Authorities in Taiwan are investigating a flood of false social media posts about child mortality from COVID-19.
The posts falsely claim that large numbers of children have died during the current COVID outbreak. In fact, ten children under the age of 13 have died of COVID since the current wave of infections began in late April.
Taiwan’s justice ministry said on Monday that the posts may be coming from content farms, places where disinformation is produced and spread in large numbers. It is currently investigating whether the posts are being promoted by foreign agents.
A disinformation watchdog recently reported that most of the posts show signs of being part of a coordinated disinformation campaign. This includes having the same wording and being posted at similar times.
Authorities are calling on the public not to spread unverified or false information that could interfere with Taiwan’s efforts to control the virus. People spreading COVID disinformation in Taiwan face prison sentences and fines of up to NT$3 million.