Several fake advertisements on Facebook (FB) featured broadcaster Mel Tiangco and dermatologist Vicki Belo supposedly endorsing a whitening lotion. These are scams that used an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered voice cloning tool.
A number of such ads for a product called “Hally Whitening Lotion” – which promises to brighten skin instantly – circulated this month. One ad posted on Jan. 5 showed a supposed GMA News report where Tiangco and Belo were shown promoting the product.
The video starts with the veteran broadcaster saying:
“Shock sa beauty industry, ang top dermatologist ng Pilipinas, si Dr. Vicki Belo ay nag-reveal ng isang groundbreaking tatlong in isang beauty secret. Sa isang hakbang lang, magiging bright, smooth at anti-aging ang skin mo nang hindi na kailangang gumamit ng maraming produkto tulad ng dati. Ang sampung taong research achievement na ito ay perpektong kapalit ng moisturizers, whitening creams at rejuvenating serum
(Shock in the beauty industry, the Philippines’ top dermatologist Dr. Vicki Belo revealed a groundbreaking 3-in-1 beauty secret. In just a step, your skin will become bright, smooth and anti-aging without the need for many products like before. This ten-year research achievement is a complete substitute for moisturizers, whitening creams and rejuvenating serum).”
It is noticeable in the clip that the audio does not match Tiangco’s mouth movements, and that after a few seconds, the voice no longer starts to sound like the broadcaster’s.
The ad then showed a clip of Belo as an inset, further talking about the product’s benefits. Similar to the previous clip, the voice clip also did not match the celebrity dermatologist’s mouth movements.
At the 34-second mark, “Belo” supposedly said:
“Sobrang proud ako na ang lifetime research project na ito ay nakatulong na sa milyong-milyong Filipina para makamit ang ageless skin sa napaka-affordable na halaga. Naglalaman ito ng collagen at peptides na mabilis mag-agbsord, nagre-restore ng stretch marks at nage-eliminate ng dark spots, freckles at acne.
(I am very proud that this lifetime research project has helped millions of Filipinas to achieve ageless skin at a very affordable cost. It contains collagen and peptides that quickly absorb, restore stretch marks and eliminate dark spots, freckles and acne).”
This is another set of AI-manipulated fake ads for unregistered products featuring famous personalities.
Hally Whitening Lotion is not on the Food and Drug Administration’s list of cosmetics with certificates of product notification.
The clip of Tiangco was taken from a GMA News 24 Oras Express segment about the heavy rush of passengers on Dec. 23, 2024. A voice clone of Mel Tiangco promoting the product was added to the clip.
A video uploaded on Belo’s Instagram account on July 18, 2024 was also manipulated. It similarly used an audio imitating Belo’s voice. In the original video, she only talked about treatments that would replenish collagen and did not mention anything about the Hally lotion.
The lotion is not on the list of Belo Medical Group’s official products either.
Other ads for the same product used the same video of Belo only featuring different audio deepfakes.
The fake ads lead netizens to the websites JOEMVIDAD.CLICK, NJORDSTORE.CLICK, MARIOSTORE.CLICK and LIZAPENANO.CLICK that share the same layout and content. Similar to other scams debunked by VERA Files, it offered discounts to netizens.
VERA Files has flagged other AI deepfakes of broadcasters and medical experts used to sell unregistered products.
Find out how to detect deepfakes by watching VERA Files’ yearender.
An ad posted by the FB page Joem Vidad (created on Nov. 27, 2011 as NANAD) garnered 6,500 reactions, 2,100 comments, 480 shares and 777,000 views.
