VERA Files
An artificial intelligence (AI)-manipulated clip featuring retired Ilocos Sur politician Chavit Singson supposedly sharing the wonders of a health product that helped cure his osteoarthritis has been shared on Facebook (FB). This is fake.
An FB page maliciously using the name of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire published the video showing Singson on April 11. It bore this caption:
“7 araw at gagaling ang iyong mga kasukasuan nang walang operasyon (In just seven days, your joints will heal without any surgery)”
The video directed potential viewers to click a website link in the comment section where they can buy a product called MaxiFlex, which allegedly cures several joint-related conditions.
Further, the website post used the name of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) and featured a supposed interview between Vergeire and celebrity host Boy Abunda praising the product.
This is a scam AI-edited advertisement. The original video of Singson revealed that the former governor was talking about an entirely different topic.
The original video was published in Singson’s official FB page on April 8, where he issued a public apology after his convoy received a violation ticket for using the restricted EDSA bus lane.
The image showing Abunda interviewing Vergeire was a screenshot captured from a January 2023 video published on Abunda’s channel, The Boy Abunda Talk Channel, shortly after Vergeire was appointed as the Department of Health Officer-in-Charge.
The bogus supplement is not recorded on the FDA’s list of approved food and drug products with certificates of product registration.
The manipulated video emerged days after the international celebration of World Health Day.
Impostor FB page Maria Rosario Vergeire (created on Aug. 31, 2022) published the fake video, garnering over 1,700 reactions, 360 comments, 450 shares and 129,000 views.
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(Editor’s Note: VERA Files has partnered with Facebook to fight the spread of disinformation. Find out more about this partnership and our methodology.)
