Top aides of Vice President William Lai (賴清德), the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) presidential candidate, have formed a new strategy to counter disinformation and personal attacks against Lai from opposition parties.
Since Lai confirmed his candidacy, opposition parties have been promoting a false narrative that US leaders do not trust him, to sow skepticism at home and abroad, a DPP insider said on condition of anonymity.
The DPP formed an interdepartmental “Task Force to Combat Cognitive Warfare” to coordinate actions and provide a swift response, including clarifying issues, dispelling rumors and limiting damage from disinformation and false reports, the source said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“In recent weeks, opposition parties and certain media outlets have again raised the ‘US doubting Lai’ theory and further expanded on it,” the source said.
“It is a continuation of the cognitive warfare from last year, which initially targeted Lai’s family,” claiming that Lai’s two sons have US green cards, to insinuate that they would not serve if war breaks out, the source said.
The opposition also focused on the political wrangling and crime in Tainan in further attempts to undermine Lai, who served as city mayor from 2010 to 2017, the source said.
Quoting other DPP figures, the party source said that after it became apparent that these personal attacks did not have much effect, the opposition turned to disinformation, raising doubts about Lai’s competency on national governance and foreign affairs, and rumors of friction between Lai and President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文).
Lai’s advisers have identified three main tactics that the opposition uses to discredit Lai: tarnishing his image, questioning his governance and foreign affairs acumen, and arousing public anxiety by emphasizing the threat of war, the DPP source said.
The DPP task force is already at work, coordinating efforts between the party’s public information section, new media center and social movements section, as well as working with local chapters and affiliated organizations to monitor and report disinformation, and formulate an immediate response by issuing a statement of clarification or memes that are disseminated through social media, the sources said.
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