The National Security Bureau (NSB) yesterday published its analysis of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) disinformation tactics last year, showing that disinformation doubled compared with 2023.
CCP disinformation seeks to undermine confidence in Taiwan’s military, US support for Taiwan and President William Lai (賴清德), the NSB said.
NSB data showed that 2.159 million cases of controversial information were reported last year, nearly double 2023’s mark of 1.329 million.
Photo: AFP
Facebook remained the platform most susceptible to disinformation, with a 40 percent increase compared with 2023, although disinformation also increased on video platforms (151 percent), forums (664 percent) and X, formerly known as Twitter (244 percent), the NSB said.
The bureau also found 28,216 questionable accounts, 11,661 more than in 2023.
Facebook had 21,967 of those accounts, but TikTok, X and China’s Douyin (抖音) also had major increases, data showed.
That suggests the main target of disinformation is young Internet users, the bureau said.
The rise of these platforms reflects changing social media habits in Taiwan driving changes in disinformation tactics, it said.
The NSB report highlighted six key tactics employed by the CCP.
The first was flooding social media with information with the goal of changing voter behavior and election results, it said, adding that this included posting memes and videos to spread disinformation about candidates.
The second is impersonating Taiwanese users and official accounts to spread fake news, the report said.
During the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Joint Sword-2024A and 2024B military drills, CCP accounts posing as Taiwanese officials spread disinformation to undermine trust in the military, it said.
Third is leveraging military exercises for propaganda — using both official accounts and state media — to highlight China’s capability to invade Taiwan, the bureau said.
During both military drills last year, videos on TikTok and YouTube were heavily used to intimidate Taiwanese, it said.
Fourth was posting artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes of Taiwanese officials to distort their public perception and mislead voters, the bureau said.
Fifth was co-opting integrated media accounts to spread propaganda, using them as proxies for state-owned media, it said.
The report highlighted multiple accounts on TikTok that have close ties to CCP-owned outlets.
Sixth was establishing multilingual news sites such as the fake Czech newspaper Bohemia Daily and fake Spanish outlet Guell Herald to reinforce the CCP’s “one China” principle internationally, it said.
The CCP takes advantage of democratic systems to wage cognitive warfare using Internet platforms and artificial intelligence technology, the NSB said, adding that this is an international concern.
In response, Taiwan used a comprehensive strategy to combat the threat of disinformation, it said.
The bureau reported 3,900 cases of disinformation to different government agencies and ministries, and Taiwan hosted more than 100 exchange events to share expertise with like-minded nations, the report said.
Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwestern region near China, the Japanese defense minister said yesterday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years. The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea. “Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country ... while ensuring the safety of our personnel,” Japanese Minister of Defense Shinjiro Koizumi said. “This is an extremely important initiative for
The nation’s fastest supercomputer, Nano 4 (晶創26), is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter, and would be used to train large language models in finance and national defense sectors, the National Center for High-Performance Computing (NCHC) said. The supercomputer, which would operate at about 86.05 petaflops, is being tested at a new cloud computing center in the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan. The exterior of the server cabinet features chip circuitry patterns overlaid with a map of Taiwan, highlighting the nation’s central position in the semiconductor industry. The center also houses Taiwania 2, Taiwania 3, Forerunner 1 and
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to lead a delegation to China next month, saying she hopes to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and bring stability to the Taiwan Strait. “I am grateful and happy to accept this invitation,” Cheng said in a statement from the KMT chairperson’s office. Cheng said she hopes both sides can work together to promote the peaceful development of cross-strait relations, enhance exchange and cooperation, bring stability to the Taiwan Strait and improve people’s livelihoods. At today's news conference, Cheng said any efforts to
MORE POPULAR: Taiwan Pass sales increased by 59 percent during the first quarter compared with the same period last year, the Tourism Administration said The Tourism Administration yesterday said that it has streamlined the Taiwan Pass, with two versions available for purchase beginning today. The tourism agency has made the pass available to international tourists since 2024, allowing them to access the high-speed rail, Taiwan Railway Corp services, four MRT systems and four Taiwan Tourist Shuttles. Previously, five types of Taiwan Pass were available, but some tourists have said that the offerings were too complicated. The agency said only two types of Taiwan Pass would be available, starting from a three-day pass with the high-speed rail and a three-day pass with Taiwan Railway Corp. The former costs NT$2,800
RSS