Man who reposted fake photo of Puma Shen granted deferred prosecution

Taipei, Oct. 12 (CNA) A man who admitted to reposting a defamatory fake image of Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen (沈伯洋) has been granted deferred prosecution for two years, on condition that he regularly attends legal education sessions, prosecutors said Monday.

On June 7, the accused, surnamed Wu (吳), reposted a fake photo on his Facebook page, purporting to show Shen with a nude woman near a table littered with drug paraphernalia, the Taipei District Prosecutors Office said.

According to prosecutors, the fake image of Shen, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate for Taipei mayor, was first posted earlier in June on an X account by a user named "Hsueh Ting-ting Returns" (薛丁丁歸來), whose IP address had been traced to China.

When Wu reposted the photo, he wrote: "This photo looks like someone. Can anyone recognize who it is?" He also drew attention to a nearby table, on which there was some white powder and what appeared to be drug paraphernalia.

Under the fake image, Wu also posted a genuine photo of Shen speaking to reporters at the Legislature, with the caption: "Does it look like him?" prosecutors said.

Shen subsequently filed a complaint with Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau (MJIB) in Taipei, saying that the fake photo was defamatory because it falsely implied that he frequented disreputable places, used drugs, and engaged in sexual activity with unidentified women.

During the investigation, software tools such as Reality Defender, Resemble AI, and Media Integrity AI were used to analyze the image, and it was confirmed as a deepfake, said the MJIB, which then referred the case to prosecutors for further investigation.

When questioned by investigators, Wu admitted that he had posted the photo knowing that it was fake, and he later issued a public apology to Shen, according to prosecutors.

They said that while Wu, who is in his 60s, had committed aggravated defamation, they granted him a two-year deferred prosecution, because he showed remorse and had no prior criminal record. Shen also agreed with the decision, they said.

As part of the deferred prosecution arrangement, Wu must attend 10 sessions of legal education during the two-year period, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, a separate investigation is being conducted into the creation of the deepfake image first posted by "Hsueh Ting-ting Returns," according to prosecutors.

Shen, who is currently a lawmaker of the ruling DPP, is challenging incumbent Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) of the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) in the local government elections scheduled for Nov. 28.