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.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS