Prawo i Sprawiedliwość (PiS – Law and Justice)

EU RANK: 175 (Tier 5: High Risk)

PiS is a national‑conservative, socially conservative and sovereigntist party with Eurosceptic tendencies and a strong right‑wing populist profile. It won 35.4% and 194 seats in the 2023 Sejm election, becoming the largest single list but losing power when KO, Trzecia Droga and Lewica formed a coalition; since December 2023 PiS has been the main opposition, while its candidate Karol Nawrocki captured the presidency in 2025, creating a powerful veto centre against the Tusk government.​

Disinformation and alternative media

From 2015 to 2023, independent monitoring and a later government commission concluded that public broadcasters TVP and Polskie Radio were systematically used to promote PiS narratives and smear political opponents, NGOs and minorities, blurring the line between public information and partisan propaganda. The party and its allies also benefited from a wider right‑leaning media ecosystem, including pro‑government weeklies and, more recently, TV Republika, which surged in audience after 2023 by attracting viewers dissatisfied with the restructured TVP. Investigations into the Pegasus spyware scandal documented how illegally obtained data from opposition figures were fed into PiS‑aligned media during the 2019 campaign, tying surveillance abuses directly to mediated messaging. Disinformation and alternative‑media DMI risk is high.

Foreign influence and external alignments

PiS is formally pro‑NATO but often clashes with EU institutions, framing sovereignty against Brussels on issues such as judicial reforms, migration and climate policy. The party receives very large state subventions, about 23.5–25.9 million zloty per year in recent terms, while 2023 filings show relatively modest private donations (around 1.37 million zloty), plus 2.69 million zloty in membership dues and a 15‑million‑zloty bank loan. In 2024 the National Electoral Commission temporarily froze parts of PiS’s public funding over alleged misuse of state cash; the Supreme Court later reinstated 10.8 million zloty, but the episode exposed weaknesses in enforcement and transparency. Although there is no court‑proven hostile‑state funding case, the combination of heavy reliance on public money, sanctions for irregular spending and confrontational external alignments yields a moderate foreign‑influence risk with significant governance concerns. Foreign‑influence and external‑alignment DMI risk is moderate.

Media capture, advertising and public service media

Analyses of 2015–2023 describe PiS as constructing a “full‑spectrum” media‑influence model: politicised control of TVP and Polskie Radio, pressure on private broadcaster TVN via licence delays and the attempted “Lex TVN” law, and strategic use of state‑owned‑enterprise advertising and ownership (notably Orlen’s purchase of Polska Press) to reward friendly outlets and squeeze critical ones. State‑owned companies dramatically increased advertising in pro‑government media, while Orlen’s acquisition of the largest regional newspaper group led to editor changes and editorial line shifts favouring PiS, now under legal and regulatory review. Even after losing government, PiS retains influence through PiS‑leaning outlets such as TV Republika and through political resistance to the KO‑led restructuring of TVP, keeping a polarised dual media ecosystem in place. Media‑capture, advertising and PSB‑control DMI risk is very high.

Corruption, litigation and institutional integrity

PiS is at the centre of several major legal scandals. EU and domestic courts have repeatedly ruled against its judiciary overhaul, including the CJEU’s suspension and 2021 invalidation of the Supreme Court Disciplinary Chamber and 2025 findings that judgments by chambers staffed with unlawfully appointed judges are null and void. The Pegasus spyware investigations revealed illegal surveillance of at least 578 individuals—including opposition politicians, lawyers, prosecutors and journalists—by agencies overseen by PiS ally Zbigniew Ziobro, with evidence that data fed into partisan campaigns. The Justice Fund scandal suggests tens of millions of euros were diverted from a victims‑of‑crime fund under Ziobro’s ministry toward politically connected NGOs, purchases and potentially Pegasus procurement, with prosecutors seeking organised‑crime charges and lifting Ziobro’s immunity. Further probes into Orlen’s fuel pricing, its Swiss trading arm and the Polska Press acquisition, along with the “cash‑for‑visas” affair and VIP‑flight misuse, reinforce the picture of systemic abuse of state resources for political ends. Corruption and institutional‑integrity DMI risk is very high.​

Press freedom, harassment and treatment of media

Under PiS rule, state broadcasters and aligned outlets frequently attacked journalists, opposition figures and NGOs, while regulatory bodies such as KRRiT targeted independent TVN with licence delays and fines, drawing repeated international concern. The Pegasus scandal and Justice Fund investigations demonstrate how surveillance powers and public money were weaponised against political opponents and critical media, with lasting chilling effects on press freedom. Even in opposition, PiS continues to defend its media legacy and denounce the KO‑led reset of TVP as illegitimate, contributing to a highly polarised environment in which threats and smear campaigns against journalists remain a serious problem, particularly in outlets still sympathetic to the party. Press‑freedom and harassment‑of‑media DMI risk is very high.

Dimension	Risk level	Short justification
Disinformation & alternative media	High	Systematic partisan use of TVP and allied outlets, plus exploitation of Pegasus‑sourced leaks in PiS‑aligned media, created a powerful propaganda ecosystem.
Foreign influence & external alignments	Moderate	Sovereigntist, EU‑confrontational stance; very high state funding with documented misuse and temporary subsidy freeze, but no proven hostile‑state financing.
Media capture & advertising / PSB control	Very high	Built a full‑spectrum model combining public‑media control, regulator pressure on TVN and SOE advertising/ownership tools like Orlen–Polska Press.
Corruption & institutional integrity risk	Very high	At the core of Pegasus, Justice Fund, Orlen and visa scandals, plus EU court defeats over judicial capture, indicating systemic abuse of state power.​
Press freedom & harassment of media	Very high	Weaponised public media and surveillance against critics; regulator and SOE strategies undermined independent outlets and chilled journalistic freedom.