Taiwan - September 2022

Ahead of local elections scheduled for 26 November, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-Wen called for "domestic political unity" in combatting Chinese disinformation efforts aimed at polarizing Taiwanese society. The last local election in 2018 saw Chinese state-aligned actors spreading pro-unification rhetoric that sought to weaken public trust in the government and promote pro-China candidates. Taiwan's government is actively working with civil society organizations and social media companies to counter false narratives with fact-checking tools without repressing the freedom of speech. Examples include improving media literacy and civic learning; tinkering with algorithms and working with social media platforms to identify and keep misinformation off the top of people's social media feeds instead of directly censoring specific narratives. 

Sources: Nikkei Asia, Council on Foreign Relations, Al Jazeera