Artist Guo Yanjun shared on Facebook that a medical friend described that “many children have left” inside the hospital, causing an uproar.Photo: Guo Yanjun Facebook
The artist Guo Yanjun shared a conversation with a medical friend on Facebook on the 25th. The other party said that the medical nurse has not rested since April 5, and has been saving people in the ward every day, but the children are getting worse and worse. “I saw so many children and left like this.” , the post sparked controversy. Many people wondered which hospital had such a serious internal epidemic. Executive President Su Zhenchang emphasized the need to investigate and deal with “false rumors.” Bar Su Zhenchang. Akio Yaita, director of the Taipei branch of the Sankei Shimbun, believes that “freedom of speech” and “incitement to panic” are two different things.
According to the data from the Epidemic Command Center as of the 28th, a total of 10 children have died since the outbreak this year, and 5 of them had symptoms of encephalitis. Akio Yaita pointed out that there were indeed 10 children who unfortunately passed away due to the epidemic, but the government did not hide the truth, but published these facts publicly through official channels. However, the post circulating on the Internet that “many children died” left everyone with the impression: “In the same hospital, many children died in a short period of time, and the government concealed this fact. “. This way of writing is very easy to cause panic.
Akio Yaita mentioned that some anxious parents may therefore bring their children without any symptoms to the hospital, occupying medical resources and making it impossible for severely ill patients to receive treatment. In addition, it will give the public the impression that the command center is deliberately concealing the truth, which will deepen the public’s distrust of the government, which is undoubtedly very detrimental to epidemic prevention. The government is not doing well, of course it can be criticized. However, if someone is deliberately misleading the public and creating panic, they should be punished. Not only in Taiwan, but in all democratic societies, including the United States and Japan, this does not contradict the protection of freedom of speech.
Akio Yaita revealed that on the morning of the 29th, he participated in an online forum hosted by the Excellent Journalism Award Foundation. Had a conversation with Mr. Yoichiro Tateiwa, a senior in the Japanese media industry, former NHK reporter and visiting professor at Osaka University of Arts. The two agreed that compared with Japan, Taiwan is “the hardest hit by fake news.” Because there is a big country next to it that deliberately uses fake news to infiltrate, so everyone needs to be more vigilant from time to time.
Yoichiro Tateiwa gave an example, he said. In February 2020, shortly after the outbreak of the epidemic, a screenshot was widely circulated on the Internet in Taiwan, saying that it was from the Twitter of then Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono, saying that “500,000 masks from Taiwan have arrived safely, for Taiwan’s Safe Prayer”. After Mr. Liyan and others inquired with Kono’s office, it was confirmed that Kono had not posted this tweet, and the pictures circulating on the Internet were fake news.
Akio Yaita pointed out that at that time, there was a serious shortage of masks in Taiwan, and each person could only buy two a week. The person who faked this picture was trying to create the illusion that the DPP government secretly donated masks to Japan. Its purpose is obviously to incite public dissatisfaction with the government. It is said that Taro Kono was surprised when he heard about this. Combating cognitive warfare is one of the main tasks of the defense secretary, but he never imagined that his Twitter was also used as a tool for cognitive warfare. Fortunately, the fact-checking center in Taiwan and Mr. Liyan made a timely clarification, and the negative impact did not expand.