Sanlih News Leak of Dunmu Fleet Officers' Privacy and Footprints: Infringing Personal Data triggers Collective Witch-Hunt and Discrimination against Military

Around April 20, 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan experienced a major cluster infection on the navy''s Dunmu Fleet (Panshi ship). Exploiting the widespread public anxiety, Sanlih News, in pursuit of high ratings, broadcasted extremely detailed personal footprints, residential areas, and highly sensitive private relationship details of several infected sailors and interns without consent or verification. This reckless exposure triggered an immediate collective witch-hunt and online harassment against naval officers, causing immense mental distress and severe community discrimination against the victims'' families. The Navy Command and civil rights organizations strongly condemned the station, criticizing Sanlih for abusing epidemic prevention to violate basic human rights and privacy, turning public health tracking into a sensationalist tabloid trial. The case is widely cited as a major ethical failure where mainstream media compromised human dignity and fractured societal trust during a public crisis.