THE Presidential Communications Office (PCO) maintained that a viral video content where it was made to appear that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to act against a particular foreign country was manipulated through the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
In a statement, the PCO said Marcos never issued such a directive.
“The audio deepfake attempts to make it appear as if the President has directed our Armed Forces of the Philippines to act against a particular foreign country. No such directive exists nor has been made. Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital content manipulation through the use of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI),” it said.
The PCO maintained it is actively working on measures to combat fake news, misinformation, and disinformation.
It said it is working closely with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the National Security Council (NSC), the National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee (NCIAC), and relevant private sector stakeholders to actively address the proliferation and malicious use of video and audio deepfakes and other generative AI content.
“We ask everyone to be proactive in exposing and fighting against misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation. Let us remain and be more mindful and responsible of the content we choose to share in our shared digital spaces,” the PCO said.
“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. We encourage everyone to work with us in fostering a more aware, resilient, and engaged citizenry in our digital commons,” it added. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)