you are to pass it on, becoming an unconscious link in a hostile psychological operation.

Hostile information activities aim to strike at the foundations of state resilience, which are citizens' trust in each other and in administration structures. Disinformation pursues three main goals:

Main Goals of Disinformation

To avoid being a victim of manipulation, you must implement rigorous information hygiene rules in your life. The most effective of them is the principle of three independent and reliable sources of information. Before you consider a message true and take any actions based on it (e.g., withdrawing all savings, which exposes your financial security), ask yourself the following questions:

In a crisis situation, when emotions take over, experts recommend using the STOP algorithm (Stop, Take a breath, Observe, Proceed). This tool builds your survival psychology and protects against wrong decisions:

Using this algorithm within the family makes all household members speak with 'one voice', which drastically increases peace and security.

In the case of a total blackout or internet cutoff by hostile cyberattacks, your most important window to the world will be a battery or crank radio. Terrestrial radio is extremely resistant to interference and allows you to receive official instructions even when the mobile network fails. Look for models with support for shortwave (SW) and longwave (LW), such as Polish Radio Program One (225 kHz), which has national coverage.

The second pillar is digital warning systems. RCB Alert and the RSO application are dedicated to providing specific safety instructions. If, however, you receive an RCB Alert that orders you to act in a way that seems irrational or causes enormous panic, always verify it in another source, as technically it is possible for an aggressor to take over GSM transmitters.

In situations where state information systems are overloaded, neighborly cooperation becomes your information shield. Knowing your neighbors allows for quick exchange of reliable information and identification of strangers who may be sowing disinformation in your area. A local support network can jointly verify rumors – if a neighbor who is a firefighter says that a given siren signal is only training, such information is worth more than a hundred comments on Facebook.

Also remember about physical protection of your data. All key documents and copies (title deeds, insurance, diplomas) should be digitized and stored on encrypted media (pendrive), and also distributed in different places, e.g., one at home and the second in your 72H evacuation backpack. In a world dominated by information warfare, hard data you have at hand is your final instance.

Surviving a crisis is not about having the most expensive knife, but about the ability to keep a cool head and filter arriving stimuli. Disinformation will try to force you to abandon your belongings and flee frantically along highways that will be blocked by services and the military anyway. It will tempt you to spend money on useless 'survival gadgets' under a momentary impulse.

Your Duties as a Conscious Citizen

The best vaccine against disinformation is preparation. If you know what a blackout looks like and have water and food supplies for this occasion, information that 'there will be no food in stores tomorrow' will not cause you panic. You will stay at home, safe with your family, waiting for reliable reports and planning next steps from a bird's eye view. In the hour of trial, you don't rise to the peak of your possibilities, but fall to the level of your training – so make sure that this training also includes the ability to think critically.