Szustkowski, a Polish entrepreneur, urges stronger safeguards against disinformation, citing years of damaging false media claims

(NEWS) WARSAW, 27-Aug-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Polish entrepreneur and philanthropist Robert Szustkowski has appealed directly to Prime Minister Donald Tusk, warning that an unchecked campaign of disinformation and hate speech has endangered his safety, destroyed his reputation, and forced him to retreat from public life, according to a press release published on EuropaWire yesterday. He says more than 7,600 negative articles and mentions since 2016 have falsely tied him to Russian intelligence, organized crime, and political scandals—claims he stresses have never been backed by investigations or court findings.

Despite multiple court rulings affirming his personal rights were violated, Szustkowski argues that defamatory narratives continue to circulate, amplified by media repetition.

He is now pushing for systemic protections at the European level, including the creation of a Reader’s Rights Ombudsman and an EU-wide register of personal rights violations to hold media accountable for misinformation.

Szustkowski frames his call as a defense of free speech, not an attack on it, stressing that freedom of expression should not grant impunity for spreading falsehoods. His warning highlights a broader concern about how reputational attacks, if left unchecked, can erode trust in media, undermine democratic safeguards, and place individuals and families at real risk—making the debate over media accountability and disinformation one with implications far beyond his own case.

He recently sent an open letter to the European Commission, specifically Executive Vice-President Vera Jourova and Commissioner Didier Reynders. ​ It advocates for the extension of the European Union’s “Right to be Forgotten” law to include news media outlets as data controllers. ​ The letter highlights the need for increased protection of individuals’ reputation and image rights, particularly against defamatory and misleading media practices. 

Szustkowski ‘s official press release on the growing issue, which he sent out to the media via EuropaWire, can be read in full at the following link.