Meta’s withdrawal of funding for anti-disinformation measures has left Taiwan’s largest fact-checker group in an “existential crisis,” Nikkei Asia reported yesterday.
Taiwan FactCheck Center — established in 2018 to counter online fake news — relies on private donations to avoid conflicts of interest with the government, the Japanese outlet said in a report.
Meta accounts for nearly half of the group’s revenue and Google makes up for more than 30 percent, it said.
Photo: EPA
The organization’s future was cast into doubt after Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg in January said that the social media giant would end its partnership with US-based fact-checkers in a move that critics said was a concession to US President Donald Trump, the Nikkei said.
Trump is a vocal critic of fact-checking, which he has decried as a form of censorship.
Facebook temporarily banned Trump’s account over unfounded allegations of electoral fraud he made amid riots in Washington to overturn the presidential election on Jan. 6, 2021.
Shortly following Trump’s second inauguration, Zuckerberg announced that Meta would
suspend funding for fact-checkers, saying that they have been “too politically biased and have destroyed more trust than they have created.”
“With the way things stand, our contract with Meta could expire in January 2026,” Taiwan FactCheck Center CEO Eve Chiu (邱家宜) told the Nikkei.
“Artificial intelligence [AI] continues to evolve and disinformation is becoming more sophisticated, so if funding is cut off, we will be in a critical situation,” she said.
Citing Sweden-based V-Dem Institute, the Nikkei said Taiwan is the largest target of disinformation operations in the world, most of which stems from China.
Meta’s fact-checking partners formerly reported posts containing untrue or misleading information to Facebook in exchange for a fee, a funding source that has been severed since Zuckerberg’s announcement.
Taiwan FactCheck Center told the Nikkei that Meta had not replied to the organization’s requests for continued funding.
The group is seeking financial support from Taiwanese private enterprises, but their capacity to replace Meta remains an open question, the report said.
The news comes as Taiwan is set to hold elections for local government offices in November next year, which experts fear is to be targeted by a growing surge in disinformation exacerbated by AI.
The National Security Bureau in January said there was a 62 percent increase in reports of controversial or misinformation, from 1.33 million cases in 2023 to 2.16 million last year.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS