FACT CHECK: Video of rally calling for Marcos’ resignation is AI-generated

Claim: A video shows a massive rally demanding the resignation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and expressing support for Vice President Sara Duterte.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video containing the claim has garnered 389,000 views, 9,700 likes, 1,600 shares, and 845 comments as of writing.

The video shows aerial footage of a massive crowd gathered along a major road. Superimposed on the video are large cut-out images of Duterte and Marcos. Beneath Marcos’ image is a graphic stating, “Congratulations BBM nakakahiya na ang Pilipinas. Yan ba legacy mo?” 

(Congratulations, [Bongbong Marcos]. The Philippines has become an embarrassment. Is that your legacy?) 

The video also contains overlaid text reading, “Partida di kasali yong Mindanao at Visayas [d’yan] (Mindanao and Visayas aren’t even included yet)” and “BBM resign,” along with other messages expressing support for Duterte.

The facts: The video is AI-generated. AI detection tool Hive Moderation flagged the video as 90.6% likely to contain AI-generated content. Sightengine analyzed a screenshot from the video and found it 96% likely to have been AI-generated, assigning a 96% score for GenAI use and identifying multiple indicators associated with diffusion-based image generation. 

The same footage also previously circulated online in September 2025 in posts falsely claiming it showed the “Trillion Peso March,” an anti-corruption protest held at the EDSA People Power Monument to call out alleged misuse of flood control funds. However, verified reporting and documentation of that event do not match the viral clip.

Protests on flood control, Marcos’ resignation: The misleading video was posted around the same time as various groups’ protests on corruption issues in the government.

On June 4, rallies were held outside the Senate while lawmakers conducted hearings on alleged irregularities in flood control projects. Supporters of the Vice President urged senators to continue investigating alleged anomalies in flood control project spending, the dismissal of the impeachment proceedings against Duterte, and Marcos’ resignation. Meanwhile, a separate group staged a protest calling for the resignation of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

Photos and videos of these protests, however, do not correspond to the images in the viral video that show a massive crowd.

Misrepresented: Rappler has previously debunked other AI-generated and manipulated videos falsely portrayed as pro-Duterte rallies:

• FACT CHECK: Video of 2024 Cebu concert misrepresented as Duterte rally crowd
• FACT CHECK: Bukidnon concertgoers passed off as Duterte’s Tagum ‘peace rally’ attendees
• FACT CHECK: Video shows crowd in Argentina, not pro-Duterte gathering in Recto
• FACT CHECK: Videos show 2023 jeepney phaseout protests, not pro-Duterte rally
• FACT CHECK: Video shows 2016 protest in South Korea, not pro-Duterte INC rally
• FACT CHECK: Video shows 2015 INC protest, not pro-Duterte rally

 – Kristine Santillan/Rappler.com

Kristine Santillan is a Rappler Volunteer. She is currently a junior BS Statistics student at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

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