The government is considering legal action against those behind a manipulated or deep fake video of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. seemingly asking the Armed Forces to act against another nation.
Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Patricia Kayle Martin said in a radio interview that the deep fake videos using President Marcos’ face and voice have since been taken down.
Martin added they have already reached out to the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and National Security Council (NSC) which are now actively investigating the issue.
The PCO learned about the video featuring the President through its mainstream media and social media platforms monitoring, said Martin. “Well, actually, we reached out to DICT ‘no at sa ating National Security Council noong lumabas itong mga deepfake videos no 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,” she explained.
Martin said DICT suspects a foreign actor is behind the deep fake videos. While the President wasn’t surprised by videos intended for fun, the recent posting is already a cause for concern because it could potential harm relations and sow chaos, she noted.
The PCO official urged the people to stop spreading fake news, stressing 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 eh. Pati kasi ‘yung boses mayroon na. So, talagang mahalaga na tigilan ‘yung ganitong uri ng fakenews dahil may potential itong magdulot ng malubhang pinsala sa ating foreign relations and national security,” she said.
According to Martin, big social media platforms like Google, TikTok, and Meta—which is Facebook, Instagram and X, expressed willingness to help the government to fight online threats. These platforms are PCO’s partners in its Media and Information Literacy Campaign. | PND
