Taiwan, US, Japan stage GCTF online workshop on combating COVID-19 disinformation

2020/05/04

An online workshop on combating COVID-19 disinformation and strengthening media literacy in the Indo Pacific held under the Taiwan-U.S. Global Cooperation and Training Framework was staged April 29 in Taipei City.
 
 Jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, American Institute in Taiwan and Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, the one-day event saw more than 80 experts, nongovernmental representatives and officials from six other countries discuss disinformation trends and tactics, as well as opportunities to deepen global cooperation against such methods.
 
 According to the MOFA, those in attendance included U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Robert Destro, AIT Director Brent Christensen and JTEA Representative Izumi Hiroyasu.
 
 During his opening remarks, Deputy Foreign Minister Hsu Szu-chien said Taiwan is on the frontline of the COVID-19 outbreak and disease-related disinformation, with the latter proving equally dangerous given the speed with which it disseminates online. The government has noticed an uptick in stories designed to mislead the public and undermine the country’s democracy during the pandemic, Hsu added.
 
 While China’s government relies on an aggressive media campaign to improve its image, Hsu said the Taiwan Model shows information transparency, accountability and a vibrant democratic society can overcome the pandemic.
 
 In response, Destro praised Taiwan as a leader in the Indo Pacific when it comes to managing COVID-19. “All of us are learning from the Taiwan Model—a fact that underscores that democracies have the clear upper hand over authoritarian regimes when it comes to fighting this virus,” he said.
 
 Since its launch in June 2015, the GCTF has hosted more than 500 experts, officials and representatives from around 40 countries and territories through workshops covering topics such as energy security, humanitarian assistance, media literacy and women’s empowerment.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)