Multiple media outlets reported on it.
Fact-check reporter: Chiu Shao-an
Managing editor: Ho Hui-an
The original publication can be read here.
As the Chung Lien Grease case continued to unfold, the Kuomintang (KMT) called on the public to attend an “I am human, I oppose poisoning Taiwan” rally held on Ketagalan Boulevard on July 25. A message circulating on social media platforms, accompanied by an aerial photo of Ketagalan Boulevard, claimed that the rally received no media coverage. This is a one-sided claim; multiple media outlets in Taiwan did report on the rally that day.
The image in the rumor was taken from a July 25 post by a KMT legislator, and both Next Apple News and ETtoday cited this photo in their reporting.
In addition, media outlets including PTS News, SET, Liberty Times, Mirror Media, CtiTV News, China Times News, TVBS, and United Daily News all reported that the crowd at the July 25 rally had extended beyond the area around Jingfu Gate.
The rumor falsely claims that the July 25 rally on Ketagalan Boulevard received no media coverage whatsoever, but multiple Taiwanese media outlets reported on the event that day. It is therefore “Incorrect” information.
Background
With the uproar over the Chung Lien Grease case—in which its oil products were found to contain carcinogens exceeding legal limits—still unsettled, the KMT held an “I am human, I oppose poisoning Taiwan” rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on July 25.
Subsequently, a message circulating on social media platforms claimed, “I hear there’s a country that calls itself a democracy where a protest march took place in the streets, yet there was no news coverage.” The post was accompanied by an aerial photo of crowds surrounding Jingfu Gate. Another version of the rumor claimed that this photo received no media coverage at all.
Fact-check
Fact-check point: Is the claim in the rumor true?
Multiple media outlets reported on aerial footage of the July 25 rally crowd
Running the circulating image through a Google reverse image search led to a July 25 Facebook post by KMT legislator Lo Chih-cheng, confirming that the photo is aerial footage of the July 25 rally on Ketagalan Boulevard. A further Google reverse search shows that media outlets, including Next Apple News and ETtoday, also used Lo Chih-cheng’s photo in their reporting.
A keyword search of the internet shows that outlets including SET, Liberty Times, Mirror Media, CtiTV News, China Times News, TVBS, United Daily News, and PTS News (at the 0:06 mark) all reported on the rally and showed related footage, indicating that the crowd that day extended from Ketagalan Boulevard to the area around Jingfu Gate.
In addition, numerous media outlets—including SET, FTV, Mirror News, NextTV, CTS, EBC, TTV, TVBS, CTV, and CtiTV — all livestreamed the rally on Ketagalan Boulevard on July 25.
Reposted from the TFC website in collaboration with StopFake as part of the Ukraine–Taiwan Initiative for Election Information Resilience.
