MANILA – An official from the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Friday said the government is exploring legal action against those who created the deepfake videos of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. who is supposedly asking the Armed Forces to act against another country.
In a radio interview, PCO Assistant Secretary Patricia Kayle Martin said the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Security Council (NSC) are now investigating the issue, noting that these deepfake videos using President Marcos’ face and voice have since been taken down.
“Well, actually, we reached out to DICT ‘no at sa ating National Security Council noong lumabas itong mga deepfake videos and they’re very active sa pag-investigate about this. But hindi lamang pagtukoy ang layunin natin but kundi magsampa ng kaukulang mga aksyon laban sa mga nagpapakalat ng maling impormasyon (Well, actually we reached out to DICT and our National Security Council when these deepfake videos circulated online and they're very active in investigating this. But the goal is not only to identify [the culprits] but also file the necessary charges against these perpetrators of false information),” she said.
Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital content manipulation through the use of generative artificial intelligence.
Martin said the DICT suspects a foreign actor is behind the deepfake videos.
She said while the President was not surprised by videos intended for fun, the recent posting is a cause for concern because it could potentially harm relations and sow chaos.
She urged the public to stop the spread of deepfakes and fake news on social media, as it may lead to serious repercussions and endanger the country’s foreign relations and national security.
“Actually, di ba ang dati po ang problema natin mga— may makikita tayo sa social media na mga quote cards or mga memes lang, ngayon iba na. Pati kasi ‘yung boses meron na. So, talagang mahalaga na tigilan ‘yung ganitong uri ng fake news dahil may potential itong magdulot ng malubhang pinsala sa ating foreign relations and national security (The problem before in social media was just limited to quote cards and memes, but now things have changed. Even audio [deepfakes] can be generated. So it is really important to fight this kind of fake news because it has a potential to harm foreign relations and undermine national security,” she said.
She said the government has partnered up with big social media platforms like Google, TikTok, and Meta—which is Facebook, Instagram and X -- to fight these online threats.
These platforms are PCO’s partners in its Media and Information Literacy Campaign.
The PCO earlier said it is working on measures to combat fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.
“Let us all be more vigilant against such manipulated digital content that are deployed by actors to propagate malicious content online and advance a malign influence agenda,” the PCO said. (PNA)
