Mateusz Morawiecki of Law and Justice published a recording on social media devoted to ceramics from Bolesławiec. The politician showed one of the ceramic products and encouraged his audience to support Polish manufacturers.
– Look. Do you know what this is? It is Polish ceramics from Bolesławiec. Handicraft that has been a symbol of quality, tradition and Polish work for generations. It reaches Europe, America and Asia and truly delights the whole world – said Mateusz Morawiecki.
The former prime minister then stated that the history of Bolesławiec ceramics is currently losing out to “an influx of cheap counterfeits from China.”
– That is why I appeal to you: let us support our companies and choose Polish manufacturers. Every Polish product means money that stays in the country and strengthens our economy. I am about to order something again, and I encourage you to do the same – the politician said.
A “Chinese Bolesławiec” appeared in the recording
Morawiecki’s video also showed a screenshot of an article titled “China Stole Bolesławiec from Poland.” This refers to a story that has been circulating for some time, according to which a locality named Bolesławiec was supposedly established in China. This would allegedly allow local manufacturers to label their products as originating from Bolesławiec.
The problem is that no credible documents, photographs, maps or other materials confirming the existence of such a locality have been presented. Sinologist Weronika Truszczyńska pointed out that Chinese place names are written using Chinese characters, and that searching for the Chinese transcription of the name Bolesławiec leads on local maps only to the city in Poland.
The story about creating a second Bolesławiec in China therefore remains an unconfirmed internet tale. This does not mean that copying designs, counterfeiting products or infringing the rights of Polish companies is not a problem. Such cases are real, but Chinese manufacturers do not need to establish a locality called Bolesławiec to do so.
The politician repeated an unverified story
It appears that Mateusz Morawiecki was persuaded by a popular media story and did not check it before publishing the recording. In the material, he provided neither the source of the information nor evidence that the locality referred to as “Chinese Bolesławiec” exists.
The appeal to support Polish manufacturers is nevertheless justified. Bolesławiec ceramics are one of the region’s best-known products, and buying items made at local factories does indeed support Polish companies, workers and the local economy.
It is therefore worth buying authentic ceramics from manufacturers in Bolesławiec and the surrounding area. However, there is no need to justify this with a story about a Chinese city whose existence no one has reliably documented so far.
This is how media fakes are created
The “Chinese Bolesławiec” story also illustrates a broader problem affecting modern media. One portal publishes sensational information, other editorial teams repeat it, and politicians, commentators and social media users then begin citing the earlier publications. The number of articles grows, but they may all be based on the same story, one that has never been verified.
This creates the impression that the information has been confirmed by many independent sources. In reality, successive services often copy the same account from one another without checking documents, maps or primary sources. After several years, a false or at least unconfirmed story begins to function as a commonly known fact. The “Chinese Bolesławiec” case is a good example of this mechanism.