AI cooks up fake photo of Marcos kissing Castro
- FactRakers
- 1 hour ago
- 2 min read
A viral image of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. purportedly kissing Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro is AI-generated.
The fabricated photo was uploaded on Facebook by DAN TOUR VLOGS last Nov. 18 with the caption:
The post omitted to say the picture was synthetic, leading netizens to speculate about the relationship between Marcos and Castro.
A Facebook user who believed the fake image commented:
May secret pala kayo God is looking at you (You both have a secret, God is looking at you)
Another netizen shared the post, accompanied with text:
Tama NGA hinala KO Baka Sonod bontis kana Claire Castro (My suspicion is correct. Next time, you will be pregnant Claire Castro)
A Google search of Castro shows that the AI-generated image was based on an image of Castro during a press briefing on July 18 in the Malacañang Palace. It was originally taken by Presidential Photojournalists Association pool photographer Revoli Cortez.
A closer look at the photo reveals visual inconsistencies typical of AI-generated images: distorted hands, disjointed lines, unnatural hairlines and heavy filters.
AI image detection tools Hive AI, Sightengine and WasItAI assessed the picture as 99% likely to be AI-generated.
Castro was appointed Malacañang Palace’s press officer and PCO undersecretary in February 2025.
As of writing, the AI-generated photo posted by DAN TOUR VLOGS gained more than 89,700 reactions, 24,000 comments and 11,200 shares.
The Davao-based Facebook page, which regularly posts fabricated content against Marcos and his allies, has more than 12,000 followers and has changed its name thrice since its creation in January 2022. (APC)