“AI-generated?”
A photo of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. with Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel has been generating buzz online due to alleged digital manipulation.
The image, posted on the official Facebook page of Marcos, was part of a set showing Marcos visiting the fire-ravaged San Francisco High School in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 18.
One of the school’s main structures, the Dao Building, was destroyed by a fire reportedly caused by an electrical fault on Sunday, June 15, just a day before classes for Academic Year 2024-2025 were set to begin.
The fire reached the third alarm before it was finally extinguished just before noon that day. It destroyed eight classrooms used by Grade 9 and Grade 10 students.
Marcos personally visited the site to assess the damage, along with Education Secretary Sonny Angara and Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte.
The visit was documented and posted on the president’s official Facebook page, where some critics pointed out that certain photos appeared to be digitally edited or manipulated.
The first photo uploaded, one that went viral, showed Marcos pointing at something off-camera, while a BFP personnel member looked in the same direction.
The photo has since garnered over 5,000 comments and 24,000 shares on the social media platform, with some users speculating that the image may have been edited.
“Nyare sa’yo, BBM, ba’t tumagos lang ata ‘yung bumbero sa pader. Grabe naman ang edit niyan, pinaglololoko mo na ang mga Pinoy,” a Facebook user wrote.
“Bakit kailangan edit ang photo?? Para pakunyari busy sa pag-instruction blhahh blaahh…..” another said.
“Mas ok pa AI mag-edit,” a different online user said.
“Sorry, na-zoom. Tagos sa pader,” another Pinoy wrote with laughing emojis.
Others refuted the claims of digital manipulation, sharing a video report of Marcos’ visit as evidence that the photo was authentic.
“Eto na daw ‘yung video, baka naman edited pa rin?” a Facebook user wrote, sharing a report of the state-run People’s Television Network (PTV).
In his inspection, Marcos ordered the Department of Public Works and Highways to upgrade the razed two-story building to a four-story one.
He also said that burnt school equipment will be replaced, adding that the private sector will help replace the damaged equipment while the Quezon City government has deployed personnel and supplies.
Meanwhile, at least three AI-image checker tools have determined that the viral photo uploaded on Marcos’ personal Facebook page was “not likely to be AI-generated or deepfake.”
A tool said that the image was “likely created by a human,” while another determined that it was “quite confident that no AI was used” when the image was produced.
