Several Facebook (FB) posts are circulating a photo allegedly taken in Cagayan after Typhoon Marce struck the province last week. This is fake and has been disowned by the local government of Cagayan.
Published last Nov. 8 and still making the rounds this week, the photo is one of many images showing damage from a strong cyclone and people in evacuation centers. At least one FB page and three users spread the set of photos on social media with this caption:
“PRAY FOR CAGAYAN. Ramdam na ng mga residente ang hagupit ng Bagyong #MarcePH sa Cagayan. Sa ngayon, nakataas pa rin sa Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 4 ang naturang bayan, ayon sa PAGASA.
(Residents are now feeling the wrath of Typhoon #MarcePH in Cagayan. As of now, the Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal in the area is still raised to No. 4, according to PAGASA)”
The altered photo is of a wide asphalt road with houses in ruins on both sides, felled trees, and people running on the street as strong winds carry debris from flying roofs and damaged homes.
The Cagayan Provincial Information Office debunked the image in a Nov. 7 FB post, stating in Filipino that the suspicious photo was not taken in their province and warning the public from spreading information coming from illegitimate social media accounts.
VERA Files Fact Check ran this image through an artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool developed by TrueMedia, where it found “substantial evidence of manipulation” in the photo.
In the breakdown of its overall analysis, it notably gave a 97% confidence score on its AI-Generated Image Detector category, which tells if an image was artificially generated; and a 53% confidence score on its AI Image Generator Analysis category, which detects if an image was created using known AI image generators.
The manipulated photo emerged a day after Typhoon Marce made landfall in Santa Ana, Cagayan. The government reported that the storm affected hundreds of barangays and caused millions in damage and losses to agriculture and infrastructure.
FB page Kapuso Celebrity (created on July 17, 2021) and three other netizens published the photo, collectively garnering over 2,860 reactions, 370 comments and 3,580 shares.
