Information Warfare Watch No. 56

TAIPEI BRACES FOR DIGITAL INTERFERENCE FROM BEIJING
Ahead of upcoming elections, Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government is bracing for stepped-up Chinese interference. The island is slated to hold national elections on November 28th, and officials in Taipei expect a surge of Chinese AI-generated cyberinfluence campaigns in the weeks ahead, aimed at targeting DPP voters with misinformation to increase support for the more pro-Beijing Kuomintang opposition party. Their concern is well placed; earlier this year, Taiwan's National Security Bureau reported that the island faced an average of 2.63 million Chinese cyberattacks per day in 2025 – an increase of 6% from 2024, and 113% from 2023. (Radio Free Asia, August 31, 2026)

MOSCOW STRESSES "PATRIOTIC PROPAGANDA"...
Since the start of its full-scale war on Ukraine, Russia has ramped up its efforts to indoctrinate its own population via patriotic propaganda. According to Deutsche Welle, new textbooks with pro-war messaging have become an increasingly important part of Russian education curriculums. For instance, revised textbooks recently disseminated in Novosibirsk portray dying for one's country as a noble sacrifice, and depict Russia as morally superior to Western countries, students interviewed by the German outlet say. The content is part of "materials for spiritual, moral, and patriotic upbringing" that have become increasingly important as the government of Vladimir Putin seeks to preserve support for what has become a protracted war with Ukraine. (Deutsche Welle, September 26, 2026)

...AND HARNESSES AI FOR CENSORSHIP
The Kremlin is seeking to weaponize artificial intelligence to improve official censorship in Russia, and prevent efforts by ordinary citizens to circumvent the country's increasingly restrictive internet filters. "Russia's Ministry for Digital Development hopes that by using artificial intelligence (AI), it will be able to identify Russians going on line via virtual private networks (VPNs) and then block them with a 95 percent success rate," notes Russia expert Paul Goble in his Window on Eurasia blog. Citing reports by the Kommersant newspaper, Gobel notes that the Ministry's "intelligent algorithms" are increasingly capable of tracking and identifying users employing virtual private networks (VPNs), allowing their blockage. (Window on Eurasia, October 16, 2026)

AUSTRALIA TIGHTENS ITS DIGITAL LAWS
New laws designed to protect children from harmful material online are currently being advanced in the Australian parliament. The plan, named "my feed, my way" is meant to reduce the possibility of users under the age of 18 coming across harmful content. Internet users over the age of 16 will be given new tools to turn off algorithm-driven content. Content to be restricted includes pornography; material that promotes, encourages, or accelerates eating disorders; misogynistic content; content that glorifies crime or life-endangering stunts; and that which causes serious mental health distress, including abuse and bullying. Platforms that do not comply will face fines exceeding 100 million Australian dollars (more than $70 million). (The Guardian, September 8, 2026)

NEW FREEDOM HOUSE REPORT SOUNDS THE DIGITAL ALARM
Internet freedom continues to decline worldwide, democracy watchdog Freedom House lays out in its latest survey of digital freedom. That makes the 16th consecutive year in which internet freedom has diminished globally. But the study also outlines what it defines as "seismic shifts on the global internet," chief among them intensifying efforts by authoritarian regimes to "isolate their populations" from information available on the World-Wide Web. In particular, the study notes, "[a]uthorities in Iran and Russia accelerated efforts to cut connections to the global internet over the past year, advancing a playbook for how repressive governments can isolate their populations in the digital era."

The situation is increasingly dire, because "digital technologies serve as a lifeline for people seeking to expose human rights violations to the outside world and hold dictators accountable," the Freedom House study explains. In response, it recommends a series of measures to complicate "digital repression" by authoritarian regimes, including: public disclosures by Internet Service Providers of shutdown orders they receive; stepped-up monitoring and documentation by internet freedom watchdogs; and increased investments among free nations for circumvention technologies such as satellite internet access which can help societies facing digital pressure successfully remain online. (Freedom House, October 2026)