Amy Perez to fans: Video of me endorsing menopause drug is fake

MANILA — Kapamilya host Amy Perez has warned her followers not to believe an edited video circulating on Facebook that made it appear that she she uses and endorses a drug for women dealing with menopause.

Speaking with ABS-CBN News on Wednesday, Perez said that an interview she had done with a doctor for her now-defunct morning show on DZMM Teleradyo was turned into a deepfake, or a video that has been manipulated with the use of artificial intelligence or AI.

“Nag-appear siya sa feed ng isang kaibigan ko. Pinadala niya yung link sakin, sabi niya, 'Mars, ikaw ba ‘to?' Pinakinggan ko. Hay, parang boses ko talaga! Ang galing di ba pero sobrang nakakatakot,” shared Perez.

(It appeared on the feed of a friend of mine. She sent the link to me and asked, 'Mars, is this you?' So I listened to it. Hay, it really does sound like my voice! It’s amazing but very scary.)

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Perez said, neither she nor the doctor she spoke with had mentioned any product during that interview.

The drug that was being promoted in the deepfake, called Hormo Balance, is not actually registered with the Food and Drug Administration either, despite claims that it is.

“False lahat yun. Hindi ko 'yun binanggit ever. Hindi ko tinatake yung gamot na 'yun ever. Ang nakakalungkot doon, ang daming babaeng nagko-comment, tinatanong nila, magkano yung produkto,” she said.

(That was all false. I never said those words. I have never taken that drug ever. What’s saddening is that there were many women who commented, asking how much the product was.)

“I-check po natin nang maigi muna bago po kayo bibili ng isang produkto. Para rin po yun sa sarili ninyong safety,” she said as a warning to her fans.

(Let’s double check first before buying any product. This is also for your safety.)

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A few months ago, videos of some ABS-CBN journalists and anchors were also manipulated to look like they were promoting a slimming treatment.

SPOTTING DEEPFAKES

An expert on artificial intelligence has shared some tips on how to spot deepfakes amid the spread of fake ads online featuring several Filipino TV and news personalities.

Data ethicist Dominic Ligot said one tell-tale sign that a video is fake is when the footage is spliced yet the audio track remains smooth all throughout.

There are also times when the movements of the speakers’ lips are not in sync with the audio track.

“Para siyang dinub. In fact, that was where this technology started, to make the dubbed videos more natural. Usually if you want to dub, let’s say an English movie to Spanish, into Japanese,” said Ligot.

(It looks like it was just dubbed.)

According to Ligot, scammers would sometimes just loop one clip over and over too.

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“That’s another known tactic. Kunyari yung video clip mo is only three seconds, pero yung audio clip mo is maybe half a minute, paulit-ulit lang yung galaw,” he noted.

(Let’s say the video is only three seconds long, but the audio clip is maybe half a minute, then the video would just repeat.)

Filipinos can also catch deepfakes by listening for weird pronunciation of words or intonation.

“Pesos becomes ‘pey-soz’, kasi nga these technologies were developed in English. Hindi naman 'yan yung the way we say it in the Philippines,” said Ligot.

But as AI evolves, Ligot warned that it will only get harder to distinguish edited videos from real ones.

That’s why he wants netizens to also be skeptical about the message being relayed by a post or a video they see online.

“Kailangan kinikilatis mo. Ano bang narinig ko? totoo ba yan? Usually ang mga common uses dyan, either it’s a political message or may binebenta or hard selling. You should automatically scrutinize,” he said.

(You have to think it over. What did I just hear? Is it that real? Usually the common uses for that, either it’s a political message or someone is trying to sell you something.)

Ligot also encouraged the public to report such videos to social media platforms, to authorities, and to the person being impersonated.

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CONSULT WITH A DOCTOR FOR MEDICAL CONCERNS

And instead of believing online ads, the Department of Health said it’s much better to consult with a doctor for medical concerns.

In a statement, Health Secretary Ted Herbosa said his agency is dealing with online pages that make use of the DOH and FDA logos to trick people into buying their products.

“We have filed cases against those but we will continue filing cases against these social media sites,” said Herbosa.

The DOH also reiterated that it does not endorse any health product.

“Ibig sabihin, pag may nakita po kayo na DOH endorses this, doon palang ho, wag na kayong maniwala,” said Health Assistant Secretary Albert Domingo.

(This means that when you see something that says, the DOH endorses this, that’s already a sign that you should not believe it.)