AI fakes duel over Sara Duterte impeachment in Philippines
Neither were real.
The schoolboys and elderly woman making their cases were AI creations, examples of increasingly sophisticated fakes possible with even basic online tools.
"Why single out the VP?", a digitally created boy in a white school uniform asks, arguing that the case was politically motivated.
The House of Representatives impeached Sara Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against former ally and running mate President Ferdinand Marcos (archived link).
But after convening as an impeachment court on June 10, the senior body immediately sent the case back to the House, questioning its constitutionality (archived link).
Duterte ally Senator Ronald dela Rosa shared the video of the schoolboys -- since viewed millions of times -- praising the youths for having a "better understanding of what's happening" than their adult counterparts.
The vice president's younger brother Sebastian, mayor of family stronghold Davao, said the clip proved "liberals" did not have the support of the younger generation.
When the schoolboys were exposed as digital creations, the vice president and her supporters were unfazed.
"There's no problem with sharing an AI video in support of me. As long as it's not being turned into a business," Duterte told reporters (archived link).
"Even if it's AI... I agree with the point," said Dela Rosa, the one-time enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war.
Five minutes' work
The video making the case for impeachment -- also with millions of views -- depicts an elderly woman peddling fish and calling out the Senate for failing to hold a trial.
"You 18 senators, when it's the poor who steal, you want them locked up immediately, no questions asked. But if it's the vice president who stole millions, you protect her fiercely," she says in Tagalog.
Both clips bore a barely discernible watermark for the Google video-generation platform Veo.
AFP fact-checkers also identified visual inconsistencies, such as overly smooth hair and teeth and storefronts with garbled signage.
Image
Screenshot of the AI-generated video with the "Veo" watermark highlighted by AFP
Image
Screenshot of visual details in the AI-generated image highlighted in red by AFP
The man who created the fish peddler video, Bernard Senocip, 34, told AFP it took about five minutes to produce the eight-second clip.
Reached via his Facebook page, Senocip defended his work in a video call, saying AI characters allowed people to express their opinions while avoiding the "harsh criticism" frequent on social media.
"As long as you know your limitations and you're not misleading your viewers, I think it's fine," he said, noting that -- unlike the Facebook version -- he had placed a "created by AI" tag on the video's TikTok upload.
While AFP has previously reported on websites using hot-button Philippine issues to generate cash, Senocip said his work was simply a way of expressing his political opinions.
The schoolboy video's creator, the anonymous administrator of popular Facebook page Ay Grabe, declined to be interviewed but said his AI creations' opinions had been taken from real-life students (archived link).
AFP, along with other media outlets, is paid by some platforms including Meta, Google and TikTok for work tackling disinformation.
'Grey area'
Using AI to push viewpoints via seemingly ordinary people can make beliefs seem "more popular than they actually are", said Jose Mari Lanuza of Sigla Research Center, a non-profit organisation that studies disinformation (archived link).
"In the case of the impeachment, this content fosters distrust not only towards particular lawmakers but towards the impeachment process."
While some AI firms have developed measures to protect public figures, Jose Miguelito Enriquez, an associate research fellow at Nanyang Technological University, said the recent Philippine videos were a different animal (archived link).
"Some AI companies like OpenAI previously committed to prevent users from generating deepfakes of 'real people', including political candidates," he said.
"But... these man-on-the-street interviews represent a grey area because technically they are not using the likeness of an actual living person."
Crafting realistic "humans" was also getting easier, said Dominic Ligot, founder of Data and AI Ethics PH (archived link).
"Veo is only the latest in a string of rapidly evolving tools for AI media generation," he said, adding the newest version produced "smoother, more realistic motion and depth compared to earlier AI video models".
Google did not reply when AFP asked if they had developed safeguards to prevent Veo from being used to push misinformation.
For Ligot, guardrails around the swiftly evolving technology are a must, warning AI was increasingly being used to "influence how real people feel, pressure decision-makers and distort democratic discourse".
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AFP
4 hours ago
- AFP
AI fakes duel over Sara Duterte impeachment in Philippines
Neither were real. The schoolboys and elderly woman making their cases were AI creations, examples of increasingly sophisticated fakes possible with even basic online tools. "Why single out the VP?", a digitally created boy in a white school uniform asks, arguing that the case was politically motivated. The House of Representatives impeached Sara Duterte in early February on charges of graft, corruption and an alleged assassination plot against former ally and running mate President Ferdinand Marcos (archived link). But after convening as an impeachment court on June 10, the senior body immediately sent the case back to the House, questioning its constitutionality (archived link). Duterte ally Senator Ronald dela Rosa shared the video of the schoolboys -- since viewed millions of times -- praising the youths for having a "better understanding of what's happening" than their adult counterparts. The vice president's younger brother Sebastian, mayor of family stronghold Davao, said the clip proved "liberals" did not have the support of the younger generation. When the schoolboys were exposed as digital creations, the vice president and her supporters were unfazed. "There's no problem with sharing an AI video in support of me. As long as it's not being turned into a business," Duterte told reporters (archived link). "Even if it's AI... I agree with the point," said Dela Rosa, the one-time enforcer of ex-president Rodrigo Duterte's drug war. Five minutes' work The video making the case for impeachment -- also with millions of views -- depicts an elderly woman peddling fish and calling out the Senate for failing to hold a trial. "You 18 senators, when it's the poor who steal, you want them locked up immediately, no questions asked. But if it's the vice president who stole millions, you protect her fiercely," she says in Tagalog. Both clips bore a barely discernible watermark for the Google video-generation platform Veo. AFP fact-checkers also identified visual inconsistencies, such as overly smooth hair and teeth and storefronts with garbled signage. Image Screenshot of the AI-generated video with the "Veo" watermark highlighted by AFP Image Screenshot of visual details in the AI-generated image highlighted in red by AFP The man who created the fish peddler video, Bernard Senocip, 34, told AFP it took about five minutes to produce the eight-second clip. Reached via his Facebook page, Senocip defended his work in a video call, saying AI characters allowed people to express their opinions while avoiding the "harsh criticism" frequent on social media. "As long as you know your limitations and you're not misleading your viewers, I think it's fine," he said, noting that -- unlike the Facebook version -- he had placed a "created by AI" tag on the video's TikTok upload. While AFP has previously reported on websites using hot-button Philippine issues to generate cash, Senocip said his work was simply a way of expressing his political opinions. The schoolboy video's creator, the anonymous administrator of popular Facebook page Ay Grabe, declined to be interviewed but said his AI creations' opinions had been taken from real-life students (archived link). AFP, along with other media outlets, is paid by some platforms including Meta, Google and TikTok for work tackling disinformation. 'Grey area' Using AI to push viewpoints via seemingly ordinary people can make beliefs seem "more popular than they actually are", said Jose Mari Lanuza of Sigla Research Center, a non-profit organisation that studies disinformation (archived link). "In the case of the impeachment, this content fosters distrust not only towards particular lawmakers but towards the impeachment process." While some AI firms have developed measures to protect public figures, Jose Miguelito Enriquez, an associate research fellow at Nanyang Technological University, said the recent Philippine videos were a different animal (archived link). "Some AI companies like OpenAI previously committed to prevent users from generating deepfakes of 'real people', including political candidates," he said. "But... these man-on-the-street interviews represent a grey area because technically they are not using the likeness of an actual living person." Crafting realistic "humans" was also getting easier, said Dominic Ligot, founder of Data and AI Ethics PH (archived link). "Veo is only the latest in a string of rapidly evolving tools for AI media generation," he said, adding the newest version produced "smoother, more realistic motion and depth compared to earlier AI video models". Google did not reply when AFP asked if they had developed safeguards to prevent Veo from being used to push misinformation. For Ligot, guardrails around the swiftly evolving technology are a must, warning AI was increasingly being used to "influence how real people feel, pressure decision-makers and distort democratic discourse".
France 24
4 hours ago
- France 24
Global tensions rattle COP30 build-up but 'failure not an option'
But the hosts are yet to propose a headline ambition for the marathon November talks, raising concerns they could fall flat. The build-up has been overshadowed by devastating conflicts on three continents and the US withdrawal from global cooperation on climate, trade and health. Expectations have dimmed since Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's pitch three years ago to host climate talks in the Amazon. A warm-up UN climate event in Germany that concluded on Thursday saw disputes flare over a range of issues, including finance, adding to anxiety about how much headway COP30 can make. Brazil is a deft climate negotiator, but the "international context has never been so bad", said Claudio Angelo, of the Brazilian organisation Climate Observatory. Given the stakes, former UN climate chief Patricia Espinosa said Brazil may have to make do with "baby steps". "One of the main messages that should be coming out of COP30 is the unity of everyone behind multilateralism and international cooperation. Not achieving that means everybody will suffer," she told AFP. "Failure is not an option in this case." - 'Survival' - Previous COPs have been judged on the deals clinched between the nearly 200 nations that haggle over two weeks to advance global climate policy. Recent summits have produced landmark outcomes, from a global pledge to transition away from fossil fuels, to the creation of a specialised fund to help countries hit by climate disaster. COP30 CEO Ana Toni said that "most of the big flashy topics" born out of the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change had been dealt with. That leaves Brazil with an arguably harder challenge -- trying to ensure what has been agreed is put into practice. Much of the action is set for the COP30 sidelines or before nations arrive in the Amazonian city of Belem. National climate plans due before COP30 from all countries -- but most importantly major emitters China, the European Union and India -- will be more consequential than this year's negotiations, experts say. It is expected this latest round of national commitments will fall well short of containing global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius, and possibly even 2C, the less ambitious of the Paris accord's climate goals. "I expect that the COP will need to react to that," said Ana Toni, although what form that reaction would take was "under question". Uncertainty about how COP30 will help steer nations towards 1.5C has left the Alliance of Small Island States bloc "concerned", said lead negotiator Anne Rasmussen. "Our survival depends on that," she told AFP. 'Threat to humanity' How countries will make good on their promise to transition away from fossil fuels may also become a point of contention. Angelo said he hoped Brazil would champion the idea, included in the country's climate plan, of working towards "schedules" for that transition. But he likened Brazil's auctioning of oil and gas extraction rights near the mouth of the Amazon river this month -- just as climate negotiators got down to business in Bonn -- to an act of "sabotage". Another key priority for Brazil is forest protection, but otherwise COP30 leaders have mostly focused on unfinished business from previous meetings, including fleshing out a goal to build resilience to climate impacts. According to the hosts of last year's hard-fought climate talks, global tensions might not leave room for much else. "We need to focus more on preserving the legacy that we have established, rather than increasing ambition," said Yalchin Rafiyev, top climate negotiator for COP29 host Azerbaijan. He fears that trying and failing to do more could risk undermining the whole UN process. Those close to the climate talks concede they can move frustratingly slowly, but insist the annual negotiations remain crucial. © 2025 AFP
AFP
5 hours ago
- AFP
Footage of Philippine election workers destroying unused ballots not proof of fraud
A TikTok video posted on June 2 shows footage of people in a room tearing up papers, next to a picture of Comelec chairperson George Garcia. "Those ballots should not be torn up, they should be used in the recount," reads the Tagalog-language text superimposed on the video. "George Garcia, are you afraid people will find out how you manipulated results of the elections?" Image Screenshot of the false TikTok post taken on June 15, with a red X added by AFP Vice President Sara Duterte, who may face an impeachment trial at the Senate, said in June that she believes the May 12 mid-term vote was marred with fraud, after several senatorial candidates she backed did not win a seat (archived here and here). Her political party has since asked the country's Supreme Court to order a recount of votes (archived link). Philippine outlet ANC reported Garcia has rejected the allegations (archived link). The video was shared elsewhere on TikTok and Facebook. Comments on the post indicate some users appear to believe the footage shows a cover-up. "This only proves that the PDP-Laban won," one said, referring to Duterte's political party. "This is embarrassing for you, Garcia!" another wrote. But the clip actually shows election workers destroying unused ballots as required by law. Livestreamed process Keyword searches of the clip's keyframes led to a two-minute video published by local news outlet Daily Tribune on Facebook on May 30 with a caption saying it shows "the destruction of about six million unused, defective, and rejected printed ballots" printed for the elections (archived link). Image Screenshot comparison of the false TikTok post (left) and Daily Tribune's footage (right) taken on June 24 Other local news outlets, including The Manila Times and ABS-CBN, also published videos showing a similar scene in reports (archived here and here). The election agency also posted a livestream on its official Facebook page on the same day showing the process (archived link). 'Standard procedure' Comelec spokesperson John Rex Laudiangco told AFP on June 25 that after every election, the agency destroys defective and rejected ballots, as well as spoiled accountable forms, "as part of its culmination of printing, verification, and exit processes". The requirement -- along with the printing of official ballots and other election-related tasks -- is outlined in Comelec documents on on election day (archived here and here). Image Screenshot of a portion of Comelec's resolution no.11076 (left) and resolution no.11096 (right) with the blue highlight placed by AFP "It is incumbent upon the Comelec to ensure that official ballots and other election forms are destroyed after elections such that it cannot be used or reused for any other purposes than what is allowed under the law," Laudiangco added. Angel Averia, chairperson of the Philippine watchdog National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections, also said the TikTok post's caption is misleading (archived link). "Excess, unused ballots are not necessarily evidence of fraud. Comelec holds such an activity after each electoral exercise," she told AFP on June 11. Alexa Yadao, program officer at election monitor Legal Network for Truthful Elections, told AFP on June 18 that destroying the ballots is one of the safeguards "to ensure that they will not be used for other purposes" (archived link). The agency also destroyed unused ballots related to the 2023 village and youth council elections, and the 2022 presidential elections (archived here, here, and here).
