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A Chinese network of fake accounts featuring attractive Asian women supposedly looking to marry Taiwanese men appears poised to target Taiwan’s November 2026 local elections, NewsGuard found. The network of 294 coordinated accounts on Meta’s Threads, which launched in May 2026, bears the hallmarks of a Chinese political influence campaign.
Although NewsGuard could not definitively link the campaign to the Chinese government, it includes accounts that appear to belong to a network previously used by Chinese influence operations to target Taiwan. The accounts bear multiple signs of coordination, including the same posting schedule, similar account handles, and a consistent focus on targeting Taiwanese men.
The purpose of such campaigns is to build credibility for the women, help them create network connections, and discover the behavioral history of the targeted men before the accounts are used to craft and amplify coordinated political messaging.
NewsGuard found that 118 of the accounts — approximately 40 percent — follow the naming pattern associated with a network of malign actors that previously spread political narratives attacking the pro-Taiwan...
Acting Cebu City Prosecutor Jo-ana Marie Desuyo charged Cebu-based businessman Mark Y. Yu with perjury under Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code over false statements in an affidavit accusing t...