TikTok could be tool for China to sway Taiwanese youth during wartime: Experts

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Experts in information warfare on Tuesday warned that China could use TikTok to influence young people in Taiwan, particularly in a pre-war or wartime scenario, during a seminar in Taipei on Beijing's propaganda efforts targeting Taiwan.

"We believe TikTok poses a significant national security risk during the gray zone period," said Lee Chih-te (李志德), former chief of the now-disbanded Asia Fact Check Lab, citing findings from interviews and research.

The gray zone period Lee referred to is a phase characterized by coercive actions -- such as disinformation operations and military intimidation -- by China that fall short of open conflict with Taiwan.

Speaking at a seminar held by Academia Sinica's Institute of Sociology, Lee said that in March 2024, TikTok launched a large-scale campaign targeting its users in the United States, just as then-U.S. President Joe Biden backed legislation requiring the Chinese parent company of the short-form video app to divest its U.S. operations or face a ban.

"When users in the U.S. opened TikTok on their phones, everyone received the same message -- asking them to call their congressional representatives, say they needed TikTok, and urge them to oppose the legislation," Lee said.

That incident showed that TikTok has the ability to mobilize users, he said.

"I have no doubt that, when needed, TikTok users in Taiwan could one day open the app and see messages claiming that Taiwan's military has already surrendered," Lee said.

He added that other possible messages could urge people to refuse military service by claiming that multiple regions had already fallen.

Lee, a veteran journalist, said such a scenario could "very well happen during the gray zone period," particularly when combined with footage of active-duty Taiwanese military personnel waving China's flag while in uniform on military bases -- material uncovered during recent espionage investigations in Taiwan.

He said Taiwan needs to have the technical means and legal tools in place to respond to such scenarios, warning that if authorities allow this to continue in the name of internet freedom, the country could be caught unprepared when such an incident occurs.

Eric Hsu, a researcher at Doublethink Lab -- an NGO that studies Chinese influence operations -- also addressed TikTok's impact on Taiwanese youth, presenting findings from a qualitative study published in May that drew on in-depth interviews with 16 Tiktok users aged 15 to 18.

It was observed that users on TikTok continue to push political content in implicit ways, embedding narratives that imply "unification would have little impact on Taiwan," according to the report.

Among the interviewees, some believed that the lifestyles of people in Taiwan and China are not that different, "so even if unification happened, it might not have much impact on ordinary people like themselves," he said.

"One interviewee said that the only one who might end up unlucky was (President) Lai Ching-te (賴清德)," Hsu added.

Explaining such a mindset, Hsu said the Chinese side likely recognizes that it is relatively difficult to get people in Taiwan to voluntarily give up their Taiwanese identity or abandon democratic values.

"Their goal has always been to pave the way for unification by creating the perception that it would be a painless process," he said.