The US and Taiwan stand together on the front lines of the fight against disinformation and have both faced harmful misinformation in their democratic elections, the US’ top envoy to Taipei said yesterday.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Indo-Pacific Workshop on Countering Disinformation, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk praised Taiwan for its respect for “fundamental freedoms” and its strong commitment to the “free exchange of ideas.”
“At a time of democratic backsliding and human rights abuses elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific, Taiwan serves as an invaluable model to others,” Oudkirk said.
Photo: CNA
However, in the Internet age and with the emergence of artificial intelligence, the spread of disinformation to open democratic societies is becoming more challenging to combat, she said.
The “United States, Taiwan and many others are on the front lines as we grapple with the spread of disinformation and propaganda, particularly as foreign actors seek to use social media and emerging technologies to manipulate public discourse ... and undermine confidence in our democratic institutions,” she said.
Amid this threat, such a forum is important for sharing experiences and best practices with like-minded representatives of governments, civil society and academia from around the world, she said.
“We believe a well-informed citizenry is key to the strength of democratic institutions, healthy and robust public debate, based on facts, evidence and research, are integral to effective civic engagement,” Oudkirk said.
David Shullman, senior director of the Global China Hub at the US-based think tank the Atlantic Council, also spoke at the forum, warning of China’s disinformation campaign targeting Taiwan.
Beijing’s Taiwan-focused disinformation efforts used to be “primarily focused on promoting a positive narrative, making the argument that unification will restore cultural ties and bring economic benefits to Taiwan,” Shullman said.
However, as support for the “one country, two systems” model has faded in Taiwan, Chinese disinformation is now primarily directed at undermining trust in democracy and Taiwan’s government, he said.
With Taiwan’s rich experience in combating Chinese disinformation, it has also become an expert in this area, he said.
“Taiwan has combined high-tech efforts with more analogue solutions, like improving government communication, crowdsourcing and maintaining tools for fact-checking and countering conspiracies and propaganda, and expanding the media literacy of education,” he said.
The two-day workshop is organized by the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, a government-funded non-governmental organization.
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