A pro-Marcos vlogger has misused three photos to falsely depict that Interpol was poised to arrest former president Rodrigo Duterte amid a previously rumored warrant from the International Criminal Court over his brutal war on drugs.
The misleading photos appeared in the thumbnail of the video YouTube user Sangkay Janjan uploaded on March 9 with the title:
YARE! INTERPOL DADAMPUTIN NA NGAYON SI PRRD? SA HONG KONG O SA BAHAY NILA (He’s in trouble! Interpol to arrest PRRD (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) today? In Hong Kong or at their house)?
The Philippine National Police enforced an Interpol warrant from the ICC to arrest the former president upon his return from Hong Kong on the morning of March 11. The international tribunal issued it on March 7, which Interpol Manila and the Palace received four days later.
“Once a suspect is in ICC custody, an initial appearance hearing will be scheduled. Further information will be communicated in due course,” the international court told KRISIS, official publication of the UP Journalism Club.
The misleading thumbnail juxtaposed three photos: first, Caucasian-looking policemen; second, Duterte supposedly wearing a prison uniform; and third, and a phoro stock photo of a handcuffed prisoner. It included the text overlay:
INTERPOL POLICE PAPUNTA SA BAHAY NI PRRD! (Interpol police are coming to PRRD’s (President Rodrigo Roa Duterte) house!)?
Photographer Georges Schneider originally took the first photo for Chinese state media Xinhua showing policemen on duty in Vienna, Austria on Nov. 3, 2020 following a terror attack that left at least five dead in Vienna, a reverse image search revealed
Meanwhile, Mark Cristino took the second photo of Duterte standing during a courtesy call with Association of Southeast Asian Nations economic ministers on Sept. 6, 2017.
Artificial intelligence (AI) detection tool Sightengine concluded that both generative AI (41%) and face manipulation (82%) were likely used in the altered version of the second photo, where Duterte’s head was placed on top of a prisoner in orange garb.
The third photo is a stock photo of a handcuffed prisoner in a county jail taken in 2008 by Moodboard Stock Photography.
Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo earlier belied rumors of Duterte’s escape. The former president met overseas Filipino workers and supporters in a gathering at Southorn Stadium in Wan Chai, Hong Kong on March 9, where he denied committing crimes against humanity, saying his acts were “so there could be a little bit of quiet and peace for the lives of the Filipinos.”
As of March 9, Sangkay Janjan’s video has garnered over 34,000 views and 3,600 likes. His YouTube channel has reached over 1.45 million subscribers and 276 million total views since its creation on Dec. 1, 2017.
Facebook user RealTalks reposted the video on March 10 which garnered 3,500 views, 324 likes, 119 comments,and 21 shares.
Sangkay Janjan’s videos have been fact-checked multiple times by Rappler, News5 and FactRakers, among others.
He has taken down 167 videos after violating YouTube’s policies on harassment and COVID-19 disinformation. (KOL/CPJ, UP Journalism Club)