The recent experts' findings debunking the authenticity of the malicious "polvoron" video have just vindicated President Marcos from those trying to ruin his reputation, acting Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said.

Chavez said this after Vera Files, an independent fact-checker, published the findings of artificial intelligence (AI) experts from the Deepfakes Analysis Unit (DAU), which is part of the India-based Misinformation Combat Alliance, found that the video was "extensively manipulated" to make the man in the video sniffing cocaine appear as if it was the Chief Executive.

According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO), Acting Secretary Chavez said that the "findings vindicated President Marcos from malicious individuals that have been trying to slander the President and cast aspersions on his character."

Despite this, Chavez said the government will remain vigilant against fake news and called on law enforcement agencies to ramp up their drive against misinformation and harmful digital and online posts.

He likewise reminded the public to be wary of malicious videos and social media posts being circulated by malicious individuals.

"In today’s world of trolls, bots, and deepfake manipulation, it has become easy to throw mud at others," Chavez said.

Deepfakes are an advanced form of digital content manipulation made using generative AI.

A day before his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July, a low-quality video of a man supposedly "sniffing" illegal drugs was spread online. Critics of the President were quick to surmise that the man was President Marcos but the government immediately belied the allegations.

In its report, Vera Files said that it sent copies of the low-quality video to DAU after social media personality Maharlika, who first published the video, "could not provide an answer on how she proved that the man in the video was Marcos."

It added that the DAU found traces of extensive digital manipulation on what has become known as the "polvoron video." Polvoron, a local crumbly candy, was used to refer to cocaine.

Using a tool called SensityAI, Vera Files said the DAU found the video to be suspicious and showed signs of a manipulation called "face swap."

Using another tool called HIVE, the international misinformation advocates "found multiple points of manipulation in the video’s run-time and where the 'no-deepfake' and the deepfake manipulation overlapped," the report added.

Last July 23, the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) both debunked the authenticity of the video. Both authorities said that the facial images of the man in the video did not dovetail or match the President’s facial features.

Results from their video spectral analysis revealed that the tragal notch and the antitragus (parts of the ear) of the man in the video and those of the President were different.

This was not the first time President Marcos fell victim to manipulated online content. In April, an alleged recording of Marcos supposedly directing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to act against a "particular foreign country" was uploaded on a popular video streaming platform.

The PCO had said Marcos did not make such a directive to the military and described the audio as a "deepfake."

"The audio deepfake attempts to make it appear as if the President has directed our Armed Forces of the Philippines to act against a particular foreign country. No such directive exists nor has been made," it said.