A graphic showing “Global Defense Agency Director Cecil Stedman” calling on the International Criminal Court to release former president Rodrigo Duterte is circulating online. This is fake. Cecil Stedman is a fictional character in a comic series.
Since April 30, Facebook users have been sharing the graphic featuring two photos of Stedman – one of them depicting him in a press conference with posters expressing support for Duterte in the background. A tipline user also sent a copy of the photo to the VERA Files Misinformation Tipline for verification.
The graphic bore the text:
“Global Defense Agency Director Cecil Stedman intervened today, demanding the ICC [to] release former President Rodrigo Duterte. The shadow agency pledged its full resources to secure his freedom. The Global Defense Agency (GDA) Condemns ICC: Cecil Demands Duterte’s Release.”
Stedman was quoted as saying:
“The ICC is playing courtroom politics while we are trying to keep this planet stable. Detaining a great leader who is actually willing to make the hard calls is a liability we cannot afford. The GDA stands by him, and we expect his immediate release.”
An FB page posted a reel version of the graphic making it appear that Stedman was making the remarks at a press conference.
This graphic is fake. Cecil Stedman is a fictional character in the American adult animated television series Invincible, which was based on a comic book series and is being streamed on a subscription video-on-demand platform.
The graphic bore photos of a live action version of Stedman which was generated using artificial intelligence.
According to the AI-detection tool Hive Moderation, one of the photos in the graphic is 99.9% likely to be AI-generated. Stedman’s video in one of the posts showed 98.2% likelihood of being a deepfake content.
VERA Files has noted a trend of fake quote cards and graphics featuring fictional characters supposedly supporting the Dutertes.
The fake graphic circulated a week after the ICC Pre-Trial Chamber I unanimously confirmed the charges of three counts of crimes against humanity against Duterte. The former president is set to stand trial before the ICC’s Trial Chamber.
At least 10 posts by FB users in groups such as SARA DUTERTE SUPPORTERS (created on Mar 4, 2018 as INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT DUTERTE SUPPORTERS) and Duterte supporters (July 14, 2020) has so far collectively garnered 12,940 reactions, 1,078 comments and 1,699 shares.
