Authors

Discussion

The article explores how the image of Ukraine is constructed in Polish borderland media — particularly in the Podkarpacki region — and across social media platforms during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The study combines discourse analysis of regional online media with content analysis of Polish segments of Facebook, TikTok, and X (Twitter) from 2022 to 2024.

Its aim is to trace how key notions such as “Ukrainian refugees,” “European solidarity,” “war,” and “shared security” are represented and contested in both traditional and digital communication spaces.

Based on 20 semi-structured interviews with journalists, activists, and social media users from Rzeszów and Przemyśl, the findings reveal that local media generally sustain a humanitarian and pro-European image of Ukraine, whereas social networks display a more polarized discourse — mixing solidarity, emotional fatigue, and elements of disinformation.

The paper concludes that the Polish borderland information sphere functions as a zone where memory, politics, and propaganda intersect, and where the image of Ukraine becomes a marker of emerging European identity and a test of democratic resilience.