FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong’s hypertension video ad is AI-manipulated

Claim: Cardiologist and online health personality Dr. Willie Ong endorses a new cure for hypertension.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim has gained 277,000 views, 570 reactions, 47 comments, and 36 shares as of writing. 

In the video, ABS-CBN anchor Alvin Elchico is shown seemingly talking about a purported breakthrough cure for hypertension developed by Ong and other prominent global physicians. The alleged report states that even renowned boxer Manny Pacquiao has tried this natural remedy based on Ong’s recommendation.

This is followed by a clip of Ong seemingly affirming the effectiveness of the medicine. Additionally, he purportedly accuses “corrupt” cardiologists of prescribing “useless drugs that only hide symptoms and do not treat the causes of the disease.”   

The facts: The video featuring Ong and Elchico is manipulated using AI. Sensity, a tool designed to detect AI manipulation, flagged the video as “suspicious” with a 99.9% confidence level.

“High confidence indicates that the detector has found definite signals of AI generation or manipulation. Minimum confidence for this detector is 50%,” Sensity noted. 

Founded in 2018, the Netherlands-based company specializes in detecting “deepfakes and other forms of malicious visual media.”

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A closer look at the altered video also shows that the mouth movements of Ong and Elchico appear unnatural. 

The original footage of Ong is from a 2018 video on his official YouTube channel, where he provides advice on managing various conditions like hypertension and diabetes.

In an ABS-CBN News article, both the news outlet and Elchico confirmed that the video was fake.

Previous false claims: Ong has repeatedly denied endorsing various health products attributed to him. Rappler has fact-checked similar claims of products using Ong in false advertisements:

• FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong doesn’t endorse Ayurma Healing Oil (January 31, 2024)
• FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong doesn’t endorse Nasure Colostrum Milk (December 24, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong doesn’t endorse Lung Gold Milk (December 18, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Barley Grass Powder ad uses altered photo of Doc Willie Ong (September 29, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Fake ads for hair growth product use Doc Willie Ong’s videos (August 11, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong ad promoting whitening toothpaste is fake (July 25, 2023)
• FACT CHECK: Doc Willie Ong’s name, videos used in fake ads for Glufarelin (July 21, 2023)

Several false claims used AI tools to imply endorsement by Ong and other known public personalities. According to human rights advocacy group Freedom House, disinformation peddlers are increasingly using AI-generated images, audio, and text, “making the truth easier to distort and harder to discern.” –  James Patrick Cruz/Rappler.com

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