This Wednesday, the Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC) released their yearly Taiwan Internet Report. Findings from the report indicate a shift away from Facebook, whose market share has dropped by more than 10 percentage points over the past three years.
TWNIC CEO Yu Jo-Fan (余若凡) said that while Taiwan’s internet usage rate is up to 85%, thought much of the public distrusts the internet as an information source. The report shows that almost 80% of internet users believe social media platforms are littered with fake news, 63% believe the same issues plague instant messaging app users, and about 60% of the public distrusts traditional media, as well.
Regarding the most frequently used social media, Facebook continues to rank first at 50% and Instagram ranks second at 24%. Douyin and TikTok rank third, Taiwanese message board PTT ranks fourth, and Twitter/X ranks fifth. Threads, a new text-based app launched by Meta last year, jumped to sixth place, knocking Dcard and Xiaohongshu out of the rankings. Although Facebook remains first in the rankings, its user base is gradually migrating to other social media platforms.
Notably, this year’s survey also shows that the use of digital platforms such as search engines, social media, and YouTube as a primary news source has surpassed traditional media for the first time. This trend indicates that, despite the low level of trust in the overall digital environment, Taiwanese people are increasingly turning to digital information sources for news.