GMA Network’s television broadcast has not been hacked and did not air an adult cartoon, contrary to a viral video circulating on Tiktok.
User @dudsterontiktok posted on May 6 a video manipulated to make it appear that GMA Network broadcasted a meme video.
In the 24-second clip, a television can be seen playing a “Parental Guidance” (PG) rating by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) followed by a short cartoon.
The cartoon featured a man, in bright-colored clothes, walking on the sidewalk while three other men look at the former’s behind. The four men ride an elevator together, and upon entering an apartment unit, the man wearing bright clothes proceeds to undress. A rainbow “glitch” screen abruptly cuts the cartoon to an end.
Elements used in the manipulated video such as MTRCB’s rating and GMA Network’s logo can be accessed and downloaded online.
Meanwhile, the animated clip belongs to an adult cartoon called Axel in Harlem produced by Animan Studios in 2016. The cartoon became a meme after edits of the video spread in Tiktok in early 2023.
One Tiktok video with over 4.8 million views and 392,800 likes uses a short clip of the cartoon with Ballin’ by Mustard and Roddy Ricch as the background track. This is the same clip seen in the recent Tiktok posted by @dudsterontiktok.
Also, a copy of the manipulated video, including the MTRCB rating up to the glitch, was posted on YouTube last April 23. Another user uploaded a recording of a television playing the video. Any user can play the manipulated video on the television by connecting it to the internet or another device.
As of writing, the Tiktok video on false GMA network hacking has garnered over 5.2 million views, 474,400 likes, 18,200 shares and 1,721 comments. (CE)