PCO warns public against 'deepfake' about Marcos

THE Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Wednesday said there are now attempts to use artificial intelligence (AI) to spread false information about President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

Last Wednesday, PCO issued an advisory warning the public of “deepfake” or advance digital false content from generative AI, which is “designed to sound like the President,” which circulated on the video streaming platform, Youtube.

The audio deepfake attempts to make it appear as if the President has directed the Armed Forces of the Philippines to act against China.

“No such directive exists nor has been made,” PCO said.

The video was already taken down from Youtube as of press time.

Following the incident, PCO announced it is intensifying its drive against “deepfake,” fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation through its Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Campaign.

It said it is coordinating and working 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 on the said initiative.

“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,” 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,” it added.