A video claiming that President Ferdinand Marcos fainted during a public function and was brought to a hospital is circulating online. This is fake.
The 22-second clip was first published on April 7 on Facebook and TikTok. In the video, a man resembling Marcos suddenly collapsed while speaking at a podium. Several men in barong quickly approached to assist the unconscious president and helped lay him down on a hospital bed. The overlaid text read:
“YUNG HIRAP NA KAYONG ITAGO ANG KONDISYON NG PANGULO NYO NGUNIT MABILIS ANG MGA SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER, DI NYO NA MAITAGO ANG TOTOO. BBM SINUGOD SA HOSPITAL SA QC, DISCOMFORT DAW ANG DAHILAN
(You’re already having a hard time hiding your president’s condition, but social media influencers are so quick, you can’t hide the truth anymore. BBM rushed to a hospital in QC, discomfort is the reason).”
Screenshots from the clip were shared multiple times on FB on April 9 and 10. At least three netizens posted the same set of images taken from the video, including one shared in a group supporting Vice President Sara Duterte.
On April 11, two FB pages published shots from the same video which are clickbaits that redirect users to an e-commerce affiliate site. The posts bore this caption:
“BBM hinimàtày sa lo0b ng Malàcañang… See more
(BBM fainted inside Malacañang. See more).”
Other FB users shared the clickbait post the following day.
On April 13, the president himself debunked the health rumors by doing jumping jacks and jogging at Malacañang in the presence of reporters to show he is in good physical condition.
A day before, the Malacañang Press Corps published a formal rebuttal categorically denying allegations from content creators that its members were being compensated to suppress information regarding the president’s physical well-being.
Acting Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez confirmed that the Palace’s Anti-Fake News Desk has been documenting health-related posts for potential cyber libel charges, while also formally urging tech giant Meta to implement a 24/7 coordination system to take “immediate action” against disinformation peddlers.
Meanwhile, the 22-second clip on FB and Tiktok was made using artificial intelligence. The original TikTok post contains the tag “Creator labeled as AI-generated.” This label appears when the creator indicates that the content was completely AI-generated or significantly edited with AI, according to TikTok. The bio of the account also partly states: “My AI talked more than words.”
Another noticeable visual sign that the clip is inauthentic is that the president’s face keeps changing. Towards the end, the man does not look like Marcos at all.
Also, the audio used was from a news report on Jan. 22 when the president was placed under medical observation after experiencing discomfort.
A reverse image search led to footage of Marcos during an oath-taking ceremony on April 6. This was likely used as the source material to create the AI clip, as the wall and ornaments in the background are similar.
VERA Files tapped the Deepfakes Analysis Unit of the India-based Trusted Information Alliance for further verification. They ran screengrabs of the clip through AI-detection tools.
Three tools WasItAI, AIorNot, and Imagewhisperer flagged the images as likely generated by AI. Findings from Hive Moderation show a low overall likelihood of the video being AI, but an expert from DAU noted that some segments show a very high probability of AI tampering.
Rumors about Marcos’ health peaked on April 9, during the Araw ng Kagitingan rites, when disinformation actors falsely claimed the live streamed footage of the event in Samal, Bataan was recycled from the previous year supposedly to hide his alleged hospitalization.
As of writing, the reel published by an FB user gained 488,000 views; 5,000 reactions; 1,200 comments; and 1,700 reactions. The copy on TikTok earned 161,600 views; 1,791 reactions; 301 comments; and 845 shares. Meanwhile, the photos published by three netizens collectively received 15,119 reactions; 6,182 comments; and 3,434 shares.
The clickbait posts published by FB pages Eat Bulaga Dabarkads (created on Aug. 5, 2019) and Viral Now (created on April 22, 2024), and two users collectively garnered 417 reactions; 502 comments; and 36 shares.
