Taiwan to combat political deepfakes with specialized task force

Aug 20, 2026, 2:50 PM (GMT+8)Tristan Hilderbrand

The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced Wednesday that public elections will be held Nov. 28 and said it plans to launch an online platform to combat disinformation spread through deepfake content.

CEC Chairperson Michael You (游盈隆) said the elections are for 11,051 public officials, taking place over 8,906 constituencies through 18,244 polling stations. You noted that nearly 250,000 election workers will be involved, more than 300,000 if referendums are included. He said this is arguably the largest and most complex democratic election on Earth.

Fake videos have impacted elections around the world, You stated, leading the CEC to establish a specialized deepfake video prevention task force. The commission says it will launch an online platform to facilitate candidates’ reports of deepfakes to online platform operators to accelerate their removal.

Chairperson You said the CEC didn’t receive the Legislature’s notice of three passed referendums until late Tuesday, leading the commission to postpone this Friday’s meeting to next Friday, August 28.

Responding to media questions regarding the possibility of all three referendums being rejected, You said, “The Central Election Commission operates on a collegial system, requiring all eight committee members to meet together, discuss, then make a decision. Therefore, I cannot give a statement at this time.”

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