NICA: ‘Challenging’ to identify those behind Marcos deepfake

MANILA, Philippines — The hunt for those behind President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s viral deepfake video has proven to be “challenging,” according to a National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) official on Thursday.

A deepfake of Marcos that had gone viral depicted him declaring war on another country. The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) and other agencies have since been on the hunt for the people who made it.

READ: Foreign entities eyed in Marcos deepfake clip

“Although we know that they came from one country, lumalabas na IP (internet protocol) [address] nila ay nasa kabilang bansa (their IP address appears to be located in another country) so it’s becoming very challenging on our part to really identify these people involved in this kind of activity,” said NICA Deputy Director General for Special Concerns Abelardo Villacorta.

Speaking at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon public briefing, Villacorta said that the NICA is working with the Philippine National Police to track down the culprits.

“We have some partnerships with other intelligence agencies not only domestic but international,” added Villacorta.

The PCO had previously stated that foreign elements may be involved in the viral fake video. The agency encouraged the public to be more vigilant against such fabricated videos.

“Let us all be more vigilant against such manipulated digital content that are deployed by actors to propagate malicious content online and advance a malign influence agenda,” said the PCO in a statement last April.