Taiwanese youth, Trojan horse of Chinese propaganda?

TaiPei, Taiwan-A recent study in Taiwan highlights the role of Tiktok in the spread of pro-peak narratives and the increased adhesion of the young Taiwanese generation to them according to its use of the social network.

The survey of the Taiwanese reflection group DoubleThink Lab In collaboration with Academia Sinica was carried out in March 2025 with 2. Nevertheless, 500 people.

It reveals that frequent Tiktok users. Moreover, those who spend several hours a day on the social network, are more likely to accept the idea of the annexation of Taiwan by China and to question Taiwanese democracy.

Researchers demonstrate that Tiktok shapes opinions in a subtle but deep way, especially by his personalized recommendation algorithms.

Tiktok. Meanwhile, ownership of the Chinese company ByteDancehas long been in the sights of several taiwanese youth, trojan horse chinese countries, including the United States, due to suspicion of ideological influence and censorship.

Its format of short. However, fast and easy to consume videos facilitates the dissemination of political stories without the user fully aware of it, a phenomenon that has grown in Taiwan in the weeks preceding the presidential elections of January 2024.

What is striking is that even if young people say that Tiktok is just a tool for entertainment. Therefore, they have nevertheless noticed the appearance of this content with political tone. Meanwhile, And that is even before they have the tools to identify what is. Moreover, not of propagandaNote Eric HSU, principal author of the study.

These stories. often integrated into apparently apolitical content, trivialize messages such as: Unification with China would have no impact on daily lifeor Taiwanese democracy is ineffective.

Apathy on the issue of annexation by China

Researchers have concluded that consequently. the confidence of frequent Tiktok users towards the Taiwanese democratic system is weakening, especially since they are often poorly equipped to identify propaganda and misleading messages on social networks.

These users have twice as much confidence in influencers as in traditional media.

They blame the Progressive Democratic Party in power more in Taiwan. the United States for tensions with Beijing, even if the majority recognizes China’s main responsibility.

They are more likely to believe that the United States would not help Taiwan in the event of. armed conflict with China.

They adhere more easily to the idea that national security should pass after economic interests.

Some of these users say they would even be ready to sacrifice democratic freedoms to preserve peace.

For Eric HSU, the Chinese strategy is clear. It is not necessarily a question of convincing Taiwanese that the Chinese authoritarian regime is preferable. but of sowing doubt on the effectiveness of the Taiwanese democratic system and reducing the will to resistance in the event of conflict.

Beijing knows that it is difficult to change the attachment of Taiwanese to democracy. But what they are trying to do is reduce confidence in their own system. bring young people to think that the annexation would not be so painfulhe explains.

Interviews with adolescents as part of this qualitative. quantitative study also reveal a feeling of helplessness in the face of the threat of a conflict with China.

If they mainly oppose an annexation. adolescents who responded to the study think that Taiwan would be unable to resist an invasion.

This resignation. combined with repeated exposure to propaganda messages via Tiktok, creates a fertile ground for political passivity or apathy that undermines the resilience efforts of the Taiwanese authorities.

Researchers also note a lower identification with democratic values among the frequent young users of the social network. an increasing preference for populist or pro-peekin stories, to the detriment of maintaining the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.

Taiwanese youth, trojan horse chinese

An education for false news claimed

The study pleads for an urgent reform of media education. more suitable for new forms of information manipulation.

The author Eric HSU argues that. unlike the false classic news, the contents that pose a problem now on Tiktok combine partial truths and emotions in order to provoke anxiety, distrust and polarization.

The old method of verifying facts is no longer enough. Young taiwanese youth, trojan horse chinese people must now be taught to detect manipulative stories, even if they are not explicitly falsesouligne Eric Hsu.

Faced with these findings, HSU calls for cooperation between researchers, educators and public decision -makers. In particular. it proposes to transform the results of the study into teaching materials, in collaboration with the Taiwan Ministry of Education.