BBM audio deepfake ‘source’ identified

Malacañang and the Philippine National Police (PNP) said they have found a possible source for the deepfake audio of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

In a news forum over the weekend, Malacañang said the PNP knew where the deepfake technology used to change the President’s audio recording came from.

“Initially, a possible source of this deepfake audio has been identified, but the extent of their involvement is still the subject of our investigation,” Malacañang quoted PNP spokesman Colonel Jean Fajardo as saying.

“Whether this is intentional or not, those people behind this deepfake audio will be held accountable,” Fajardo said.

Fajardo confirmed that the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), working in collaboration with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), has successfully removed the deepfake audio recording that was created and altered using artificial intelligence (AI).

Last week, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Assistant Secretary Patricia Kayle Martin said a foreign actor may be behind the spread of the deepfake audio of Marcos, which allegedly ordered the country’s military to intervene should China pose a threat to the Philippines.

The government is considering filing cases against those behind the manipulated audio that mimicked the President’s voice.

The fake audio recording spread this month amid escalating tensions between the Philippines and China in the West Philippine Sea.

The PCO official urged the public to stop spreading fake news and emphasized that it could jeopardize foreign relations and national security.

As this developed, the House of Representatives called on concerned government agencies to prosecute those behind the deep-faking of the President’ voice.

Senior Deputy Speaker Aurelio Gonzales stressed that the fabricated video poses a threat to the country’s national security.

“We should not allow this to happen again. We should not tolerate criminally-minded persons to wreak havoc on our national security and to give our people fake information,” said the Pampanga lawmaker.

Deputy Speaker David Suarez also demanded a thorough investigation. “It should not be difficult for them to identify the origin of the deepfake and those behind it. I suspect this bogus material originated from somewhere in the south of the country,” he said.