Netizens fall for synthetic image of anti-China protest
- FactRakers
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
An AI-generated image circulating on Facebook has falsely shown a group of young people holding placards opposing Chinese products and supporting Filipino businesses.
Blogger Sass Rogando Sasot, a known supporter of the Dutertes who has been pursuing Ph.D. studies in international relations in Beijing as a recipient of the ASEAN-China Young Leaders Scholarship, posted the photo on Nov. 26 with the caption:
Meme Vice Ganda lagot cosmetics mo dito… 😭(Meme Vice Ganda your cosmetics is in trouble here)
Sasot was referring to celebrity Vice Ganda’s beauty line, Vice Cosmetics. It was followed by a comment:
San kaya sa Pinas gawa cellphones nila? 😅(Where in the Philippines are their cellphones made)?
A reverse image search found Sasot’s post on Facebook as the earliest version of the photo; she posted the same on X at 4:14 p.m, seven minutes after.
There were no news reports documenting such a protest happening, and the image doesn’t match any real protest.
The placards in the photo containing the calls “No to Chinese products” and “Protect Filipino businesses” and other visual elements such as warped thin hands and overlapping hands and text suggest that the image was artificially generated.
AI detection tool WasItAI gave a high confidence rating for AI generation. Sightengine found a 93% likelihood it was AI-generated.
Comments on Sasot’s post mocked the supposed protesters, claiming they lack understanding of China’s impact on the Philippines.
One comment said it was the Chinese that kept the Philippines afloat before President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. decided to cut ties with them while the others expressed ‘good luck’ to them and to the country, and pointed out their items to be made in China.
Another vocal pro-Duterte account, Koko Lokoy, reshared the photo on Facebook on Nov. 27, saying:
Tapos pag chineck mo mga gamit niyan diyan sa picture, mula sa sapatos hanggang sa hawak na papel, baka nga pati sa camera na ginamit, karamihan made in China (Then when you check their things in the picture, from shoes to the papers they’re holding, maybe even the camera used, most are made in China)
Sasot has been flagged multiple times in the past for sharing inaccurate claims about China’s nuclear history, the West Philippine Sea and arbitral ruling, former vice president Leni Robredo and nongovernment organization Angat Buhay:
The Facebook post has garnered over 17,000 reactions, 3,000 comments and 500 shares. (SGL)
