NCKU Also a Victim? From Dragon Boat Races to QS Rankings, Facebook's 'I Am XX Person' Errors Abound

Concerns are mounting over the accuracy and authenticity of content shared by popular local Facebook pages, such as 'I am Tainan Person.' These pages, which focus on regional perspectives and lifestyle information, are increasingly criticized for allegedly using artificial intelligence to rewrite news reports. Critics claim this practice leads to the spread of misinformation, factual errors, and exaggerated content, raising serious doubts about the reliability of the information presented.

A recent incident involving National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) highlights these issues. When reporting on NCKU's entry into the global top 200 universities by the UK's QS rankings, the 'I am Tainan Person' page shared an image where the accompanying banner text was significantly altered. The original text was distorted into a nonsensical phrase, 'National Cheng Kung University 114th School Affairs National Language Committee,' with the attribution 'Photo Provided by NCKU.' NCKU has stated it will contact the page administrators to request a correction, noting that the page did later amend the text, suggesting some level of human oversight.

This is not an isolated case. The same page allegedly misrepresented the results of a dragon boat race, claiming a team advanced without competing after their opponent forfeited. However, sources familiar with the event stated that teams must still complete the race to qualify, contradicting the page's narrative. Such inaccuracies fuel suspicions that the content creators may not be present at events or are fabricating details.

Further evidence of AI manipulation emerged when the 'I am Taipei Person' page inadvertently displayed AI generation instructions within its posts, including directives like 'remove sensitive words, strengthen Taiwanese colloquialisms.' This has intensified discussions about the origins of the content, its veracity, and the potential for cognitive manipulation through AI-generated narratives. The use of AI to paraphrase and potentially distort information from pro-China media sources has also been previously reported in relation to these pages.