Disinformation Becomes a Boardroom Risk in Poland as AI Speeds Up Attacks on Companies

Disinformation is increasingly being treated by companies not as a reputational nuisance, but as a measurable business risk that can affect valuation, investor sentiment and day-to-day operations.

Polish executives say the threat is growing faster than many organizations’ ability to detect and respond.

The shift is being highlighted ahead of discussions at the European Economic Congress in Katowice, where a new report by IBRiS and PTWP is expected to map how firms in Poland perceive and manage the problem.

The findings are set to feed into a broader debate on corporate resilience in a more hostile information environment.

AI changes speed, scale and credibility

What has changed most is the cost and ease of running disinformation campaigns, which has fallen sharply as tools become more widely available.

Analysts note that tactics once associated mainly with state actors are now increasingly used against individual organizations.

Generative AI is a key accelerant, making fabricated images, audio and video harder to distinguish from authentic material and easier to tailor to specific audiences. Industry leaders argue that, in practice, countering AI-generated misinformation increasingly requires AI-assisted verification and monitoring.

Different sectors, similar flashpoints

While the mechanics are often similar, the impact varies by sector, with food and consumer brands facing emotionally charged narratives built around selective data and pseudo-expert claims.

Companies warn that such messages can quickly spread across social platforms and undermine trust in products and entire industries.

Healthcare organizations flag an additional dimension: patient safety, where false claims can influence treatment decisions and add pressure on medical teams. In energy and other strategic sectors, disinformation can spill into national security concerns by targeting new technologies and critical infrastructure investments.

Financial impact and market sensitivity

Executives and consultants increasingly link disinformation to tangible financial consequences, including abrupt drops in market value, weaker negotiating positions and disrupted partner relations.

They also warn the dynamic can work both ways, with overly positive false narratives potentially inflating expectations and distorting valuations.

Advisers say risk intensifies around market-moving events such as mergers, acquisitions and stock market debuts, when uncertainty is already high and narratives spread quickly. In those moments, even a short-lived false claim can trigger a chain reaction among consumers, investors and regulators.

From firefighting to early warning

Despite rising awareness, many organizations still respond only once a story escapes a single channel and becomes broadly visible. The delay is often less about drafting a statement than about internal decision-making, which can slow action in the earliest and most decisive minutes.

As a result, companies are beginning to invest in continuous monitoring and procedures designed to identify high-risk narratives before they go mainstream. The direction of travel is toward early-warning systems that prioritize speed, verification and coordination rather than ad hoc crisis management.

Building resilience beyond one company

Business leaders argue that major disinformation incidents can exceed what a single firm can manage, particularly when campaigns are cross-border or coordinated. They point to the need for cooperation across business, public institutions and civil society to raise the overall cost of manipulation.

At the same time, education remains central, both inside organizations and in the wider public, because audiences ultimately determine what spreads. The emerging consensus is that real resilience requires a mix of technology, trained teams, clear governance and stronger collaboration across sectors.