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.
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
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