PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo (PNA file photo)
MANILA – The Philippine National Police (PNP) is working with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) on the possible takedown of a video circulating on social media showing a man sniffing a powdery substance from a small cup.
“Doon sa video ng isang lalaki na kumalat the other day, I understand yung ACG (Anti-Cybercrime Group) nakapag-coordinate na sa DICT for possible pag-down nitong kumakalat na ito (On the video of a man that became viral on social media the other day, I understand that the ACG has coordinated with the DICT for its possible takedown)," PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo said in a press briefing in Camp Crame on Thursday afternoon.
Fajardo, meanwhile, called on netizens to refrain from spreading the video, which was earlier shown at a gathering of a group linked to former president Rodrigo Duterte in the United States.
"Huwag na natin ikalat yan dahil, unang-una, based nga sa initial investigation, ay hindi totoo yan doon sa mga kumakalat na balita na ang isang high-profile personality yung mismong nakita doon sa video (Let's not spread it because based on initial investigation, it is not true that the man seen on the video is a high-profile personality)," she said.
Justice Undersecretary Hermogenes Andres earlier said the video of a man who looks like President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is fake and intended to "make a misrepresentation.”
He warned that those who spread the fake video could be held equally liable for cybercrime.
In a separate statement, ACG Director, Brig. Gen. Ronnie Cariaga, said a deepware artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool with multiple algorithms revealed that the video was fake and was created using AI.
Cariaga said the investigation noted discrepancies in the facial features of Marcos and the unidentified man on the video, particularly the size of the ear, shape of the eyes and nose, and sideburns.
He said a spectral imaging analysis conducted by the PNP and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed that the video had been processed to make it appear that it was Marcos snorting a substance from a small cup.
NBI digital forensics experts said the man in the altered video depicting the President is conclusively a different person. (PNA)
