Chinese Influence Operation Exposed as Wubianjie Targets Taiwan Through Social Media

A sophisticated Chinese influence campaign continues to target Taiwan, with evidence pointing to a media company called Wubianjie as a central player in Beijing’s cognitive warfare strategy. The operation extends beyond Taiwan’s recent elections, employing a blend of misinformation and subtle propaganda through an extensive network of social media accounts.

In September 2025, a viral post on Meta’s Threads platform showed a child collapsing in what was falsely claimed to be Taipei’s metro system, with bystanders allegedly failing to help. Taiwanese authorities quickly debunked the claim, confirming the incident actually occurred in Hangzhou, China. Dr. Austin Horng-en Wang from the RAND Corporation traced the account responsible for the misleading content back to Wubianjie.

Taiwanese security officials have been monitoring the company for some time. A 2025 National Security Bureau report specifically identified Wubianjie as a key instrument in China’s information warfare campaign against the island. The company operates accounts across multiple platforms including Facebook, Threads, and X, initially focusing on apolitical content before strategically introducing political messaging.

“This pattern suggests Wubianjie uses a phased strategy to first expand its reach and then attempt to influence public perception,” the report states.

The company’s operational model is systematic. Beyond occasionally publishing content aligned with Beijing’s views, Wubianjie embeds links within Facebook posts that direct users to a broader ecosystem of content farms, web novel platforms, and even erectile dysfunction advertising pages.

On its website, Wubianjie presents itself as a legitimate “news organization” that provides “genuine audience engagement” and “real-world impact” for advertisers. According to information published on Yanshan University’s website, where its CEO studied, the company employs 163 editorial staff and operates 761 Facebook pages that reach 61 million followers. It also manages 460 partner pages reaching an additional 46 million users, with content in Japanese, Mandarin, and English.

The company’s activities date back years. In 2018, Taiwanese magazine Business Today reported that Wubianjie had recruited Taiwanese bloggers, offering them “extra income” to produce lifestyle content. The company later expanded into content farming, creating low-quality but high-traffic articles with sensational headlines to maximize engagement and advertising revenue.

Connections to Chinese authorities

Evidence suggests Wubianjie maintains close ties with the Chinese state. The investigation revealed the company promotes erectile dysfunction medication through Facebook soft porn pages, combining content creation with commerce.

“It would be highly unusual for a Chinese website to operate in both sectors without government connections,” said Dr. Wang. “At a minimum, I believe the company has some form of tacit understanding with the authorities.”

These state connections appear in documented interactions. In June 2020, the state-run Qinhuangdao Radio and Television network announced a strategic partnership with Wubianjie—an unusual collaboration between a municipal broadcaster and a private digital firm. Four months later, officials from Hebei’s propaganda department and cyberspace administration visited Wubianjie’s offices.

Since its founding in 2014, Wubianjie has grown from a startup with initial investment of 100,000 RMB (about 12,500 EUR) into a group claiming assets of 10 million RMB (about 1.3 million EUR), according to Chinese corporate data platform AiQicha. The company has established a network of affiliated entities and even registered a retail company in New Taipei City, though investigators found the listed address corresponds to a business center rather than an actual operational office.

The company actively recruits “new-media editors” to analyze user data, track trends, and produce targeted content, with recent job postings seeking Japanese and English speakers indicating expansion into new information spaces.

Wubianjie did not respond to requests for comment.

Part of a larger disinformation ecosystem

Wubianjie represents just one element in China’s broader information manipulation strategy. Meta has repeatedly taken action against Chinese networks engaged in “coordinated inauthentic behavior” on Facebook—organized efforts to manipulate public debate using fake accounts and deceptive content.

In March, Meta announced it had dismantled another network of social media accounts promoting pro-Beijing narratives while attacking Taiwan’s ruling party, apparently attempting “to foster domestic discord.” Despite originating in China, the operation used Taiwan-based proxy accounts and fabricated personas to mask its source. The network invested approximately $15,000 in Facebook and Instagram advertising to build influence. Notably, pages managed by Wubianjie appear to have either escaped Meta’s purge or been quickly reconstituted.

Wang Hsing-huan, chairperson of the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, has urged the Taiwanese government to take stronger action against China’s online manipulation. “China doesn’t even need to convey a specific message, as the disinformation campaign is primarily aimed at creating confusion. Its ultimate goal is to make everyone lose trust in the government and media outlets,” Wang noted.

A senior Taiwanese cybersecurity policymaker, speaking anonymously, warned that these efforts have successfully created divisions within Taiwanese society. More worryingly, “China’s disinformation campaign has fostered the perception that democracy equates to chaos, leading some in Taiwan to view authoritarian rule as an acceptable alternative.”

As these operations become increasingly embedded in ordinary content, their scale and sophistication make them progressively more difficult to detect and counter.