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One of the biggest issues with social media today is the ease with which disinformation and propaganda can be disseminated effectively. It is also a very secretive way, because it can be difficult to find out the extent to which accounts spread their message organically or through advertising. 

Taiwan 's national security authorities have recently uncovered a cognitive cyberwarfare campaign conducted by the People's Republic of China (PRC) to flood the Facebook accounts of President Tsai Ing-wen and former premier Su Tseng-chang with derogatory comments. "The government found 825 Facebook accounts run by China’s cyberarmy that posted large numbers of anti-government comments on Tsai’s and Su’s Facebook pages," the Taipei Times reported on February 6.  The PRC claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to use force to achieve its goal . Disinformation, cognitive warfare and propaganda are part of Beijing's strategy to undermine Taiwan from within by manipulating public opinion and deriding Taiwan's close ties with the United States.   Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen visiting troops, via official Facebook profile   _____ According to the report, Beijing's cyberarmy follows several steps:  - creating fake accounts to post disinformation; ...

On January 24, Yahoo! published an article titled "Taiwan couple in tune with Chinese mainland". The original source of the piece is China Daily , which is an English-language newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The article and its accompanying video may seem quite harmless to people who are not familiar with the politics of the People's Republic of China (PRC), but they hide a very specific agenda.  In the video, a young couple from Taiwan are interviewed about their experiences in China, and especially during the Lunar New Year festivities. They are asked questions about their jobs as DJs, and about the similarities and differences between Taiwan and "the mainland".  The way they talk and the words they use convey a message: that Taiwan is just a part of China.  The CCP views Taiwan as part of the PRC and has vowed to use force to annex it. Beijing's stance can be compared to the Russian government...