Facebook, Line, Yahoo-Kimo (雅虎奇摩) and Google, as well as the Professional Technology Temple online academic bulleting board and the Taipei Computer Association, yesterday ramped up their efforts to combat misinformation ahead of the elections in January next year.
In a joint statement, the social media platforms said that they have voluntarily signed a self-discipline pledge to intensify efforts to crack down on fake accounts and to contain the spread of misinformation.
The announcement came as social media platforms and online companies have faced a backlash from lawmakers worldwide for what many have perceived as insufficient efforts to contain the spread of misinformation in election campaigns.
Photo: Liao Chien-ying, Taipei Times
Facebook has been allocating resources to technologies and personnel to detect false news and reduce online misinformation, company official Chen I-Ju (陳奕儒) said in the joint statement.
The company has been promoting news literacy among the public, Chen said.
Google said that it has arranged a series of activities over the past years to combat online misinformation, with the aim of increasing news literacy and promoting online security among the public, as well as boosting the company’s fact-checking efforts.
Yahoo-Kimo said that it has collected more than 2,200 high-quality articles from about 200 news outlets to provide diverse viewpoints, adding that it has worked with partners to improve fact-checking efforts.
A report released through V-Dem’s Digital Society Project found that Taiwan has been exposed to misleading viewpoints or misinformation disseminated by foreign governments and their agents more often than any other nation, Minister Without Portfolio Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said in the statement.
The government would work with the private sector to fight misinformation, Lo said.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US
‘FALLACY’: Xi’s assertions that Taiwan was given to the PRC after WWII confused right and wrong, and were contrary to the facts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday called Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) claim that China historically has sovereignty over Taiwan “deceptive” and “contrary to the facts.” In an article published on Wednesday in the Russian state-run Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Xi said that this year not only marks 80 years since the end of World War II and the founding of the UN, but also “Taiwan’s restoration to China.” “A series of instruments with legal effect under international law, including the Cairo Declaration and the Potsdam Declaration have affirmed China’s sovereignty over Taiwan,” Xi wrote. “The historical and legal fact” of these documents, as well
RSS