Manipulated video of Filipino journalist promotes unregistered slimming pill

"This is a trending product, so you must try it," reads the caption alongside the manipulated video on Facebook shared on January 26, 2024.

It appears to show Filipino journalist Jessica Soho promoting a food supplement called "Ecofit Natural Slimming Capsule" on her Tagalog-language weekly magazine show "Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho" -- which translates as "One at Heart, Jessica Soho". 

"Ecofit" has not been registered by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration as of February 12, 2024 (archived link).

In the edited clip, Soho appears to say in Tagalog: "There are so many dietary supplements online, but did you know there's a supplement that can legitimately cause weight loss? Let's find out."

She goes on to cite unnamed "experts" who she claims have endorsed taking the pills over adopting a healthy diet and doing regular exercise, contrary to advice from international health authorities (archived link). 

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Screenshot of false post, taken February 8, 2024

The manipulated video has garnered more than 15,000 views. It has also been shared on Facebook here, here and here. 

The logo for GMA Network -- the Philippine broadcast media outlet that employs Soho -- has been added to the video's top right-hand corner to make the report appear genuine.

Lee Joseph Castel, assistant vice president of GMA Public Affairs, told AFP that the video was fake, adding that Soho has not promoted the supplement "EcoFit". 

"The video was created by manipulating a clip of (her show's) spiels, where the mouth was edited to make it seem like Soho was delivering the lines," Castel said on February 7. 

He added it was not the first time the network had encountered deepfake videos impersonating their journalists, saying it would "take the necessary steps to prevent such misleading content from spreading." 

Edited footage

AFP found the footage has the hallmarks of a deepfake video when compared with the original footage, which was taken from Soho's show aired on February 4, 2018 (archived link). 

Most noticeably, Soho's mouth in the edited clip is disproportionately large, and at times, it freezes when she is speaking. 

The fabricated clip has been edited from the first 20 seconds of the 2018 episode, which was about a Filipino basketball prodigy.

In the original footage, Soho mentioned a young boy from the province of Bulacan, just north of Manila, whose basketball moves were inspired by well-known NBA player Stephen Curry.  

She says in Tagalog: "Lots of young people look up now to Stephen Curry of The Golden State Warriors. Imagine scoring 49 points in one game -- this is why Justin of Bulacan imitates Curry's moves."

Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the original clip (right): 

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Screenshot comparison of the false post (left) and the original clip (right)

Dominic Ligot, founder of non-profit Data Ethics PH, which looks at the ethical use of data and AI, told AFP the clip was a "deepfake" (archived link). 

"It's a video avatar that was created to match an audio voice clip -- which was also digitally created to mimic Jessica Soho's voice," he said.

AFP has previously debunked manipulated footage from Philippine local broadcasters here and here.