properly may seem old-fashioned. It requires human creativity and real- time understanding of public needs, as well as the most effective response to the attack. It’s like improv comedy on the battlefield. There’s a practicality to all this fun. Outrage is the most viral emotion in social media and the fuel for most disinformation, which often takes a conspiratorial tone. The Taiwanese line has been to provide a logical response to any trending rumours, using humour as a deliberate way to defuse the anger. “When people laugh, anger is vented as humour,” says Tang. “Then we’re quick to organically clarify and participate in fact-checking and civic journalism. This inoculates against outrage, as humour and anger are mutually exclusive. Fast, fair and fun underpin our digital social innovation approach where the government
doesn’t innovate for the people, but with the people.” CREATING DIGITAL RESILIENCE Taiwan’s Ministry of Digital Affairs focuses not just on cyber defence, but on resilience. It’s impossible to counter every single cyberattack or disinformation campaign, but inside Taiwan’s responses is a mindset where every danger becomes a chance to learn and develop stronger countermeasures and strategies. The technology backbone has developed in response to threats in cyberspace, keeping in mind the principle that preservation of openness and democracy are core ingredients of any defence. Government websites all operate on the InterPlanetary File System (IPFS), which is a global peer-to-peer file sharing and storage network created in 2014. This allows the government to
HUMOUR AND OUTRAGE ARE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE
keep its sites and communications in the face of DDoS attacks. The country is also investing in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO) satellites to ensure communications and broadband access even in the event of its submarine cables being cut. The Ministry of Digital Affairs is advancing a ‘data altruism’ model, in which the data of individual donors can be processed for the public good without violating the individual’s personal data privacy. This promotes the beneficial use of data for journalism, scientific research and improving public services, while also acting as an invitation for international organisations to collaborate in using data for the public good. Lest you think Taiwan has something your country could never possibly possess, its digital governance protocols and operational procedures have all been released into the public domain through a Creative Commons licence. “This will insure the foundation of our resilience,” explains Tang, “as well as creating a leading model of digital governance in collaboration with other members of the free world.”
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