DICT, NBI to go after individuals behind Marcos 'deepfake' video

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) will coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go after the individuals behind a “deepfake” video of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. 

As this developed, National Security Council Assistant Director General Jonathan Malaya warned the video could be used to muddle the issues on the West Philippine Sea, such as the purported "gentleman's agreement" on the handling of the Ayungin Shoal.

"Pinagsabong yung mga Pilipino, pinagsabong tayong lahat eh, ngayon nagtuturuan na. Sino 'yung ganito sino 'yung ganyan, then we saw there was foreign hand that was manipulating, some form of information manipulation," Malaya said on a "24 Oras" report by Sandra Aguinaldo.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Tuesday evening flagged a manipulated video circulating online, which features a deepfake audio mimicking Marcos and supposedly instructing the military to act against a foreign country.

“In this administration, this is the first time the voice of the president was copied to make a policy statement. In the past kasi the voice of the president and other past presidents were used for jokes,” DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy said.

“We immediately asked YouTube to take it down and they did,” said the DICT official in a media forum related to the proliferation of fake news on social media. He was joined by Commission on Elections chairperson George Garcia and Malaya. —Sundy Locus/LDF, GMA Integrated News