A Taiwanese group on Monday released an overview of a massive disinformation campaign used by Chinese officials during Taiwan's national elections that ended in January and delivered a blow to the Chinese government with the victory of pro-American candidates.
Taiwanese officials and non-governmental groups told reporters that the Chinese actors' tactics include using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to manipulate videos to capture at least the exact words of U.S. members of Congress. It is said that it involved sowing discord in Taiwan by distorting the information. National Press Club.
Many of the disinformation stories focus on the United States, such as falsely accusing Washington of building a biological lab in Taiwan or fomenting a war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip. was.
The story contains clues about how China is trying to manipulate public opinion during this year's U.S. presidential election.
Other Chinese disinformation stories uncovered by Taiwanese groups refer to the US as a fake ally abandoning Taiwan, accuse the US government of having a false democracy, and create confusion among Americans around the world. At the same time, Chinese propaganda portrays the Chinese government as a source of good. Then order.
Qihao Yu, co-director of the Taiwan Information Environment Research Center, a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in information research, said the organization has documented 84 statements spread by China to arouse U.S. skepticism. Stated.
Qihao said Chinese officials were trying to “reinforce and strengthen” a pro-Beijing “alternative worldview,” and his NGO is collecting data and collecting data at the local level to understand the impact of information operations. He said he was countering this through focus group discussions.
“We want to know how it's getting from our phones to our minds, how it's changing our perception of the world, and how we're sharing it. “We need to figure out how it's actually causing damage,” he said of the spread of disinformation. “We no longer share a common reality.”
The campaign in Taiwan is of particular concern to the U.S. government because China uses similar tactics in the U.S., according to Microsoft, which released a report this month on Chinese government disinformation campaigns.
According to Microsoft, some Chinese government-related accounts are posting about presidential candidates in the U.S. election. One of the most prolific Chinese organizations spreading propaganda is commonly known as Spamoflage, and another is a spy organization called Gingham Typhoon that is very active in the Indo-Pacific.
Microsoft said Chinese actors have been “harvesting technology and experimenting with new media” in the Indo-Pacific region over the last year using a complex strategy of AI-generated news anchors and memes that could potentially influence elections in the future. He warned that it could improve your ability to give.
Microsoft warned in the report that it is “prepared to identify influential individuals who may seek engagement, interact with Americans, and study their views on U.S. politics.” “China will at least create and amplify AI-generated content that benefits its position in these high-profile elections.”
Russell Hsiao, executive director of the Global Taiwan Institute, a Washington-based nonprofit research institute, said China is “undermining the credibility and credibility of the United States” in Taiwan and other countries. .
“That is why it is all the more important that there be stronger, better and more efficient public-private partnerships not only within Taiwan, between civil society and the government, but also internationally. '' he said.
NGOs said the disinformation campaign in Taiwan was spread on popular apps such as TikTok, the video-sharing platform that is hotly debated in the United States. Some lawmakers want to ban Chinese-owned TikTok as a national security threat. In March, the House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban TikTok unless it is sold by its Chinese parent company ByteDance.
Analysts are increasingly warning that China is trying to influence this year's US presidential election.
The Center for American Progress, a U.S. think tank, warned in a report earlier this year that China's AI-powered disinformation efforts are “intensifying.”
The researchers wrote that Chinese actors are attempting to acquire Taiwanese social media accounts and “pay influencers to promote Taiwanese narratives.”
“These techniques are used to flood the online space with content and manipulate algorithms to increase its spread,” they wrote. “As the United States prepares for the 2024 elections, the U.S. government can examine both China's disinformation influence efforts in Taiwan and the effectiveness of Taiwan's countermeasures.”
Taiwan's general election was held in mid-January. The winner, Lai Ching-de, is a pro-American party that currently rules Taiwan and rejects Chinese sovereignty over the island, defeating a more pro-China Kuomintang candidate.
The election has been closely watched by both the United States and China as tensions rise over the possibility of China's invasion and blockade of Taiwan. The United States has an informal relationship with Taiwan but is committed to supporting Taipei. Chinese leader Xi Jinping has directed his military to prepare for a potential invasion by 2027.
During the election period, in parallel with a disinformation campaign, China repeatedly flew aircraft and reconnaissance balloons into Taipei's airspace and private waters to intimidate Taiwan over the strait that separates the two countries.
The election was ultimately a setback for Beijing, as it solidified Taiwan's desire for closer ties with the United States and showed voters were not heavily influenced by Chinese propaganda.
Still, Eve Chiu, editor-in-chief of the NGO Taiwan Fact-Checking Center, said China's widespread disinformation campaign includes statements that the United States is the source of the coronavirus and that it will not be able to protect Taiwan. explained. war.
Eve said the scope of the disinformation campaign was larger than the previous elections in Taiwan, and that AI facilitated the spread of content.
China uses generative AI to spread conspiracies that the CIA is interfering in elections, manipulating the words of Rep. Rob Whitman (R-Va.) that the U.S. is accelerating arms deliveries to Taiwan He added that he did.
“It's very difficult to verify,” she said, calling the video “very sophisticated.”
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