Taiwan Flags 48% Rise in Chinese Disinformation Pre-Election — SkimNews
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- Taiwan's National Security Bureau reported to lawmakers that Chinese disinformation items targeting the island exceeded 2.5 million in the first nine months of 2026, up roughly 48% from more than 1.69 million a year earlier.
- Beijing's campaign focused on energy, food security and defence policy as well as the platforms of specific candidates ahead of November's "nine-in-one" elections for city mayors and county magistrates, the bureau said.
- China's information operations used AI-generated videos, fake accounts, content farms, coordinated comment flooding and online troll armies amplified via official media and PR firms, according to the report.
- Chinese state media have increasingly amplified Taiwanese critics of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, including opposition Kuomintang-linked influencers and politicians, a separate Reuters/IORG investigation found.
- Cyberattacks on Taiwanese government agencies averaged 2.58 million per day in the first nine months of 2026, with detected threats spiking to 185.6 million in July and 106.4 million in August after rising from June.
- The bureau warned the cyber and disinformation surge "cannot be ruled out" as advance intelligence-gathering and harassment aimed at interfering in the year-end elections.
- China's Taiwan Affairs Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment; Beijing has previously denied spreading disinformation or meddling in Taiwanese elections.
Why it matters: With Taiwan's November local elections approaching, a 48% jump in Chinese disinformation volume and a 2.58 million-attack-a-day cyber tempo point to an intensified, AI-augmented campaign specifically targeting voter-decision issues like energy and food security — raising the stakes for opposition-aligned voices amplified by Beijing and for Taipei as it defends the informational environment around the ballot.
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