How do you counter bullshit?

Around the world, attacking such hoaxes head on has repeatedly been shown to be hopeless, counterproductive.

Well, there’s lessons for all of us in the way Taiwan’s dealing to Coronavirus misinformation.

Instead of tackling fake news directly, the 23 million people country, (one of the few to have shoved the Covid genie back into its bottle), has seen its government being deliberately subversive, and counterattack falsehoods with humour.

‘Humor over rumour’ has effectively quashed misinformation around CV-19.

As Quartz reports in this article, Taiwan’s digital ministry rebuts with a joke within two hours of spotting a hoax post.

It’s based on the principle that people like to share funny memes on social media.

This approach allows the government to take back control of the narrative.

Taiwanese government agencies have even employed professional comedians to help their cause.

One meme countering a false report of a toilet paper shortage – where the paper was supposedly being used for face masks instead. A cartoon character of Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang sashays his rear end, telling people “We only have one par of buttocks”, alongside an illustrated graphic showing that toilet paper pulp is imported from South America and has no effect on face mask production because those materials are sourced locally.

Taiwan’s enlightened approach is a storytelling breath of fresh air.

Among all the bad news of Covid-19, a touch of glee does a power of good.

The lesson for all storytellers across government and private sectors is that laughter can and should be used for good, although its effectiveness needs to be carefully gauged as this ‘Humor, Comedy and Consumer Behavior’ article in the Journal of Consumer Research points out.

So sure, humour needs to be used cleverly (what storytelling shouldn’t!), but as the nation formerly known as Formosa has shown, it can also be used to counteract lies.

Big ups to Taiwan for setting an example.