Taiwanese police say they had investigated 184 cases of suspected election-related disinformation by the end of October, with 112 referred to judicial authorities, as the island prepares for local elections on 28 November.
The National Police Agency said the referrals involved 153 people. At a briefing on 4 November, it also described a separate set of nine investigations into alleged crimes involving foreign forces and local accomplices. Prosecutors had brought charges in four of those cases, the agency said.
The two figures describe different categories of police work. The agency did not establish that all nine alleged transnational repression cases concerned the November vote, or that the two groups of cases could be added together. An investigation or referral is not a finding of guilt, and a charge does not establish that an accused person committed an offence.
The elections will choose local officials, including city and county leaders and councillors. In August, the Central Election Commission said 11,051 local offices were to be filled and estimated that about 19.65 million people would be eligible to vote.
Investigating online claims
Police said alleged election disinformation was being spread mainly through social media and messaging services. Much of the material under investigation involved claims made about candidates, including what the agency described as fabricated allegations or malicious attacks.
Figures presented at the briefing included seven suspected deepfake cases among the 184 reports. The overall total does not establish how many cases involved foreign actors, or how many ultimately resulted in charges. The 112 referrals were for further judicial investigation, rather than a count of convictions.
The agency said candidates who find fabricated audio or video made using deepfake technology can apply to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for a forensic examination at their own expense. The application period runs from the election announcement on 20 August until 27 November, the day before polling.
If candidates believe the material involves a criminal offence, they can also take the relevant files to police and report the content to the platform concerned, the agency said. It urged members of the public to check doubtful information through multiple sources before sharing it.
A separate set of investigations
Police also warned about possible foreign efforts to influence the election. They described tactics including manipulation of election betting, organised trips to mainland China, donations channelled through Taiwanese businesspeople, and attempts to mobilise voters through religious activities or local political networks.
Those are methods the agency says it is watching; its statement does not establish that every such activity is illegal or that each method is featured in a particular prosecution. The agency said police had been told to act neutrally and enforce the law impartially.
In the separate group of nine cases, the agency said its investigations concerned alleged criminal activity by foreign forces working with criminal groups, private investigators and people in Taiwan. It described harassment, threats, injury and surveillance as forms that transnational repression could take. Four of the nine cases had led to indictments, it said, but it did not give a verdict in those cases.
One case identified at the briefing concerns alleged surveillance of Democratic Progressive Party legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen. In October, Taipei prosecutors charged four people over alleged unlawful collection and use of personal data. Prosecutors said the monitoring took place in 2024, before this election, and alleged that two Hong Kong residents had commissioned it. The November briefing gave no verdict in the case.
Another case concerns comedian Huang Yihao, who was injured when a car struck him and his scooter. Prosecutors charged five people in October over an alleged paid plot to injure him. Taiwan’s government has accused China of involvement in that case. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office rejected the accusation on 28 October, saying the broader transnational repression narrative was being used to stir confrontation.
For voters and candidates, the agency’s briefing brings together concerns about online material and personal safety in the weeks before polling. Its figures show work at different stages of investigation and prosecution; they do not by themselves establish the outcome of any case or prove that the election result has been affected.
Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
