Fake Facebook posts linked to China election influence: Expert

Taipei, June 20 (CNA) A cybersecurity expert has warned of a coordinated Facebook disinformation campaign, suspected to be a Chinese psychological warfare test run designed to build networks for manipulating information and influencing Taiwan's November local elections.

The expert, who requested anonymity but whose identity was verified by CNA, sounded the alarm Saturday after discovering a flood of outdated news posts inundating Facebook on June 15.

He told local media three types of posts, which read "Presidential alerts suddenly went off," "Kaohsiung City issued an emergency announcement," and "Kaohsiung City urgently announces school/work cancellations," appeared across 163 Facebook fan pages within a short span that day.

At one point, 14 pages simultaneously carried the same post, while 34 of the total 383 posts appeared within five minutes, averaging one every 10 seconds, the expert said.

He added that the regularity of the pattern suggested scheduled operations by a single backend system using a fixed list of accounts, rather than posts generated by human users.

Examining those Facebook fan pages, the expert found that the administrators of 154 were based overseas -- in Hong Kong, Malaysia, and China -- with a few located in Taiwan.

He noted the operation was likely tied to the Boundless Group in Qinhuangdao, Hebei, China, citing posting patterns, administrator origins and traffic-funneling structures.

The Boundless Group has repeatedly been linked to election‑related information operations in Taiwan, according to studies by the government‑backed Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology, and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) in Taiwan.

In recent years, the Boundless Group has employed AI to rewrite Chinese articles into Taiwan‑style traditional Chinese, spreading them via non‑political fan pages, the expert said.

These accounts attract followers with lifestyle content but switch to political messaging during elections, raising concerns ahead of Taiwan's 2026 local polls, he added.