Disinformation On Social Media Doubled in 2024- Report

Taiwan’s National Security Bureau (NSB) has published its analysis of disinformation on social media last year, showing that disinformation doubled compared with 2023.

The Island nation which has been at loggerheads with mainland China, singled out disinformation tactics used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

For example CCP disinformation seeks to undermine confidence in Taiwan’s military, US support for Taiwan and President William Lai, the NSB said.

NSB data showed that 2.159 million cases of controversial information were reported last year, nearly double 2023’s mark of 1.329 million.

Facebook remained the platform most susceptible to disinformation, with a 40 percent increase compared with 2023, although disinformation also increased on video platforms (151%), forums (664%) and X, formerly known as Twitter (244%), the NSB said.

The bureau also found 28,216 questionable accounts, 11,661 more than in 2023.

Facebook had 21,967 of those accounts, but TikTok, X and China’s Douyin also had major increases, data showed.

That suggests the main target of disinformation is young Internet users, the bureau said.

The rise of these platforms reflects changing social media habits in Taiwan driving changes in disinformation tactics, it said.

The NSB report highlighted six key tactics employed by the CCP.

The first was flooding social media with information with the goal of changing voter behavior and election results, it said, adding that this included posting memes and videos to spread disinformation about candidates.

The second is impersonating Taiwanese users and official accounts to spread fake news, the report said.

During the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Joint Sword-2024A and 2024B military drills, CCP accounts posing as Taiwanese officials spread disinformation to undermine trust in the military, it said.

Third is leveraging military exercises for propaganda — using both official accounts and state media — to highlight China’s capability to invade Taiwan, the bureau said.

During both military drills last year, videos on TikTok and YouTube were heavily used to intimidate Taiwanese, it said.

Fourth was posting artificial intelligence-generated deepfakes of Taiwanese officials to distort their public perception and mislead voters, the bureau said.

Fifth was co-opting integrated media accounts to spread propaganda, using them as proxies for state-owned media, it said.

The report highlighted multiple accounts on TikTok that have close ties to CCP-owned outlets.

Sixth was establishing multilingual news sites such as the fake Czech newspaper Bohemia Daily and fake Spanish outlet Guell Herald to reinforce the CCP’s “one China” principle internationally, it said.

The CCP takes advantage of democratic systems to wage cognitive warfare using Internet platforms and artificial intelligence technology, the NSB said, adding that this is an international concern.

In response, Taiwan used a comprehensive strategy to combat the threat of disinformation, it said.

The bureau reported 3,900 cases of disinformation to different government agencies and ministries, and Taiwan hosted more than 100 exchange events to share expertise with like-minded nations, the report said.