FACT CHECK: AI-generated video falsely presented as clips of anti-Marcos rally

Claim: A video shows several protesters calling for the resignation of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. 

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video, posted on Facebook on November 20, shows protesters holding placards while a man chants: “BBM, resign ka na! Iyong droga at korapsyon mo, exposed na ni Imee, managot ka! Marcos gumagamit ng droga, walang hustisya, kami ang bayan ay galit na!”

(BBM, resign now! Imee has exposed your drug use and corruption; you must be held accountable! Marcos uses drugs, there’s no justice, we the people are angry!)

Text overlaid at the bottom of the video reads, “Rally para sa BBM resign (Rally for BBM [to] resign.” 

The post has garnered 1,100 reactions, 134 comments, and 325 shares as of this writing.

The facts: The video of the rally is AI-generated. Hive Moderation flagged the video as 99.9% likely to contain AI-generated or deepfake elements. Deepware produced similar findings, with the Seferbekov model detecting a 95% probability that the footage is a deepfake, while the Ensemble model detected 81% likelihood.

A Google reverse-image search also found no matching photos or footage of any real rally or protest resembling the scenes in the video.

Additional visual analysis reveals that brief glitches and pixelated flickers in faces, bodies, and background elements become prominent when the video is slowed down, and the protest signs show distorted or nonsensical text, which are indicators of AI-generated content. 

Rallies against corruption: Recent massive rallies like the September 21 protest and the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) rally on November 16 and 17, condemned the corruption scandal linked to anomalous flood control projects. These did not specifically call for Marcos’ resignation.

However, the November 30 protests did have rallyists calling for Marcos’ resignation. At Luneta in Manila, protesters called for the resignation of both Marcos and Vice President Sara Duterte. Meanwhile, at the EDSA People Power Monument in Quezon City, protesters sought to hold both Marcos and Duterte, as well as their allies, accountable for systemic injustice. (READ: [EDITORIAL] When disunity is a stumbling block to change)

In hot water: The video surfaced amid corruption and drug use allegations levied against the President.

In November, former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co published a three-part video series accusing Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of inserting P100 billion in questionable budget allocations in the 2025 national budget, a claim Malacañang has denied. Political tensions escalated further when Senator Imee Marcos accused her brother and the First Family of illegal drug use in a speech during the INC rally. (READ: Imee calls brother President Bongbong Marcos, First Family ‘drug addicts’)

Asked about the administration’s response to calls for Marcos to step down, Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said resignation is not on the table for the President. – Cyril Bocar/Rappler.com

Efren Cyril Bocar is a journalist from Llorente, Eastern Samar who graduated in English Language Studies at the Visayas State University. Cyril is also a graduate of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024. 

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