China uses AI-generated personas to interfere with Taiwan elections
Internal documents from a Beijing-based company allegedly describe AI systems capable of generating synthetic personas that mimic influential people's dialects and voices to spread information and manipulate public opinion in Taiwan ahead of its 2026 and 2028 elections, according to Japanese media reporting on materials obtained by an American university.
What happened
American Vanderbilt University's National Security Institute obtained an internal document from Beijing-based company 中科天璣 (Zhongke Tianji) in 2025, which detailed its methods for generating AI synthetic personas to influence Taiwan's politics. The 400-page document described techniques to monitor online discourse, identify influential opinion leaders, analyze their psychological traits, values and dialects, then generate synthetic personas mimicking their voice and speaking patterns to engage in dialogue and shift their views.
The system was designed to target topics of high concern to the Chinese Communist Party central leadership, including Hong Kong, Taiwan, and US-China relations. The company reportedly claimed to provide 'situational awareness, analysis and opinion guidance technology' for these issues. When asked, 中科天璣 denied the New York Times' reporting on the document.
Reported impact
A Taiwan AI industry representative stated that with rapid advances in generative AI, fake accounts on social media have become nearly impossible to distinguish, posing a serious challenge to democratic society. External observers believe China aims to prevent incumbent President Lai Ching-te from winning re-election in 2028, with the 2026 local elections serving as a preliminary test of strength for the subsequent opinion warfare.
Index analysis
The system monitored online spaces to identify influential opinion leaders, then analyzed their psychological traits, values and dialect, and generated AI-generated synthetic personas with high similarity to them. These synthetic accounts could send messages proactively and conduct natural conversation to gradually influence the target's cognition and stance.
Governance controls
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council held a consultative meeting in early December 2025 to warn of China's opinion warfare, proposing measures to strengthen responses to false information and deepen civic education.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.