Each day, social media feeds in Taiwan are flooded with a mixture of sensational and carefully-crafted, extra subdued claims. They vary from fear-mongering a few potential cross-strait battle to narratives portraying the Republic of China as grappling with racism and meals security points, to casting doubt on its relationship with Washington.
In 2023, Taiwan’s Nationwide Safety Bureau reported a 60 % enhance in Chinese language-origin disinformation over the earlier 12 months, with a documented 2.16 million instances on file. Now, as tensions between Beijing and Taipei proceed, so too does the sophistication—and quantity—of the Chinese language Communist Occasion’s disinformation marketing campaign.
“China conducts overwhelming political warfare in opposition to Taiwan—disinformation, cognitive warfare, faux information,” Liang-Chih Evans Chen, Affiliate Analysis Fellow, Institute for Nationwide Protection and Safety Analysis, tells The Cipher Temporary. “It’s a relentless battle for public notion and morale. And it’s getting worse.”
In keeping with Taiwan’s Nationwide Safety Bureau, China is more and more leveraging generative synthetic intelligence to amplify disinformation efforts aimed toward destabilizing Taiwan.
“The standard was questionable, however that has modified. With AI and deepfake expertise, the Individuals’s Liberation Military can manipulate movies and different very convincing media,” one high-ranking Taiwanese navy official working in psychological operations, who spoke anonymously as a result of they don’t seem to be approved to talk on the file, tells The Cipher Temporary. “Generally, in addition they take uncooked native footage and re-edit it to look as if it’s coming from inside Taiwan, making it extra plausible and simpler to affect folks.”
Up to now in 2025, greater than 500,000 “controversial messages” linked again to China have circulated on platforms like Fb, TikTok, and X, typically spiking throughout politically delicate moments corresponding to President Lai Ching-te’s statements on cross-strait relations or main bulletins like new U.S. investments by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Firm (TSMC).
Disinformation can also be unfold by means of YouTube, encrypted apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, and by way of faux accounts that used AI-generated profile photographs, deepfakes, and phony information articles to make propaganda seem natural and credible.
“Beginning round 2008, China’s major technique was to buy media firms in Taiwan to unfold their narratives simply. This was considerably profitable. However in 2014, after the Sunflower Motion, a big student-led social motion, China realized younger folks weren’t watching conventional TV; they obtained information on-line,” DPP Legislator and Affiliate Professor at Nationwide Taipei College Graduate Faculty of Criminology, Puma Shen, tells The Cipher Temporary. “They created many web sites that acted like information retailers however have been truly full of disinformation and pretend information. Some have been based mostly in Singapore or Malaysia however operated by Chinese language actors.”
Shen defined that Fb was lengthy the “major channel for distribution.” His crew reported suspicious websites to the tech big, which subsequently blocked them, however “this technique solely labored till round 2019-2020,” in accordance with Shen.
“After that, they shifted focus to YouTube. They used AI voices to transform articles into movies with photos after which shared these movies on Fb. Fb couldn’t block YouTube URLs, so this turned a brand new battlefield,” Shen instructed us. “Presently, 70 to 80 % of political information in Chinese language on YouTube is influenced by China’s disinformation campaigns. Google tries to behave however struggles. Earlier than Taiwan’s 2024 presidential election, Google eliminated about 200 Chinese language government-related channels per day, however it’s onerous to maintain up.”
The largest battle now could be TikTok, as Taipei has “no cooperation there,” in accordance with Shen.
“The algorithm controls what data folks see. It’s designed for fast, passive consumption, making it an amazing device for brainwashing. Even when just one video out of fifty comprises a political message, that message will get embedded in your thoughts,” Shen stated. “The algorithm isn’t clear, to allow them to resolve what to point out and affect folks’s ideas. That is harmful, particularly when folks spend hours swiping by means of movies each day.”
From disinformation to deepfakes, Cipher Temporary specialists are tackling at the moment’s most-pressing nationwide safety points at The Cipher Temporary Menace Convention October 19-22 in Sea Island, GA. If your online business is nationwide safety, apply for a seat on the desk at the moment.
Observers additionally level out that Beijing has shifted its techniques in recent times, transferring away from overt messaging on cross-strait relations to extra passively stoking inside divisions inside Taiwan. This contains smear campaigns and false claims about native providers. Typically, the disinformation is masked as clickbait—celeb gossip or wellness content material—that subtly steers readers towards politically motivated conspiracy theories.
The mainland’s disinformation efforts contain a broad community of state actors, together with its navy’s Strategic Help Power, the Ministry of State Safety, the Central Propaganda Division, and the Ministry of Public Safety—all enjoying distinct roles in cyber operations, propaganda, and knowledge management. These companies push overt messaging by means of state media and diplomatic channels and run covert campaigns, typically in partnership with non-public firms or loosely affiliated teams like hacktivists.
Outsourcing these operations to industrial entities is a rising pattern, making attribution harder. This contains paid propagandists, troll farms, clickbait content material creators, and information companies promoting disinformation instruments. By hiring third events to execute these campaigns, the Chinese language authorities obscures its involvement, complicating accountability and amplifying the attain and class of its affect operations.
Ways additionally embody collaborating with sympathetic Taiwanese media, amplifying essential voices from inside Taiwan—corresponding to retired navy officers and political influencers—and focusing on youthful audiences by means of in style platforms.
Consultants underscore that disinformation is changing into extra delicate, typically disguised as well being recommendation or leisure earlier than veering into political messaging. Whereas Beijing denies interfering in Taiwan’s affairs, the rising sophistication of those campaigns, bolstered by evolving AI instruments, poses an more and more complicated risk to Taiwan’s data integrity and safety.
China’s disinformation marketing campaign goals, analysts say, to erode public belief in Taiwan’s authorities, significantly the ruling DPP whereas deterring help for Taiwanese independence.
Ching Yang, one of many main investigators on the Taipei-based disinformation monitoring group Doublethink Lab, highlighted that newspapers in Hong Kong “have lately accused sure politicians or their households of accepting U.S. cash to create divisions between Taiwan and Mainland China.”
“They use allegations about tasks and funding to drive disinformation aimed toward weakening Taiwan’s unity,” he tells The Cipher Temporary. The DPP, nonetheless, is probably not the CCP’s main goal.
“The true enemy for China is just not Taiwan,” Shen pressured. “It’s the U.S.” He factors out that there are round 13 “major narratives” the CCP makes use of in its disinformation push.
“We examined which resonated most with Taiwanese youngsters — anti-U.S. messages ranked highest,” Shen defined. “They push anti-U.S. messages each inside Taiwan and within the U.S. They (CCP) attempt to undermine belief within the U.S. and the West typically. Additionally, they discourage cooperation with Japan and India. For Taiwanese who’re anti-China however eat sufficient anti-U.S. messaging, the technique is to make them see China as not so unhealthy.”
In Taiwan, the disinformation method is principally to counsel that Washington is unreliable, would abandon Taiwan in a battle, or is exploiting the island—corresponding to claims that U.S. arms gross sales are a rip-off or that U.S. pork is just not protected to eat, claims which have triggered giant protests up to now.
These messages, typically amplified by Beijing-linked actors or Taiwanese figures sympathetic to China, don’t at all times depend on conspiracy theories; as an alternative, they illuminate actual information in ways in which solid the U.S. in a adverse gentle, fueling skepticism and weakening belief within the U.S.-Taiwan alliance. From Shen’s purview, the target is to “sow mistrust.”
“Don’t belief the federal government, don’t belief the ruling celebration, don’t belief democracy or the U.S,” Shen famous. “They (CCP) need to persuade perhaps 40-50 % of Taiwanese that China isn’t so unhealthy, and that if China invades, it might take over rapidly — so higher to signal a peace settlement. The CCP desires to influence its residents that it’s the very best celebration as a result of it brings stability and prosperity.”
Want a each day dose of actuality on nationwide and world safety points? Subscriber to The Cipher Temporary’s Nightcap e-newsletter, delivering professional insights on at the moment’s occasions – proper to your inbox. Join free at the moment.
These low-cost, high-impact campaigns additionally serve a goal for the CCP at residence. Contained in the mainland, disinformation helps legitimize potential navy motion by manufacturing public help and framing aggression as a justified response to Taiwanese provocation, reinforcing nationalist sentiment. Internationally, these campaigns supply China a authorized and ethical veneer, significantly for non-Western audiences, whereas casting Taiwan and its allies—particularly the U.S.—as aggressors.
Taipei faces important challenges in addressing threats posed by disinformation. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau established the Cognitive Warfare Analysis Middle final 12 months, to counter disinformation campaigns focusing on Taiwan’s democracy and safety. In January, the federal government pledged to double down on its efforts to counter burgeoning disinformation campaigns. In late 2022, the federal government designated Chinese language media platforms—together with TikTok— a “nationwide safety risk” and banned their use on government-issued units.
Whereas Beijing’s efforts to affect public opinion have largely fallen flat, fatigue is setting in amongst Taiwanese residents who’re uncovered to fixed warnings and stress. Consultants warn that as Taiwan sharpens its defenses, China will solely evolve its techniques, making future disinformation campaigns tougher to detect and resist.
“Taiwanese folks typically acknowledge the hazard from China. However politicians right here, like in lots of nations, generally attempt to downplay it or persuade residents in any other case,” Shen stated. “Since we communicate Chinese language, we’re susceptible to Chinese language disinformation and “lawfare,” China’s authorized and political warfare to maintain Taiwan remoted internationally.”
Yang is worried that Beijing’s rising use of disinformation as a smooth energy device might sign a prelude to extra aggressive, hard-power or kinetic motion.
“In comparison with Russia’s techniques earlier than invading Ukraine, China makes use of disinformation to border their opponents negatively. For instance, Russian propaganda accused Ukraine of being run by Nazis,” he added. “Equally, in Taiwan, Chinese language media accuse the ruling Democratic Progressive Occasion and President Tsai Ing-wen of being ‘Nazis’ or extremists. This disinformation goals to justify aggression and create division internally.”
Learn extra expert-driven nationwide safety insights, perspective and evaluation in The Cipher Temporary as a result of Nationwide Safety is Everybody’s Enterprise. And subscribe to The Cipher Temporary’s Digital Channel on YouTube for interviews about disinformation, cognitive warfare and different nationwide and world safety information and evaluation.
