【FactLink 2025 Impact Report】
Happy New Year!!-A Message for Our Supporters and Friends
Dear friends:
Happy New Year! We’re thrilled to celebrate the start of 2026 with you. This year holds special significance for FactLink, not just as a new calendar year but as the beginning of our second wonderful year together.
We sincerely thank you for your support in helping us safeguard Taiwan’s information ecosystem along the way!
In this letter, we reaffirm our commitment to FactLink’s mission—to protect Taiwan’s information environment and build meaningful “links” (just like in our name!) for communities in Taiwan and around the world who are working hard to safeguard democracy. We start by celebrating FactLink’s achievements in 2025 and look forward to continuing our efforts in 2026.
What we have accomplished in 2025
In 2025, we dedicated ourselves to four exciting areas: exploring through investigation and research, sharing knowledge through education, working hand-in-hand with experts from various fields, and building bridges between professional information investigation communities.
Investigation and Research:
5 Chinese Research Reports + 2 English Research Reports + 2 AI Test Reports + 1 AI-generated Image Verification Guide
FactLink’s website was officially launched in June 2025. Since then, we have released five Chinese investigative reports, two in English, and two reports on AI testing. Additionally, FactLink published the first AI-generated Image Verification Guide in the Chinese-speaking world, created specifically for news organizations. These publications help media professionals and readers interested in journalism learn how to identify AI-generated images, understand manipulative techniques, and evaluate the accuracy of AI tools.
Our research and the AI-generated Image Verification Guide have received widespread praise, reflecting their positive impact.
International recognition: FactLink has been invited to share findings at international forums, including IRIS 2025 (Indonesia), DRUMS 2025 (Singapore), and the GCTF 2025 (Taipei).
Global citations: Our English reports have been featured by the EU Disinfo Lab and the professional OSINT publication Indicator.
Domestic impact: We have been invited by civic groups, think tanks, diplomatic missions, and government agencies to discuss information manipulation trends. We have also been interviewed by media outlets such as CommonWealth Magazine, Radio Taiwan International (RTI), Education Radio, TaiwanPlus, and Watchout.
High demand from professional communities: Within two weeks of the Guide’s release in December 2025, more than 100 professionals requested it, including 64 journalists, 16 university professors, and various cybersecurity analysts. This underscores a vital societal need for expertise in AI and information identification, which will continue to be our main focus moving forward in 2026.
Knowledge sharing with the general public: FactLink’s work bridges investigative journalism and research. In addition to media reprints, we have contributed to columns in CommonWealth Future City and The Reporter for Kids.
Building Professional Information Communities:
2 Professional Workshops × 2 Journalist Training Workshops
With the vibrant Taiwanese civil society and dedicated civic groups working hard to improve the information environment, one of FactLink’s main strategies to tackle AI-era information manipulation is to bring together professional technical communities that encourage more collaboration and teamwork.
Expert collaboration: In August and September 2025, we hosted two workshops for over 20 experts from AI detection, information analysis, and fact-checking organizations. They helped FactLink refine AI image verification methods and identify cybersecurity attack patterns.
Journalist empowerment: We partnered with RTI for an “AI Imagery and Digital Investigation” workshop attended by 40 media executives, journalists, and professors. Topics included using satellite imagery for investigations and verifying AI fake images.
Open-source intelligence (OSINT) learning community: We hosted a “PLA OSINT Workshop” featuring expert Joseph Wen, where over 20 participants learned techniques for tracking public intelligence related to military and regional conflicts.
Digital Literacy Promotion :
33 Teaching Sessions + 12 Lectures + 5 Domestic and International Forums
In 2025, FactLink completed 33 teaching sessions and 12 lectures to promote digital literacy and fact-checking.
International sharing: We shared Taiwan’s experiences in resisting information manipulation at forums including the Global Taiwan Institute (Washington D.C.), IRIS 2025, DRUMS 2025, and GCTF 2025.
Media & academic outreach: We provided training to media outlets like CNA, PTS, and FTV, and lectured at universities including National Taiwan University, National Chengchi University, and Soochow University.
Community engagement: We visited community colleges (Nangang, Yonghe, Kaohsiung Harbor) to share AI literacy and collaborated with civic groups like the Awakening Foundation and Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights.
Art × Digital Literacy Experiment
In late 2025, FactLink partnered with artist Chuang Yi-Jou and curator Lin Jie-Ying to host the exhibition “You Are What You Post (YAWUPO)” in Taipei. The exhibit featured a rotating sushi conveyor belt symbolizing social media platforms, with each sushi plate representing a social media post. Visitors could physically experience how social media operates during breaking news, the influence of influencers and journalists, and how algorithms shape information consumption. FactLink contributed by creating news scenarios related to controversial public issues in Taiwan over the past decade.
The exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) Taipei attracted 50,000 visitors.
Conclusion: Looking toward 2026
Many friends have told us that FactLink is about “creating links,” and we couldn’t agree more!
As we reflect on our achievements this year, we’re also excited about the opportunities ahead to strengthen Taiwan’s information landscape.
In 2026, we’ll embrace our role as a “link” more fully—delivering thorough investigations, turning complex data into understandable information, and partnering with journalists and educators to support a healthy and vibrant information environment.
Thank you so much for all your support throughout 2025. We are looking forward to continuing our journey together into an exciting 2026!
