Palace scores Bato, Baste for ‘irresponsible’ sharing of AI video

Despite being labeled with the hashtag #AI, many viewers believed it was real — including dela Rosa, who reposted it and was met with criticism from netizens. (File Photo: Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa/Facebook)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

MANILA – Malacañang on Monday slammed Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte for sharing an AI (artificial intelligence)-generated video on social media, branding their actions as irresponsible and damaging to public trust.

The video, which depicted two male students explaining their opposition to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte, was revealed to be artificial.

Despite being labeled with the hashtag #AI, many viewers believed it was real — including dela Rosa, who reposted it and was met with criticism from netizens.

In a press briefing, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said the act of sharing fake content by public officials undermines government efforts to combat disinformation.

“Ang pagsha-share ng mga katulad niyan — muli disinformation, fake news — hindi po sana nanggagaling sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan (Sharing content like that — again, disinformation, fake news — should not be coming from government officials),” Castro said.

“Nakakaduda, mas nakakawala ng tiwala kung mismong sa matataas na opisyal nanggagaling ang mga disinformation at fake news (It’s troubling and further erodes trust when disinformation and fake news come from top officials themselves),” she added.

The Palace official noted that the video was quickly debunked by the public and emphasized the administration’s ongoing efforts to fight fake news.

“Mabuti po at ito ay nacorrect at napansin ng ating mga kababayan. Ang sabi nga po natin, kahit ang PCO, ang pamahalaan, gumagawa ng paraan para mapahinto ang fake news. Pero mas kakayanin po natin ito kapag po tayo ay tulung-tulong (It’s good that this was corrected and noticed by our citizens. As we’ve said, even the PCO and the government are working to stop fake news. But we’ll be more effective if we work together),” she said.

Castro urged the officials involved to acknowledge their mistake and take accountability.

“Ngayon na ginawa nila, dapat lamang nilang i-acknowledge na ang pinasa nilang video ay hindi totoo at hindi tunay (Now that they’ve done it, they must acknowledge that the video they shared is not true and not real).”

Asked if she considers their actions irresponsible, she did not mince words and said: “Opo. Responsibilidad nila ‘to. Dahil ang bawat salita na binibitawan nila sa taumbayan, lider sila, yaan ay totoo sa pandinig at pananaw ng bawat isa. So dapat maging responsable sa anumang shine-share nila sa taumbayan (Yes. This is their responsibility. Because every word they say to the public — as leaders — those words are taken as truth in the ears and eyes of the people. So they must be responsible for what they share with the public.)