China is conducting disinformation campaigns that involve more than 400 fake accounts targeting Taiwanese on social media, the Investigation Bureau said on Friday.
China is trying to infiltrate social media, Internet forums and online chatrooms that are popular among Taiwanese to subvert the public’s trust in the government, destabilize society and meddle in elections, the bureau said.
Since it started tracing fake accounts and disinformation to Chinese content farms in April last year, the Information and Communication Security Division investigated 2,773 such cases, the bureau said.
Photo: REUTERS
It has forwarded 174 cases to prosecutors, who have listed 234 people as suspects, the bureau added.
An official involved in the investigations said that China had planted 20 accounts on CK101.com (卡提諾論壇), a popular forum among Taiwanese, using mobile phone numbers registered outside Taiwan and e-mail addresses with foreign providers.
“These accounts are specializing in posting fake news and disinformation to undermine the COVID-19 measures implemented by Taiwan’s health authorities, create confusion and circulate politically charged messages to generate disputes and conflicts,” said the official, who declined to be named. “These are clearly products of China’s content farms.”
The bureau also uncovered that Chinese accounts had altered posts on the People’s Technology Temple (PTT) — Taiwan’s most popular online bulletin board system.
Such posts were additionally disseminated through Facebook and Chinese microblogging sites, the official said.
“This is the first level of their cyberattack operation,” they said.
The second level of the content farms’ operations involves targeting Taiwanese Facebook users with 400 fake accounts, the official said.
Those accounts target Taiwanese by reposting fake news and disinformation, focusing on topics such as entertainment, daily issues and religion, they said.
The third level of their operations involves convincing Taiwanese to repost the content or share it with friends and family, the official said, adding that such fake news might spread to “every corner of society.”
The official said that fake news tailored to Taiwanese social media users is part of a coordinated campaign.
“Through cognitive warfare, the Chinese cyberarmy is attempting to stir conflict and hatred between social groups, undermining Taiwan’s national security,” the official said.
The bureau said that a dedicated task force would be launched to counter Chinese cyberwarfare ahead of local elections in November.
Social media users should be aware of the danger of fake news and disinformation, the bureau said, urging people to try to verify content they access online, especially before sharing it, as they might contravene the law by spreading fake news without due diligence.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
SAFETY FIRST: Double the number of police were deployed at the Taipei Marathon, while other cities released plans to bolster public event safety Authorities across Taiwan have stepped up security measures ahead of Christmas and New Year events, following a knife and smoke bomb attack in Taipei on Friday that left four people dead and 11 injured. In a bid to prevent potential copycat incidents, police deployments have been expanded for large gatherings, transport hubs, and other crowded public spaces, according to official statements from police and city authorities. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said the city has “comprehensively raised security readiness” in crowded areas, increased police deployments with armed officers, and intensified patrols during weekends and nighttime hours. For large-scale events, security checkpoints and explosives
A car bomb killed a senior Russian general in southern Moscow yesterday morning, the latest high-profile army figure to be blown up in a blast that came just hours after Russian and Ukrainian delegates held separate talks in Miami on a plan to end the war. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, but Russian investigators said they were probing whether the blast was “linked” to “Ukrainian special forces.” The attack was similar to other assassinations of generals and pro-war figures that have either been claimed, or are widely believed to have been orchestrated, by Ukraine. Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head
PUBLIC SAFETY: The premier said that security would be tightened in transport hubs, while President Lai commended the public for their bravery The government is to deploy more police, including rapid response units, in crowded public areas to ensure a swift response to any threats, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday after a knife attack killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei the previous day. Lai made the remarks following a briefing by the National Police Agency on the progress of the investigation, saying that the attack underscored the importance of cooperation in public security between the central and local governments. The attack unfolded in the early evening on Friday around Taipei Main Station’s M7 exit and later near the Taipei MRT’s Zhongshan
RSS