CICC: Individual not country behind Marcos deepfake video

An official from the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) on Monday said that an individual and not a country was behind the ''deepfake'' video of President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. that circulated online.

During the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing, CICC Assistant Secretary Mary Rose Magsaysay was directly asked if China was behind the manipulated video.

Magsaysay responded: ''Malamang hindi siya bansa.'' (It's likely not a country.)

''So, I can tell you right now, if there is really a good development on who, kung sino talaga iyon (who was it). So, obviously tao siya (it's obviously a person), you don’t run after a whole country. You have to really find out, kung sino iyong taong gumawa niyan, kung ano ang ginamit niyang plataporma (You really have to find out who did that and what platform did the creator use.) ,'' she added.

Magsaysay further believes the video has nothing to do with Balikatan, the annual joint military exercise with the United States.

''On the get go, definitely not. Kasi, pagdating diyan, it’s an exercise, you have been doing for so many years. And for the creation of this one, is nagkataon lang na nandito sila (it just happened that they are here). But, it’s not, because of the Balikatan,'' she said.

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) had disowned a manipulated video circulating online featuring an audio of the President supposedly instructing the military to act against a foreign country.

The PCO clarified that Marcos has “no such directive” and the audio “deepfake” was created using generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital content manipulation through the use of generative AI, the agency added.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is coordinating with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to go after the individual/s behind the deepfake video.—RF, GMA Integrated News