‘Audio deepfake’ of Marcos Jnr ordering military action against China prompts Manila to debunk clip

In the clip, a fake voice of the president is heard saying he can no longer allow Filipinos to get hurt by China’s actions

Marcos Jnr’s office says ‘no such directive exists’ and Manila is working with various agencies to combat deepfakes

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Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr speaks next to Filipino veterans in Bataan province earlier this month. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 7:19pm, 24 Apr 2024

An “audio deepfake” clip of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr directing his military to act against China has caused serious concern among government officials in Manila, who have warned that it could affect the country’s foreign policy.

In the manipulated audio, the deepfaked voice of Marcos Jnr can be heard saying he has signalled his military to “take action” if China attacks the Philippines, adding he can no longer allow Filipinos to get hurt by Beijing.

A deepfake is synthetic media in which a person’s features, such as face or voice, are replaced with someone else’s using artificial intelligence.

“We cannot compromise even a single individual just to protect what rightfully belongs to us,” says the voice in the faked audio, which was reportedly released via a YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers. The audio was accompanied by a slideshow of photos showing Chinese vessels in the South China Sea.

The clip comes amid growing tensions between Manila and Beijing due to their frequent disputes in the South China Sea.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) issued a public warning about the manipulated media on Tuesday night, confirming it was entirely fake.