Taiwan Media Conference Takes On ‘Fake Guccis and Pradas’ of Online Disinformation

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Friday hosted the inaugural Taiwan International Journalism Conference in Taipei. Titled “Disinformation: Time for Solutions,” the event featured a mixture of international and local speakers who framed Taiwan’s current battle against disinformation in social and traditional media with a global backdrop.

RSF, the press freedom watchdog which in 2017 chose Taipei as the location for its first Asia bureau, also used the conference to introduce a new media standardization certification. The Journalism Trust Initiative, officially launched on December 19, was described by Cédric Alviani, director of RSF’s East Asia bureau, as a way to “incentivize and reward” compliance with professional norms by media outlets.

The certification standards assess the processes by which media outlets source their news, fact-checking, accountability, general editorial standards and transparency on ownership and funding. The aim is to remove much of the dross, such as that produced by content farms, from the algorithms of social media and subsequently strengthen the public’s faith in the news-gathering process, effectively creating a whitelist of reliable news sources.

Alviani said the standards act to filter out the worst offenders in the battle of disinformation and do not include a value judgement on the editorial line of outlets.

Social media, he said, is like a giant department store “which is currently embarrassed because they are selling a lot of fake Guccis and Pradas.”

Alviani expressed confidence that the scheme would help cut off fake news and disinformation at its roots by limiting its reach and virality, rather than simply countering false stories with fact-checking.

“It is useless to act on fake news after it has been distributed,” Alviani said after the event. “If Taiwan wants to protect against disinformation, it has only one solution, which is to strengthen its journalism environment.”

Journalists, he said, must “have the proper resources and ability to be that filter between information and fake news.”

Taiwan’s domestic media has been plagued by accusations of Chinese influence over the content and editorial standards of certain Taiwanese outlets. More broadly, Taiwan’s media ecosystem has a poor reputation for fact-checking and verifying information prior to publication. Social media networks, such as LINE, Facebook and Taiwan’s PTT, can act as incubators for the spread of false or malicious information, a phenomenon the companies are acting to combat.

LINE Taiwan, Facebook and Google are among 120 listed partners in RSF’s Journalism Trust Initiative.

J. Michael Cole, the editor of Taiwan Sentinel, condemned as “preposterous” the current media trend in Taiwan of quoting a social media post to create a “news item,” creating a ripple effect in which other outlets pick up the story without verifying its details.

Once such an item enters the news cycle, it becomes a topic of discussion for talk shows lacking legitimate expert opinion, which further extends the item’s time in the news cycle, he said.

Cole called on newsroom editors to take a stand against such reporting standards. He also urged commentators to take personal responsibility for their role in propagating low-quality content by refusing offers to appear on shows to discuss news items unless they have true expertise or knowledge of the topic.

RSF’s initiative aims to give audiences confidence that their information comes from outlets upholding strict quality standards.

The initiative is scalable and designed to meet the needs of both large media companies and smaller independent outlets, he said, comparing it to industry standard certifications for things like organic food and energy efficiency.

Alviani acknowledged that some larger media players would face stark choices. For instance, publishing paid content from Chinese state-owned media outlets like Xinhua and China Daily—a deeply controversial practice maintained by newspapers such as the New York Times and Washington Post—could lead to a failure to earn RSF’s certification.

RSF East Asia bureau head Cedric Alviani (3rd from left) speaks at Friday’s Taiwan International Journalism Conference. (Credit: Naomi Goddard)

The conference also focused heavily on the role of civil society, and by extension the government, to create an environment that fosters independent journalism.

“You don’t buy the head of the journalist because you employ them,” observed Pierre Haski, the president of RSF.

Haski called for strengthened support for journalists in the form of stronger unions. He also encouraged attendees to watch Netflix documentary “The Great Hack” to further understand the role of professional disinformation campaigns in polarizing civil society.

Several speakers, including Chinese dissident and RSF emeritus board member Wu’er Kaixi, pointed to boardroom interference in the newsroom as a problem that scuppers many a dedicated journalist in their attempts to produce useful and informative content.

The role of public media in a functional information ecosystem was also discussed at the conference.

PTS, Taiwan’s public television network, has an annual budget of just 2% of that of its Korean counterpart, KBS, and a mere 0.4% of the United Kingdom’s BBC.

Wu’er described public media as an important pillar of an advanced democracy, referencing the need for useful and reliable information that informs debate through high-quality journalism that citizens can use to make choices at the ballot box.

Wu’er called on the Taiwan government to elevate the budget of PTS in Taiwan tenfold.

Other panelists echoed Wu’er’s sentiment, observing that a dependable public television service was as important to Taiwan’s civil society as military defense measures such as buying F-16 fighter jets.

After the event, Alviani told Ketagalan Media the conference, attended by an array of prominent academics and public officials, had satisfied RSF’s aims of engaging with both civil society and government.

Alviani expressed his intention for the event to become an annual fixture where Taiwan may engage in dialogue with other Asian countries.

(Cover photo by Naomi Goddard)