Taiwan FactCheck Center

From January 28 to February 4, 2023, a massive Chinese-operated high-altitude balloon was seen in North American airspace. On February 4, the U.S. Air Force shot down the balloon over U.S. territorial waters off the coast of South Carolina, after it spent days traveling across the country.

Although the suspected spy Balloon has been shot down, rumors continue to spread in Taiwan.

A series of photos purported to show the remains of the balloon. But none of them is linked to the current news event. Our fact-check: https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/8756

Another video claimed to show the U.S. firing 3 missiles to shoot down the alleged spy balloon. However, 3 trails that appeared in the video were left by fighter jets. According to the U.S. Dept of Defense, a fighter fired 1 AIM-9X Sidewinder missile at the balloon. Fact-check: https://tfc-taiwan.org.tw/articles/8757

You can find our fact-check on the suspected spy balloon (in Chinese) and an overview (in English) on this page.

As US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi arrived in Taiwan late Tuesday (August 2), tensions between Taiwan and China have been escalating. Shortly after Pelosi’s arrival, China announced three days of military exercises and live-fire drills to encircle Taiwan from August 4-7. 

Pelosi had concluded her 19-hour-visit in Taiwan on August 3 and headed to South Korea. 

Pelosi’s Asia trip and China’s response have sparked a misinformation wave on social media since July 29. Taiwan FactCheck Center has been closely monitoring the situation as well as narratives on internet space. We will constantly update our work here.

As Taiwan’s year-end local elections are nearing, the Taiwan FactCheck Center has noticed that political misinformation is rearing its head in the lead-up to what is locally known as the “nine-in-one elections.” 

With the nine-in-one elections – signifying the nine levels of public offices to be filled with the highest being the mayorship – taking place at the end of this November, disinformation pertaining to politicians and aiming to spur people’s political sentiments has also been picking up the pace to “warm up” alongside the election campaigns.