Disinformation involving former president Rodrigo Duterte continues to circulate with new photos posted on Facebook showing him being assisted to his seat in a courtroom by an International Criminal Court judge and his legal counsel. The images are fake and generated using artificial intelligence.
Published on June 1, the post features three photos of Duterte in a brown suit flanked by Julia Korner, presiding judge of the ICC Trial Chamber III and his new legal counsel Peter Haynes, who are helping the former president to his seat. In the background are other supposed ICC judges. The first sentence of the caption reads:
“Pakiramdam ko malapit kana makalaya tatay Digong konting tiis nalang makakauwi kana din mahal kong pangulo…
(I feel like you’re close to being freed, Father Digong. Just a little more patience and you’ll be able to come home, my beloved president).”
The rest of the caption states that Duterte’s eventual release is due to his purity of heart, that God would never abandon him, and that millions of Filipinos around the world love him.
The same set of photos was published four days later as a clickbait post, where users who click on the pictures would be directed to an e-commerce affiliate site. This is a common tactic used by disinformation peddlers to earn money.
The former president has never appeared in person at any ICC hearing on his case on crimes against humanity. The only time he made a public appearance was on March 14, 2025, when he participated via video conference before the Pre-Trial Chamber I (PTC I) as the charges against him were read before the international tribunal.
Although the court found the accused fit to participate in the pre-trial proceedings, the 81-year-old Duterte was a no-show at the confirmation of charges hearings on Feb. 23 to 27 after the Chamber granted his request to waive his right to attend the proceedings.
On April 23, the PTC I unanimously confirmed all three counts of crimes against humanity filed by the Prosecutor against the former president and referred the case for trial to start on Nov. 30.
No photos have been released by the court on its official website to confirm the authenticity of the published images. The ICC Rules prohibit the taking of photographs during hearings and inside its premises.
VERA Files Fact Check noted telltale signs showing that the images were created by AI:
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- The set-up of the courtroom in the AI-generated photo is different from the real ICC courtroom.
- The name of the ICC at the back is mislabeled as “International Criminal” and “International Court” instead of International Criminal Court.
- Only three primary ICC judges sat at the hearing when Peter Haynes first appeared to represent Duterte, and not six (including Korner) as shown in the photos.
To further verify the authenticity of the photos, VERA Files Fact Check ran them through several AI-detection tools. Results showed that the photos were created using artificial intelligence.
The AI-generated photos surfaced after judges of the ICC’s Trial Chamber III, presided over by British Judge Joanna Korner, confirmed on May 27 that the former president’s trial will begin on Nov. 30.
The fake photos published by FB pages Tatay Digong Ama Ng Pilipinas (created on July 26, 2015), and Cong. Kiko Barzaga Supporters (created on Sept. 8, 2025) collectively garnered 8,756 reactions; 1,380 comments; 412 shares.
