The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) was alarmed by the deepfake audio of President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. directing the military "to act against a particular foreign country."
In a statement on Tuesday, PCO said the deepfake audio, generated through Artificial Intelligence or AI, features Marcos' fake voice telling the Armed Forces of the Philippines to launch attack against China.
"No such directive exists nor has been made," it clarified.
PCO said it is closely coordinating and working with the Department of Information and Communications Technology, the National Security Council, the National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee, and relevant private sector stakeholders "to actively address the proliferation and malicious use of video and audio deepfakes and other generative A.I. content."
"The PCO is actively working on measures to combat fake news, misinformation, disinformation, and misinformation through our Media and Information Literacy (MIL) Campaign," it added.
The communications office asked the public to be "proactive," "mindful," and "responsible" in choosing the content to share online.
The now-deleted deepfake audio titled "PILIPINAS AATAKE NA SA CHINA!" was uploaded by a YouTube channel named KAMAYAD TV.
The manipulated voice of Marcos uttered, "Sabi ko sa ating mga magigiting na sundalo, gumanti sa China kung kinakailangan. Dapat na tayong kumalat at gamitin ang ating pwersa para matigil na itong pambu-bully."
According to latest reports, the source of the video has yet been traced.
