How Taiwan beat back disinformation and preserved the integrity of its election

By DAVID KLEPPER and HUIZHONG WU
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in Taiwan recently repelled a wave of disinformation seeking to undermine their democracy ahead of the election earlier this month. In doing so, the island can offer lessons to the U.S. and other nations holding their own elections amid the threat of foreign disinformation. Experts say Taiwan was able to rebuff China’s efforts to meddle with its democracy by taking the challenge of disinformation seriously. When rumors and hoaxes about voting discrepancies popped up, the government and independent fact-check groups responded aggressively and quickly. China views Taiwan as its own. A report by DoubleThink Lab found that China used propaganda and disinformation in an effort to undermine its democracy.