Disinformation and fake news, protagonists in the final stretch of the Taiwan elections

Eve Chiu, a 59-year-old veteran Taiwanese journalist, has quite a bit of work these days. She runs Taiwan FactCheck Center, an organization aimed at unmasking hoaxes and fake news on the island. In the elections taking place this Saturday, the web of misinformation in the social media nebula has become “overwhelming,” she says. To the point that one begins to not know what is true and what is not. To doubt your senses. And we are no longer talking about “traditional” fake news, adds Chiu during an interview on Wednesday in Taipei, but about the so-called “deep fakes” (something like “ultrafakes”) generated with the help of artificial intelligence and spread at the speed of the lightning from mobile to mobile. But she believes that it is better not to tell it, but to see an example.

Show the following video: Rob Wittman, US Congressman and member of the Armed Services Committee, is seen during a television interview. A sign in Chinese indicates that he is “publicly campaigning for the DPP,” the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, the party that leads the Taiwanese polls and the least liked option in Beijing. China, which considers the self-governed island an inalienable part of its territory and has classified the elections as a decision between “war and peace,” sees the PPD as a dangerous pro-independence group that can lead to conflict.

The video, which appeared on TikTok, and from there jumped to Taiwanese social networks, rubs salt in this wound. Wittman talks about this party's candidates for president and vice president: If Lai Ching-te and Hsiao Bi-khim won, he says, “the United States would accelerate all arms sales to Taiwan, send American military personnel with combat experience to help to Taiwan training and would invite the Taiwanese army to train in the United States, to strengthen self-defense capabilities.”

The cut is impeccable. The voice fits the lips perfectly. But it's not real. “Now I'm going to show you the original,” says Chiu, and shows the same cut, but in this other one the congressman talks about energy independence and fertilizer prices. Nothing to see. This is from last year, says the journalist. “And the fake one from a few weeks ago.” The video sought to have a direct impact on the elections. She doesn't know the origin. Not even who did it. Only it appeared on TikTok and from there it jumped to Taiwanese social networks.

According to the Swedish project Varieties of Democracy, or V-Dem, which produces a report every year on the State of Democracies, Taiwan has for 10 consecutive years surpassed all other countries in the world in the amount of false information that other governments spread within their borders. This is also stated by the Taiwanese Government. Joseph Wu, Foreign Minister of the island, denounced on Wednesday in an appearance before the international press that disinformation campaigns are one of the numerous tactics of interference by China in its democratic process, a strategy in which they enter from the threat military to “unpleasant” political statements. “Disinformation is designed to polarize our society, undermine institutions and degrade our democracy. And we have seen some successes from China in that sense,” Vincent Chao, director of International Affairs of the ruling party and spokesperson for Lai Ching-te's presidential campaign, said on Wednesday during an interview with EL PAÍS.

Mao Ning, Chinese foreign spokesman, rejected the accusations on Thursday. “The elections in the Taiwan region are purely internal affairs of China that do not allow external interference,” she said when questioned about Washington's requests for her to refrain from intervening.

Chiu, dressed in a vest and wearing a Parisian-style beret, recognizes that it is an unequal fight. In her organization, which has 16 employees, they manage to unmask between 60 and 80 hoaxes and the like per month. Part of its funding comes from Meta (Facebook's parent company) and Google. They do not receive money from any Government. They receive complaints through their followers. And they get to work when it meets certain criteria (public interest, dissemination, damage to society). Its focus is not exclusively China, but falling into related issues is inevitable.

The Doublethink Lab organization does have its focus on the People's Republic. “Right now, China uploads 200 YouTube channels a day to spread disinformation, denounce Taiwan and our government,” says Puma Shen, 41, president of Doublethink Lab and founder of Kuma Academy, a non-profit civil defense organization. which trains people in first aid, evacuations in case of conflict and media literacy to combat misinformation. In addition, Shen is on the DPP lists for the Legislative Yuan (Parliament).

As he sees it, the results of the Taiwanese elections are an opportunity for Beijing to evaluate the success of its campaigns regarding Taiwan. “It's really not about which candidate you want to support.” [Pekín], but to generate division within our society, to make people not believe in democracy,” he says. Many of the videos, he explains, seek to create the feeling that China is friendly to Taiwan, and that other countries such as Japan and the United States are not.

A Western mother living in Taiwan, married to a Taiwanese man, says she was recently surprised when her eldest daughter, 11, came across a video on TikTok titled: “The truth is that the PDP doesn't tell you.” The algorithm had chosen for her a cut in which a Chinese child is seen reading a poem in a textbook. The verses talk about a boat that goes to Taiwan to pick up children to take them to play at a school in China. “Mom, why should we go get Taiwanese childre
n and bring them to visit?” asks the son. “Because Taiwanese children are our family. We don't just want Taiwanese children to come visit us. We also want all Taiwanese to come. They have been separated from our extended family for a long time. “They miss their home.” The Western mother believes that the video is specifically aimed at school-aged children. “Interestingly, in the comments section there are a lot of responses like 'No, thank you! I do not want to go back home!'”

For Eva Chiu, from Taiwan FactCheck Center, the most harmful thing about misinformation is the feeling of lack of ground; When reality disappears, there ceases to be a basis “for debate, for discussion, for dialogue,” she says. Then, she shows another example: a screenshot that has circulated on networks that seems to be taken from the website of Radio France Internationale, a respected French public radio station. “It's very interesting,” she says. “Totally false” although it seems “very real.” It claims that Taiwan's outgoing president, Tsai Ing-wen, has secretly sent thousands of projectiles to help Israel in the Gaza war. She “she tries to spread the idea that she is an instigator of war.” Which in this side of the world, where superpowers collide, has a very concrete reading. Extremely sensitive. She seeks to inoculate an idea, according to her: “If you vote for the PDP, you will have war,” says Chiu.

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