Poster #77 - Digital Propaganda and Platform Governance: How Short-Form Video Ecosystems Shape Democratic Resilience in Taiwan

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

This article examines how the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) integrates algorithmic propaganda, soft power, and civil society networks into a broader strategy of cognitive warfare against Taiwan. While much discussion of digital influence focuses on disinformation campaigns alone, this study argues that Beijing’s approach is more comprehensive, combining online persuasion with long-standing influence operations embedded in everyday social institutions.The analysis begins with the role of short-form video platforms such as TikTok and other Chinese-linked applications, where political narratives are blended with entertainment, lifestyle content, and popular culture. Through algorithmic amplification and emotionally resonant storytelling, these videos can subtly shape how younger audiences interpret democracy, national identity, and cross-strait relations. Rather than presenting overt propaganda, the strategy often embeds political messages within humorous, cultural, or nostalgic content that appears apolitical but gradually normalizes pro-Beijing narratives.Beyond digital platforms, the article shows how these online efforts intersect with influence channels operating within Taiwan’s civil society. Drawing on Chinese policy documents, Taiwanese government reports, and open-source research, the study identifies several key arenas through which political messaging circulates, including social media influencers, student exchange programs, grassroots delegation networks, religious organizations, and cross-strait marriages. Across these domains, political ideas are transmitted through trusted social relationships, allowing narratives about shared culture, economic opportunity, and peaceful integration to spread organically within communities.Taken together, these activities form a layered model of influence that combines technological tools, emotional appeals, and social networks to weaken democratic confidence and create ambiguity around Taiwan’s political future. The findings suggest that authoritarian influence campaigns increasingly blur the line between propaganda, cultural diplomacy, and social engagement.The article concludes that countering such strategies requires a whole-of-society response. In addition to stronger platform regulation and data transparency, democratic resilience depends on media literacy education, civic technology initiatives, and cooperation among governments, schools, and civil society organizations. Taiwan’s experience offers broader lessons for how democratic societies can respond to contemporary authoritarian influence operations in the digital age.

Author

• Yenting Lin, George Mason University
  Presenting Author