There were suspicious videos circulating in Taiwan, showing the country’s president seemingly promoting cryptocurrency investments. President Tsai Ing-wen was depicted in the videos making claims about the government’s involvement in developing investment software for digital currencies. However, the video was deemed to be a deepfake, likely created by Chinese agents, by Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau.
China has been spreading inaccuracies and conspiracy theories in Taiwan’s information ecosystem for years, aiming to undermine its democracy and create divisions. Now, with concerns over Beijing’s increased aggression, a new wave of disinformation is targeting Taiwan ahead of the crucial election in January.
Nevertheless, Taiwan has built resilience against foreign meddling and disinformation, which could serve as a model for other democracies. It has a mature community of fact-checkers, government investments, international media literacy partnerships, and a public sense of skepticism.
Despite this, sustaining these efforts is a challenge.
Taiwan has been a top target for disinformation from foreign governments, especially from China. Despite China’s efforts, it has struggled to significantly sway public opinion in Taiwan. In recent years, Taiwanese voters have elected a president from the Democratic Progressive Party, which is seen as an obstacle to the Communist Party’s goal of unification.
Ms. Tsai has addressed her government’s efforts to combat Beijing’s disinformation campaign while also addressing criticism that her strategy stifles political speech. Many Taiwanese have developed internal “warning bells” for suspicious narratives. Various groups in Taiwan are working to promote information literacy and combat disinformation.
However, fact-checking in Taiwan remains complex, with false claims and manipulated information continuing to pose challenges. China’s disinformation work has had measurable effects on Taiwanese society, contributing to political and social polarization.
China’s disinformation strategy has evolved to adopt more subtle and organic approaches, relying on content farms, bots, and social media users to spread false narratives. The Taiwanese government has labeled this as “cognitive warfare” and has made several attempts at crackdowns and regulations to counter disinformation.
Efforts to increase media literacy include nationwide campaigns and competitions aimed at promoting critical thinking and fact-checking among Taiwanese citizens, especially the youth.
