Radio Taiwan International (Rti) Vice President Chris Liu (劉嘉偉) said public media must remain reliable in the eyes of the public as a defense against disinformation. This comes on May 15, the second day of the Lviv Media Forum (LMF), where journalists and media figures from Taiwan, Ukraine, and Georgia discussed the role of public media in geopolitical crises.

Speaking at a panel titled From Informating to Sensemaking: How Public Media Guide Societies in the Eye of the Storm, Liu noted that Taiwan faced more disinformation attacks than any other country in the world. Including attacks from China, Russia, and now AI-assisted disinformation attacks, Liu said it is almost impossible for the average citizen to verify all disinformation.

This problem is compounded by young people’s reliance on social media platforms such as RedNote and TikTok– even if users don’t directly search out news on these platforms, algorithms could be manipulated for malicious purposes, which would have drastic effects on the media sphere.

These are just a few reasons why Liu said that public media institutions need to remain reliable to the public. He continued that trust must be earned, however, not simply expected. In 2025, Rti became the first Chinese-language media outlet to receive Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) certification by publishing a transparency report and third-party audit. In doing so, Rti demonstrated its high standards and transparency to current and future audiences.

Suspilne Ukraine Senior Executive Mariya Frey also underscored the importance of public media in Ukraine– pointing out that even in their current “worst-case scenario,” journalists continue to show up and fulfill their responsibilities. 

Similarly, Rti is considered by the government as a part of Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, meaning that it must be prepared to continue reporting and broadcasting across a wide spectrum of disasters. 

“Regardless of how technology changes, the most important thing is the audience,” Liu said, emphasizing that the trust public media relies on can only be built by establishing connections with the public.