Frequent TikTok users in Taiwan are more likely to hold certain political views aligned with Beijing’s narratives, according to a recent survey by Taiwan-based NGO DoubleThink Lab.
Conducted in March and released on June 5, the survey compared "active" TikTok users - defined as those who use the app several times a week for over 30 minutes per session or several times a day with shorter sessions - with "inactive" users who spend less time on the platform. It explored their views on a range of issues including cross-strait relations, democracy and U.S. support for Taiwan.
All respondents affiliated with Taiwan’s three main parties - the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party - mostly disagreed with the statement: "For the sake of cross-strait peace, it is okay to give up the democratic system."
Photo: Reuters
However, only 73.1 percent of active DPP supporters disagreed, compared with 83.4 percent of inactive users.
In response to another statement: "The DPP is no different from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and that Taiwan lacks freedom of speech" - 23.9 percent of active DPP users agreed, compared with just 9.3 percent of inactive users.
Eric Hsu (徐葆權) of DoubleThink Lab said that the findings show that frequent TikTok users, regardless of political affiliation, are more likely to hold pro-China views and be skeptical of Taiwan’s political system.
The survey also asked respondents whether they agreed that cross-strait unification would "not significantly change ordinary people’s lives." Among active TikTok users, 45.2 percent agreed, higher than the 33.2 percent of inactive users.
DoubleThink Lab said in its analysis that because TikTok delivers entertainment and political content side by side, it could influence users’ views on certain issues and their receptiveness to specific political narratives.
Hsu said the survey was carried out amid concerns about TikTok’s security risks and China’s "united front" efforts - a coordinated campaign by the CCP to influence politics abroad and suppress opposition.
TikTok is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech firm widely seen as operating under CCP oversight.
Since 2019, Taiwan has banned TikTok, Douyin (抖音) - the Chinese-language version - and China’s social media app Xiaohongshu (小紅書), or Rednote, from government devices and official premises over national security concerns.
According to data from Academia Sinica, Taiwan’s top academic research institution, over 50 percent of high school students and younger use TikTok or Douyin, Hsu said.
The survey gathered 2,612 valid online responses, including 1,097 active users and 1,515 inactive users.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) today said that if South Korea does not reply appropriately to its request to correct Taiwan’s name on its e-Arrival card system before March 31, it would take corresponding measures to alter how South Korea is labeled on the online Taiwan Arrival Card system. South Korea’s e-Arrival card system lists Taiwan as “China (Taiwan)” in the “point of departure” and “next destination” fields. The ministry said that it changed the nationality for South Koreans on Taiwan’s Alien Resident Certificates from “Korea” to “South Korea” on March 1, in a gesture of goodwill and based on the
Taiwanese officials were shown the first of 66 F-16V fighter jets purchased by Taiwan from the United States, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday, adding the aircraft has completed an initial flight test and is expected to be delivered later this year. A delegation led by Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) visited Lockheed Martin’s F-16 C/D Block 70 (also known as F-16V) assembly line in South Carolina on March 16 to view the aircraft. The jet will undergo a final acceptance flight in the US before being delivered to Taiwan, the
The New Taipei Metro's Sanyin Line and the eastern extension of the Taipei Metro's Tamsui-Xinyi Line (Red Line) are scheduled to begin operations in June, the National Development Council said today. The Red Line, which terminates at Xiangshan Station, would be connected by the 1.4km extension to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, while the Sanyin Line would link New Taipei City's Tucheng and Yingge stations via Sanxia District (三峽). The council gave the updates at a council meeting reviewing progress on public construction projects for this year. Taiwan's annual public infrastructure budget would remain at NT$800 billion (US$25.08 billion), with NT$97.3
RSS