A viral deepfake video allegedly showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. using drugs was created and distributed by supporters of former President Duterte, causing political instability and prompting government investigations.
A deepfake video allegedly showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. using illegal drugs went viral and caused serious concern among government officials. The video was released by Duterte supporters during a rally in Los Angeles before Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address. Government officials, including the Department of National Defence and Department of Justice, condemned the video as fake and malicious, stating it was an attempt to destabilize the administration. Police forensic experts held a news conference to prove the man in the video was not the president by comparing facial features and ear shapes. The Interior Secretary said those behind the video would be held liable under the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. This was not the first deepfake incident involving Marcos Jr., as an audio deepfake in April had him directing military action against China. Former President Duterte denied involvement in creating the video but claimed he believed it was authentic and doubled down on allegations that Marcos Jr. was a drug user. Political analysts warned that deepfake technology represents an increasingly serious threat to Philippine politics, especially with upcoming midterm elections in May 2025. The Commission on Elections announced plans to issue guidelines for AI use in political campaigns.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
Using AI systems to conduct large-scale disinformation campaigns, malicious surveillance, or targeted and sophisticated automated censorship and propaganda, with the aim of manipulating political processes, public opinion, and behavior.
Human
Due to a decision or action made by humans
Intentional
Due to an expected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed