"Unmasking the Manipulators: Exposing the Campaign to Influence Taiwan's Presidential Election"
Originally Published 2 years ago — by NPR
An influence operation targeting Taiwan's upcoming presidential election has been uncovered on Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube. Research firm Graphika identified a network of over 800 fake accounts and 13 pages on Facebook that promoted the Kuomintang (KMT) party and criticized its opponents, including the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. The operation reposted Chinese-language TikTok and YouTube videos about Taiwanese politics, leveraging domestic news developments to portray the KMT's opponents as incompetent and corrupt. While most of the identified accounts have been taken down, Graphika warns that attempts to manipulate Taiwan's online political conversation will likely increase ahead of the 2024 election.