Philippines says ‘foreign actor’ behind Marcos Jnr deepfake urging military action against China

The government said it was investigating the spread of the manipulated video ‘seemingly asking the armed forces to act against another nation’

The fake content circulated this month amid mounting tensions between Manila and Beijing over their overlapping claims in the South China Sea

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr inspects a military parade in Manila. Photo: AFP

Published: 12:25pm, 26 Apr 2024

A “foreign actor” is likely behind deepfake content that made Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr sound like he is urging military action against China, according to his communications office.

The government is investigating the spread of the manipulated video and will file cases against those responsible, the communications office said in a statement on Friday. The deepfakes “seemingly asking the armed forces to act against another nation” have since been taken down, the office said, without mentioning China.

The fake content circulated this month amid mounting tensions between the Philippines and China on their overlapping claims in the South China Sea.

Marcos had repeatedly said he is not trying to provoke Beijing as his nation asserts its rights and sends ships to disputed waters where encounters with China have become more frequent.

A local media report said the deepfakes portrayed the Philippine leader to be calling for the use of force to retaliate against China. His communications office flagged the manipulated content earlier this week, and said there’s no such directive from the president.

“It has come to the attention of the Presidential Communications Office that there is video content posted on a popular video streaming platform circulating online that has manipulated audio designed to sound like President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jnr,” the PCO said in a statement on Tuesday.