Taiwan Elections
The recent Taiwanese elections were targeted by a significant Beijing-aligned disinformation campaign aimed at discrediting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te.
China asserts territorial claim over Taiwan, contending that the island is a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and has consistently employed veiled threats of force to “reunify” it with the mainland. The hostility from Beijing towards the DPP has aggressively intensified since the inauguration of President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, who is a staunch defender of Taiwan’s sovereignty.
During the Taiwanese election campaign, deep fake videos, conspiracies and general disinformation targeting the DPP received millions of views. A video identified as a deepfake by the Taiwan FactCheck Center emerged in November, in which the DPP’s Lai appeared to claim that the opposition represented the views of the majority of Taiwanese voters.
A screenshot of the fabricated video in which the DPP presidential candidate Lai Ching-te appeared to support the cooperation of the KMT and the TPP party in the 2024 Taiwanese presidential campaign. The Taiwan FactCheck Center has debunked this video as untrue.
One of the most viewed narratives falsely claimed that Lai’s running mate, Hsiao Bi-khim, is a secret US citizen. Hsiao was a US citizen until 2002 when she renounced it before running for Taiwan’s legislature. The false narrative was amplified in multiple social media posts using a November 2000 article to falsely suggest that Hsiao is still a US citizen. On December 5, 2023, Taiwan’s election commission declared that Hsiao had complied with all election regulations regarding nationality, allowing her to run.
A December 29, 2023, a deep fake video featuring US Congressman Rob Wittman endorsing military support for Taiwan if candidates from the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) emerge victorious in the January 13 presidential election emerged on TikTok.
Screenshot of TikTok deep fake video of US Congressman Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services.
The fake video gained traction with a caption in traditional Chinese on TikTok, stating: “Interview with Rob Wittman, vice chairman of the United States House Committee on Armed Services, publicly campaigning for the DPP.”
In the video, Wittman is falsely portrayed as saying, “If Lai and Hsiao became president, the United States would accelerate all arms sales to Taiwan, send US military personnel with combat experience to assist Taiwan’s training, and invite Taiwan’s army to train in the United States, to strengthen self-defence capabilities.” The video was created from original interview footage that was broadcast by a US television channel, WUSA 9.
According to an investigation by AFP, there are no credible reports of Wittman publicly supporting the Taiwanese ruling party.
The release of this deepfake video strategically coincided with the presidential election and was likely intended to stoke fears about an escalation of conflict with mainland China.
Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu, told reporters in early January that the Chinese government has launched efforts to try and influence every Taiwanese election since its democratisation in the 1990s. He stated that “this time their aims remain the same – to influence a critical minority in a tight race, and I would categorise this as a tight race.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Lai Ching-te was elected President in the January 2024 Taiwanese Presidential election.
Kremlin Anti-Ukraine and Anti-NATO Narratives Persist
In January, Russian information operations targeted Ukraine, Canada, and NATO with a series of false claims, aimed at undermining trust and eroding public support for Ukraine and NATO. These operations used recycled narratives to manipulate public perception and justify Russia’s actions.
An article published in early January by the Kremlin-aligned tabloid Komsomolskaya Pravda alleged that wounded Ukrainian soldiers were being transported to NATO-run hospitals for organ harvesting, after which the organs would be put on sale on the black market. This narrative, aimed at dehumanizing the Ukrainian army and justifying Russia’s invasion, has been consistently propagated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and media platforms since February 24, 2022. British, American, and Canadian intelligence services have publicly rejected this false narrative, with no credible evidence to support it.
The Kremlin has continued to press a narrative that falsely claims that the United States is creating a colonial administration in Ukraine, portraying the country as a US colony. This narrative, an extension of the Kremlin’s campaign to depict NATO as a neo-imperialist organization, falsely suggested American advisers had infiltrated Ukrainian government departments. While the US and its allies have supported Ukraine against Russia’s war of conquest, there is no evidence of any intention to control Ukraine or direct intervention in its internal affairs. This narrative is intended to erode Ukrainian trust in its Western allies and Western trust in the US government. A similar claim posted to The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Twitter account, falsely asserted that the United States was at war with Russia and depicted Ukraine’s President as a Nazi. This narrative aimed to cast Russia as a victim of Western democracies and NATO, eroding trust in NATO and support for Ukraine. However, neither the US or NATO is at war with Russia, nor is there any evidence of President Zelensky or his government being Nazis.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s appeared on US national news in mid-January where he let loose several well-worn Kremlin narratives. On CBS News, he claimed the West is using Ukraine as a tool against Russia; he claimed that Russia was resisting peace negotiations; and he misrepresented NATO’s open-door policy as neo-imperialist expansion. These statements contradict the reality, that the West is not at war with Russia, Russia has shown no interest in peace negotiations, and NATO’s expansion is based on sovereign decisions by independent countries.
Finally, in late January the Twitter/X account of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs falsely claimed that Canada is interfering in the upcoming US elections. This claim coincided with Canada’s federal inquiry into foreign interference and likely aimed to ridicule the inquiry and undermine Canadian concerns about foreign interference. This “accusation in a mirror” tactic falsely attributed intentions and actions to adversaries that Russia itself has enacted. There is no evidence of Canadian government interference in US elections. The prudent preparations that Canada is making ahead of a possible second Donald Trump presidency are perfectly normal in terms of ensuring a smooth transition in the event of such a result.
Overall, these Russian information operations seek to manipulate public opinion, justify Russia’s actions and undermine trust in Western democracies, institutions, and their support for Ukraine.
Fake Video Claims Canadian and US Navy Sank 300 Chinese Fishing Vessels
A YouTube video falsely claimed that Canadian and US Navies sank 300 Chinese fishing ships in October 2023. The video, titled “Brutal War!” and viewed 5,710 times, included manipulated footage and narration to appear authentic.
The footage in the fake video was edited from a September 10, 2023, CBC report about Canadian Navy vessels transiting the Taiwan Strait.
DisinfoWatch analyzed the fake YouTube video and discovered that the footage used in it was mirrored, raising suspicion that it was edited and added from a different report. Footage included images of crew members whose uniforms included Canadian insignia and flags. We took a screen capture of frames that included a crew member of the ship and mirrored them along a vertical axis to make the name of the crew member visible. We searched for the name “Patchell” and discovered that the Commanding Officer of the HMCS Ottawa is Cdr Sam Patchell. We then searched Cdr Patchell’s name and found the CBC National report, which included mirrored footage from the CVBC to which effects had been applied.
Original CBC News Broadcast:
