disinformation in Taiwan

#MeToo Cases in Taiwan Spark Discussion of Deepfakes

Brian Hioe
In August, legal changes to the “Three Gender Equality” laws were passed by the legislature. This was in response to the wave of #MeToo cases that Taiwan has been swept by since late May. Nevertheless, though few of the high-profile cases touched on the issue directly, there has also been increased discussion of “deepfake” images, “revenge porn”, and digitally altered images, as they target women in particular...
EnglishGender/SexualitySeptember 2023Social Movements4 min read

Deepfakes Present Issues for Legislation in Taiwan

Brian Hioe
DPP legislators Fan Yun and Kao Chia-yu held a press conference late last year to call for stronger action on the misuse of sexually explicit images, such as revenge porn, deepfakes, or images otherwise taken without consent and used for coercive purposes. The press conference was held jointly with civil societies such as the Judicial Reform Foundation, Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, and Garden of Hope Foundation, the latter two of which are prominent women’s groups in Taiwan. The press conference was to call for changes to a draft bill from the Executive Yuan on the issue...
EnglishGender/SexualityMarch 2023PoliticsSocial Movements5 min read

Ko Wen-je Criticized Over Cyber-Army Allegations

Brian Hioe
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je and his administration have come under fire with accusations that PTT accounts run by Taipei city government employees are used as part of a “cyber-army” aimed at improving Ko’s public image. PTT is an Internet forum popularly used in Taiwan, sometimes compared to Reddit in other parts of the world. The criticisms of Ko, as advanced by pan-Green politicians, broke out into controversy after a report by the Taipei city government...
EnglishJune 2022Politics6 min read

Rumors About Lee Teng-hui’s Death Show How Online Influencers Are a Weak Link for Misinformation

Brian Hioe
Rumors that former president Lee Teng-hui had died swept across social media late yesterday night, with many online influencers posting tributes to and eulogies for Lee. Although Lee's health is poor and he is currently hospitalized, such rumors were unfounded. However, as rumors regarding Lee's death were primarily amplified by social media influencers, this gestures toward how online influencers prove a weak link where issues regarding disinformation and misinformation in Taiwan are concerned...
EnglishJuly 2020Politics6 min read

Taiwan News Publishes COVID-19 Misinformation as Epidemic Spreads

Brian Hioe
In the midst of the Coronavirus epidemic, publishing unsubstantiated rumors and misinformation poisons the well of public discourse, and performs a disservice to society. Perhaps the most egregious example of this in domestic English-language media is Taiwan News, an online media platform owned by Luis Ko, the CEO of I-Mei Foods, a major Taiwanese brand. Taiwan News recently published a number of articles making extraordinary claims about the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Two articles in particular deserve additional scrutiny; both were written by Keoni Everington, whose bylines list him as either “editor” or “staff writer” ...
EnglishFebruary 2020Politics18 min read