PTT is one of the most open social media platforms in the Chinese language. Though it’s not more populous than Facebook, it’s arguably more impactful than Facebook here in Taiwan. It’s a reflection of Taiwan's spirited democracy, and it’s used heavily as a source for local journalists.

We speak with two INDSR researchers on a year-long project, “A Pilot Study on PTT in the Context of Influence Operations” (批踢踢影響力作戰前導研究）which attempts to identify CCP state actors on the platfor. The researchers are Oddis J.F. Tsai (Policy Analyst at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources) and Dr. Jui-Ming Hung (Assistant Research Fellow at the Division of Defense Strategy and Resources).

The paper lays out mechanics and - through quantitative analysis - identifies types of suspect behavior on the world’s largest non-commercial, forum-based, open-source online bulletin board system in the Chinese language. This interview was recorded in January 2021 after the paper was published by INDSR. The paper is available here: https://indsr.org.tw/en/News_detail/2181/A-Year-of-Influence-en

Today’s host is J.R. Wu - a non-resident advisor at INDSR (Institute for National Defense and Security Research) in Taiwan. Wu is a former journalist with nearly two decades of media experience in the US and Asia. She has led news bureaus for Reuters and Dow Jones.

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EPISODE CREDIT | Producer & Editing, Emily Y. Wu @emilyywu | Host, JR Wu | Research, Alice Yeh

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