US right-wing broadcaster Newsmax launches service in Poland

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

A local version of Newsmax, the right-wing US broadcaster, has launched in Poland, initially as a news website but soon to be followed by a TV channel.

The station’s entry to Poland has drawn controversy, in particular over the involvement of a Serbian Newsmax affiliate that has reported links to a Russian state bank. However, Newsmax Polska has dismissed such concerns and insists its reporting will be “credible, calm and factual”.

The Newsmax Polska website launched on Monday, and has since been offering a series of news articles alongside statements from its corporate and editorial leadership. They include an interview with Christopher Ruddy, the founder, CEO and majority owner of Newsmax in the US.

Ruddy described the launch of the new Polish arm as “an important element of our expansion into international markets”. He said it would strive to provide readers with “media they can trust…that does not filter reality through a narrow, ideological prism”.

However, in the US, Newsmax is regarded as highly partisan, supporting right-wing politicians and causes, including the presidency of Donald Trump. “We have an editorial policy of being supportive of the president and his policies,” Ruddy told The New Yorker in 2020.

Newsmax has also been accused of spreading conspiracy theories, including Trump’s claims that voter fraud denied him victory in the 2020 presidential election. That led Newsmax to have to pay over $100 million to settle lawsuits by electronic voting system firms.

The executive producer of Newsmax Polska is Wojciech Surmacz, who previously served as head of the state-owned Polish Press Agency (PAP) between 2018 and 2023.

During that time, state media in Poland came under the influence of then-ruling national-conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party. A series of leaked emails, whose authenticity has not been confirmed, indicate that Surmacz was in close contact with the PiS government about the content and tone of PAP’s reporting.

In December 2023, when a new, more liberal government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk came to power and sought to purge PiS-era managers from state media, Surmacz was among those who, alongside PiS politicians, occupied their offices, refusing to accept the legality of their dismissals.

In an interview with Surmacz published on the new Newsmax Polska website, he said that they would “above all write the truth”, with a “focus on credible, calm and factual news”.

In an open letter published earlier this month, Surmacz confirmed that “our editorial team is ideologically closer to a conservative perspective”, but added that they would seek to be objective and avoid becoming “a political tool for any group”.

Reporting on the station’s new website so far does indeed appear to avoid overt partisanship. However, any clearer editorial line may only emerge once Newsmax Polska launches its TV service, which it aims to do in late May, according to Wirtualne Media.

PiS is currently Poland’s main opposition party, and it has been strongly supportive of Trump and his policies. The presidency is currently held by opposition-aligned Karol Nawrocki, who regularly clashes with the more liberal government and is a close ally of Trump.

During preparations for Newsmax Polska’s launch, further controversy was elicited by the fact that it is connected to the Serbia-based Newsmax Balkans.

Last month, Rzeczpospolita, a leading Polish newspaper, reported that Newsmax Polska is owned by an Amsterdam-registered company whose sole owner is Telekom Srbija, which in turn is majority owned by the Serbian state.

Rzeczpospolita also noted that Telekom Srbija had in 2019 signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Serbian branch of Russian state-owned Sberbank, which provided financing to Telekom Srbija. Serbia’s government also enjoys friendly relations with the Kremlin.

Citing those potential Russian connections, as well as the deteriorating situation for media freedom in Serbia, two MEPs from Poland’s centrist ruling Civic Coalition (KO) party earlier this month asked the European Commission if it would take action to prevent potential Russian interference in the media.

“We cannot allow entities linked to Russian capital or influence to have the ability to shape the media message in Poland,” wrote one of them, Łukasz Kohut.

However, in response to such concerns, Ruddy wrote on social media that “Newsmax is and has been the leading conservative media in America supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom! We would never support any media organisation that supports Russia’s aggression”.

Among the first articles published by Newsmax Polska was an interview with an expert from Poland’s Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW) in which he said that Russia “has not achieved any significant success [in Ukraine] and is increasingly falling into a spiral of actions that could lead to its defeat”.

Any research would show Newsmax is and has been the leading conservative media in America supporting Ukraine’s fight for freedom! We would never support any media organization that supports Russia’s aggression.

— Christopher Ruddy (@ChrisRuddyNMX) April 6, 2026

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Newsmax Polska (screenshot)

Daniel Tilles

Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.