Police are investigating whether an alleged piece of disinformation posted on Facebook by TV celebrity Antony Kuo (郭彥均) originated from a content farm.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Kuo shared a conversation that he allegedly had with a doctor friend in which the doctor said he had not rested one day since April 5 due to an increasing number of COVID-19 cases.
Kuo quoted the doctor as saying that children were suffering and that he was sad to see “many children pass away.”
Photo: CNA
Police said that numerous Facebook pages shared the same content at the time, which was “unusual” and had “obvious traces of a content farm.”
The Criminal Investigation Bureau yesterday said that it had not called in Kuo for questioning, adding that police want to uncover who is controlling the suspected content farm.
National Police Agency Information Office Director Lin Jian-long (林建隆) said that on Wednesday and Thursday, 25 Facebook pages posted the same content that Kuo posted.
Twenty of the pages posted the content at the same time, at 3:31pm on Friday, he said, adding that the simultaneous postings were consistent with how content farms distribute content.
The other five pages posted the content at different times, but all of them had the same information in their profiles and appeared to be run by the same person, he said.
Similar posting patterns in the past had originated from content farms in other countries, Lin said.
The agency would continue to monitor the situation and would take action against behavior deemed to be illegal, he said.
Lin urged people not to share posts that could contain disinformation, such as posts that could cause panic, particularly at a time of heightened tension such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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
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
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
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