China is increasingly using artificial intelligence to generate and spread “controversial messages” online targeting Taiwan with the aim of creating divisions, the island’s intelligence agency said Tuesday.
Beijing insists Taiwan is part of its territory and uses a range of tactics, including military and diplomatic, to pressure the island into accepting its claims of sovereignty.
Taiwan, which considers itself a sovereign nation, accuses China of using espionage, cyberattacks and disinformation to weaken its defences.
“With the growing maturity and widespread use of AI technologies, it has been observed that the CCP increasingly employs AI tools to assist in the generation and dissemination of controversial messages,” the National Security Bureau said in a report to parliament, using the acronym for the Chinese Communist Party.
The agency said it has set up an automated platform to track and analyse online content.
So far this year, it had identified more than 510,000 “controversial messages”, compared with 442,652 in the first quarter of 2024.
They were mostly posted on Facebook as well as TikTok, X and online forums.
The agency said it also had found 3,600 suspicious accounts on Facebook and TikTok.
China had focused on topics such as Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te’s national security remarks and the Chinese military’s joint combat readiness patrols.
Beijing was conducting “cognitive warfare against Taiwan through a combination of state media, social media, troll networks, and PR firms,” the agency said.
“These efforts are coordinated with abnormal accounts to manipulate online narratives, conduct cyber intrusions and impersonation posts, and operate proxy accounts, all with the aim of sowing division within Taiwanese society.”
