Taiwan's Ongoing Misinformation and Media Wars
Taiwan’s democracy is still in its infancy. After the end of martial law imposed in 1949, Taiwan began reforming its institutions in 1987 under President Lee Teng-hui. However, some elements of its culture and specifically Taiwan’s media are not operating at the standard one would expect from a democracy.
Taiwan’s media has very low trust among the public, especially for a democracy. "In Taiwan, freedom of expression is quite good, but when you look closer, there is manipulation, advertising and the commercial aspect is huge," explained Will Yang, journalist for The Reporter. "The problem is that the media is owned by businessmen."
And the businessmen appear to have been playing info-wars. The news media in Taiwan is heavily biased toward one of two political groups: the “green” group, which represents the current administration, and the “blue” group, which represents the opposition. As 2022 municipal and regional elections approach, the opposing groups appear to have stepped up their info wars.
“When Taiwanese people see these channels, they see people defending one side or the other. They don't think it's reliable information," Yang says. Only 24 percent of the public trusts the news. This is not limited to one medium of news: print, internet, and cable news all follow the same rules, and voraciously defend their chosen political party. More than two-thirds of Taiwanese people instead turn to third party sources for their news, such as Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube.
Part of the issue is that the government seems to be giving money to media outlets that give them favourable coverage. "Sometimes I feel like the only valid opinion is the one that says 'Taiwan is an independent country and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is great,’” said an anonymous journalist from Taiwan. The DPP has held power since 2016, and enjoys a large amount of popularity in the country, especially from young people. However, this has led to an overwhelming amount of news affirming the party itself, rather than news based in fact.
What are Taiwanese journalists doing about this? Some have started independent fact-checking firms in order to hold mainstream media more accountable. Some politicians have been attempting to pass regulations requiring platforms to “consult local fact-checking organizations, tell the public about false information circulated, and publish annual reports on handling disinformation and misinformation.” And some journalists have taken matters into their own hands by establishing news firms free of government funding. The Reporter is one such publication: it is based on a micro-donation model from readers.
Even more concerning is Taiwan’s seeming vulnerability to misinformation, especially from neighboring China (who have subtly hinted at plans to invade Taiwan). Taiwan was the most affected by misinformation campaigns in 2018, but attempts by the Taiwanese government to draw attention to this problem have actually deteriorated trust in the media even further.
"When the government is in a position to declare something is 'fake news,' it opens the door to abuse," Steven Butler, Asia coordinator at the Committee to Protect Journalists, said to Foreign Policy Magazine.
The anonymous source concurred:
"By drawing attention to Chinese disinformation, the government creates pressure. Any criticism of them has to do with disinformation or external threats…People don't want to read about China anymore, and in the long run, I don't think it's healthy. We have the right to not like China, but we have to understand it."
So what is Taiwan to do? If the above regulation passes, it will go a long way toward helping the public regain trust in the media. But if not? Continuing to invest in independent fact-checkers and crowdfunding journalism might be the way to go. Even democracies need to put conscious effort into their media in order to keep public trust and communicate effectively–and when politicians and businessmen can buy the media, it could lead to the deterioration of democracy.
