Sen. Bam Aquino denied appearing in a video where he was seen endorsing a platform that promises huge earnings for an alleged investment scheme.
The lawmaker on Wednesday, July 9, warned the public to refrain from believing in deepfake or AI-generated videos showing him vouching for a platform that claims to give P175,000 weekly to its users.
“Discover the official platform that is changing lives in the Philippines. Created in partnership with trusted institutions — and already used by thousands,” a Facebook post that Aquino showed in his warning reads.
The screengrab also showed images of the senator supposedly being interviewed by journalists.
“Hindi po totoo ang mga video kung saan ini-endorso ko raw ang isang programang nangangako ng malaking kita kapalit ng investment. SCAM po ito. Ginagamit ang pangalan at mukha natin para makapanloko ng kapwa,” Aquino said on his Facebook page.
He also urged authorities to investigate the AI-generated videos and hold those behind them accountable.
Aquino’s warning made its way to a Filipino Reddit community, where some shared experiences involving AI-generated videos.
“Andami [ng] deepfakes ngayon. Lalo na diyan sa FB. ‘Yung mother ko nga, naloloko ng mga ‘yan. Pero tinuturuan ko naman kung paano tumingin niyan at malaman kung totoo ‘yan o hindi,” a Reddit user said.
“Importante talaga na i-guide natin ang mga matatanda nating mga magulang, lolo at lola, kasi sila ay hindi rin aral sa mga ganitong panibagong teknolohiya,” the user added.
Last year, the Department of Information and Communications Technology acknowledged the rise of deepfake videos and stated that the country needed a law to combat such content.
“We need to have a more comprehensive law rather than bits and pieces of legislation that address small items or specific items,” then-DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy said before.
Deepfake technology is a type of artificial intelligence used to create convincing fake images, videos, and audio recordings to to deceive people into thinking public figures actually said or did what appears in the content.
Experts have noted that deepfake videos may often exhibit unnatural eye blinking, which reveal pixel artifacts or jagged features, a sign of digital manipulation.
