WASHINGTON (AP) — The rumors about vote fraud started swirling as the ballots in Taiwan’s closely watched presidential election were tallied on Jan. 13. There were baseless claims that people had fabricated votes and that officials had miscounted and skewed the results.

A video that has been widely circulated shows a woman incorrectly recording votes in the wrong candidate’s column. This caused concern that the election results were unreliable and had been manipulated.

January 6th could have been a defining moment for Taiwan, but ultimately was not.

Concerns about China potentially spreading false information in order to disrupt Taiwan’s election were a major issue leading up to the recent vote. This election was a pivotal moment for the emerging democracy and brought attention to the strained relationship between Taiwan and its significantly larger neighbor.

Taiwan serves as a model for other democratic nations with upcoming elections in combatting both foreign and domestic disinformation.

In the upcoming year, over 50 nations with nearly half of the world’s population will have national elections. These elections, from India to Mexico, the U.K. to Russia, will serve as a measure of the effectiveness of democratic systems and those governed by authoritarian leaders.

In Taiwan, there was a quick reaction to false information. Organizations that fact-check disinformation proved the rumors false, and the Central Election Commission held a press briefing to refute allegations of voting inconsistencies. Popular figures such as @FroggyChiu, who has over 600,000 followers, also used YouTube to provide explanations on how votes are counted.

Fact-checkers discovered that the footage of an election worker miscounting votes had been deliberately altered. According to MyGoPen, an independent Taiwanese fact-checking chatbot, voters at the polling station noticed the mistake and the election workers promptly rectified the tally.

This video was among many that had to be debunked by fact checkers.

“I think there were individuals who truly held this belief. Upon the announcement of the election results, they had suspicions,” stated Eve Chiu, the head editor of Taiwan’s FactCheck Center, a non-profit news outlet.

On January 13, Lai Ching-te from the current Democratic Progressive Party emerged as the victor in the election against Ko Wen-je from the Taiwan People’s Party and Hou Yu-ih from the Nationalist Party (Kuomingtang). This election was widely viewed as a vote on the island’s ties with China.

The videos, which originated on TikTok and were later shared on Facebook, were widely circulated by young supporters of the Taiwan People’s Party presidential candidate. Before the election results were announced, there was speculation that the candidate, Ko, could cause an upset due to the significant online buzz surrounding their campaign. However, Taiwan’s FactCheck Center discredited several videos claiming to show voter fraud, including one that captured a human error made by voting officials. The origin of these videos remains unknown.

Taiwan has notably opposed demands for stricter regulations that would mandate social media platforms to monitor their sites. In 2022, a suggestion to implement these laws was retracted due to concerns about freedom of speech.

According to findings from DoubleThink Lab, China spread disinformation targeted at Taiwan, which it claims as its own, leading up to the island’s election.

A large portion of the information aimed to weaken trust in the current Democratic Progressive Party and portray it as aggressive and prone to starting a conflict that Taiwan cannot emerge victorious from. Other stories focused on America’s backing of Taiwan, claiming that the United States is an unreliable ally solely interested in Taiwan’s semiconductor exports and would not stand by the island in the event of a war with China.

Saturday, messages sent to the Chinese embassy in Washington were not promptly responded to.

According to Kenton Thibaut, a senior resident fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab and an expert on Chinese disinformation, Taiwan has effectively countered Chinese disinformation due to the seriousness with which it is perceived in the country. Rather than taking a fragmented approach, such as solely focusing on media literacy or relying solely on government fact-checking, Taiwan has implemented a comprehensive strategy involving the government, independent fact-checking groups, and even private citizens to combat false rumors and propaganda. This approach is known as a “whole of society response.”

During an interview with The Associated Press, Alexander Tah-Ray Yui, who serves as Taipei’s representative for economic and cultural affairs in the U.S., stated that the government has realized the importance of promptly identifying and disproving false information in order to combat misleading narratives. Yui serves as Taiwan’s unofficial ambassador to the U.S.

Yui emphasized the importance of identifying foreign disinformation early, comparing it to a tumor or cancer. She suggested taking action to prevent its spread.

Taiwanese organizations such as MyGoPen and the Taiwan FactCheck Center, who were given a $1 million grant by Google, have made it their mission to educate the public by disproving false rumors that are reported by citizens.

The civil society on the island is robust. Numerous fact-checking organizations were established by committed individuals, such as MyGoPen. Its founder, Charles Yeh, created a chatbot service after noticing that his family members were often misled by online rumors. Similarly, the Taiwan FactCheck Center is cautious about accepting government funds, in order to maintain its independence, according to Chiu.

According to experts, the awareness and understanding of fake news and the digital landscape is increasing, although at a gradual pace.

Chiu explained that just like how people used to throw bottles and cans into the trash, but now they separate them, this change was made through educating society over time. It takes time for everyone to become aware and develop this mindset.

Government attempts to address disinformation in the United States have been met with accusations of political bias and condemnation for restricting free thought.

The United States, with a population over 10 times larger than Taiwan, has been experiencing increasing division and polarization, which has led to significant political and social divides. These divisions provide fertile ground for the spread of false information, making it challenging for the government to counter without facing accusations of stifling valid political perspectives.

In the United States, several stories promoted by Russia are readily embraced by local organizations that have a lack of trust in the government. Former President Donald Trump and other members of the Republican party have frequently made comparable assertions about the country, similar to those propagated by Russian state media.

According to Jim Ludes, a former national defense analyst now heading the Pell Center for International Relations at Salve Regina University, there is a trend in American politics where countries like Russia, China, and Iran do not need to introduce divisive issues because they already exist within the US.

“He stated that the call is originating from within the house, using a well-known horror movie comparison.”

This phenomenon is also evident in Taiwan. Despite Ko, the candidate for president, publicly stating that he did not believe there was any election fraud, members of the TPP held a conference on Wednesday where they presented videos of alleged vote miscounting that had been circulating online. However, these videos had already been proven false, and were used to advocate for stricter adherence to voting laws.

Though the election passed without a major crisis, the challenge continues to evolve. Chinese efforts at disinformation have become increasingly localized and sophisticated, according to DoubleThink Lab’s post-election analysis.

One instance involved a Facebook page called C GaChuDao, run by Chinese individuals, which released a video disclosing an alleged romantic involvement between a DPP legislator and a woman from China. Unlike previous years, when Chinese disinformation was easily identifiable and made fun of for its use of simplified characters and language from China, this video showcased a man speaking in a Taiwanese accent and appearing fully integrated into the local culture.

According to Wu, when selecting topics, they would choose something that already exists within your society, making it more convincing.

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Wu wrote the report from Bangkok. This report was also contributed to by Didi Tang, a writer for the Associated Press.

Source: wral.com