Fake ‘Duterte not corrupt’ photo made with AI
- FactRakers
- 8 minutes ago
- 2 min read
A post featuring an elderly man in a rice field holding a sign praising “Duterte” as corruption-free uses an image generated with artificial intelligence.
Facebook user Parayno Joseph posted the digitally fabricated image on Nov. 26 with the caption:
DUTERTE WALANG BAHID NG KORAPSYON (Duterte has no trace of corruption)
The overlay text reads:
Nagsasabi Lang si Tatay ng [Totoo]... (He’s just telling the truth)
However, the post did not specify which Duterte it was referring to.
Reverse image searches returned no real-word photographs of the elderly man or the scene.
Hive AI, an AI detection tool, showed that the photo as 99% likely synthetic. SightEngine scored it 99.7%, while WasItAI said it is “quite confident that this image, or significant part of it, was created by AI.”
The photo shows a consistent pattern of rice plants, and the background appears smooth with softly blended edges, which are indicators of an AI-generated image. Shadows and folds on the banner also do not interact naturally with the printed text.
Comments on the post reflected political divides. The Duterte supporters affirmed the message, while Marcos supporters disputed it. A number of comments credited President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for exposing corruption in the government
Both the Duterte and Marcos administrations have faced corruption-related controversies.
In 2017, international investigative journalism network Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project named former President Rodrigo Duterte as “the most corrupt person of the year,” saying he has empowered corruption through “endorsing vigilantism and systemic violations of human rights.”
In 2023, Vice President Sara Duterte was flagged by the Commission on Audit for spending P125 million on confidential funds during the latter part of 2022 and for failing to settle about P12.3 billion from the Department of Education’s 2023 budget when she was the secretary.
Meanwhile, Marcos is being criticized for alleged P100 billion in budget insertions and a flood control corruption scandal involving Department of Public Works and Highways officials and political allies, including his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Parayno Joseph’s Facebook account has 1.4 million followers. As of writing, the post has received 15,000 reactions, 6,000 comments and 324 shares. (MHA)
