Disinformation, Manipulation, and Media: Taiwan’s Insights from the 2025 Taipei Forum • Taiwan FactCheck Center
en.tfc-taiwan.org.tw
Since last December, a wave of AI-generated videos praising Taiwan has emerged across various YouTube channels. Initially, these videos appear clichéd, showcasing compliments on the kindness and integrity of the Taiwanese people, highlighting Taiwan's medical progress, and criticizing the moral decline and economic downturn in China. Recently, some channels have begun sharing stories seemingly opposing a potential Chinese invasion and supporting Taiwan's participation in international organizations. These videos utilize AI-generated personalities to promote Taiwan and fabricate news events that have never occurred. While it is difficult to discern the intent behind these AI-generated videos, many of the videos have gone viral and have even been featured in Chinese-language mainstream media news coverage.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/39984970

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Tim Niven, Research Head of Double Think Lab recalled an incident in early 2023, when a pro-China former legislator in Taiwan posted on his Facebook an (obviously unfounded) story that “Biden has a plan for the destruction of Taiwan,” citing “a famous radio host based out of Washington, D.C.” Local CCP proxy media was eager to report on it, prompting Taiwan’s foreign ministry to release a statement on it. China was also quick to capitalize on the news by responding to it in their press briefing.

The team at Double Think Lab managed to trace the source back to a Russian state-media journalist on Twitter, while a separate verification of TFC found that the “D.C.-based journalist” had his name on the website of Sputnik, a Russian state-owned news agency, where he was listed as a Radio Sputnik journalist based in Washington DC. His Twitter account is also notable for a series of bizarre information disguised as “breaking news” or “leak.” Despite all the effort to debunk that fabricated story, it understably blew up on the internet and local [Taiwanese] media.

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