Sensationalizing the Universiade: Sanlih News Accused of Exaggerating Athletes' Food Poisoning Rumors

During the 2017 Taipei Summer Universiade in August, Sanlih News and several other outlets published sensational reports alleging that the official athlete village bentos were of poor quality, leading to mass food poisoning and diarrhea among the US delegation. The Taipei City Department of Health and the Universiade Organizing Committee swiftly refuted the claims, clarifying that the diarrhea cases occurred among low-level staff members who had independently ordered lunchboxes from an outside vendor. No official athlete catering was compromised, and no US athletes made such complaints. The incident drew sharp criticism against Sanlih for failing to verify facts and intentionally sensationalizing negative rumors to disparage the international event.