Facebook Pages Used to Spread Election Disinformation
REPORTER:
A safe space Taiwanese people use to complain online may have become a hotbed for disinformation.
REPORTER:
A wave of Facebook pages that collect anonymous complaints from users has come under scrutiny, after reports surfaced that they’re being run by content farms in China.
REPORTER:
A number of companies are using places like Hong Kong as a base to take over Taiwanese Facebook pages.
REPORTER:
In 2024, they were exposed for spreading disinformation during Taiwan’s presidential election.
REPORTER:
These pages normally post everyday content provided by the public.
REPORTER:
Their audience is the people that do not care about political issue and mostly care about where they are going to travel and, uh, good food or maybe movie stars.
REPORTER:
But some analysts say pages like these are aimed at driving ad revenue and sometimes pivot to political disinformation or propaganda.
REPORTER:
Some of the content farm are trying to spread some political issues, such as the AIT narrative about Taiwan's stance. And this is the national security field.
REPORTER:
And there are also concerns that a rise in AI-generated content could be used to influence Taiwanese people, with one YouTube channel posting deepfake videos smearing Taiwan President Lai Ching-te.
REPORTER:
Taiwan doesn’t have much time left.
REPORTER:
China is getting bigger and stronger.
REPORTER:
The United States can no longer contain China.
REPORTER:
China claims Taiwan as its own and has increasingly ramped up gray-zone tactics to pressure the country. Some lawmakers say AI is being used to divide Taiwan.
REPORTER:
They use fabricated videos of political figures to smear Taiwan, to create divisions within Taiwan, and to stir up hatred.
REPORTER:
The tone and stance of these videos almost always align with the Chinese Communist Party’s long-standing positions.
REPORTER:
AI-generated short videos were also rampant on social media during Taiwan’s summer recall campaigns.
REPORTER:
AI literacy researchers FactLink found that most of these AI tools or videos stem from China.
REPORTER:
Before, the traditional disinformation relied on texts or YouTube. It's longer. But the mini clips now, it was very short, like just a few seconds and there is no text, no story. But it has a very strong emotion. It's trying to trigger our emotion, and it's spreading fast on reels and shorts because of the algorithm.
REPORTER:
As Taiwan builds up its defense capabilities, another battle is already unfolding online: where Chinese-owned pages and AI-generated videos are targeting the Taiwanese public.
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