Disinformation campaign against Taiwan constitutes biggest threat

Taipei, Taiwan – Taiwan has been subject to a systematic disinformation campaign as this campaign poses an “existential” threat to Taiwan, according to Zsuzsa Ferenczy, Taiwan-based EU foreign policy expert.

Laura Kao, who works for the government in Taipei, said the disinformation campaign is a “virus,” adding that raising the awareness of people is key to tackling this issue.

She said people would double-check and restrain from sending the information to others, hence, stopping the spread of false information.

The huge issue has led to the establishment of several fact-checking organizations, including FactCheck Center (TFC), which is supported by Google as part of an initiative to stem the spread of disinformation.

According to Kao, organizations such as the TFC aim to enhance people’s media and digital literacies.

“Our programs cover all age groups. We work with ECPAT Taiwan to train teachers to help young people think critically when exposed to information. We also cooperate with the TFC and community colleges to create classes for adults to enhance their awareness about the internet,” Kao added.

Journalist Summer Chen said Taiwan plays a very important role in the battle against disinformation as it houses many Mandarin-speaking fact-checking organizations.

For Ferenczy, disinformation coming from China is just one tool that Beijing has used to undermine Taiwan’s existence.

Journalist William Yang said that different democratic institutions should collaborate to help nonprofit organizations, such as the TFC, to try to help them expand their reach out through educational programs, whether financial or technologically.

Yang also added that most disinformation campaigns target the upcoming elections or certain organizations with political parties.