Social media posts of an AI-generated video appeared to show Taylor Swift saying she needed to “stay away” from supporters of the powerful Duterte family in the Philippines. AFP traced the clip to a TikTok user who said they used an AI tool for cloning celebrities’ voices.
A TikTok video shared on August 10 shows the American mega-star purportedly saying she refused to take her “Eras” tour to the Philippines in order to “stay away from the Duterte supporters”.
“I just feel sorry for the Filipinos who are not DDS, because I want to perform for them,” the voiceover said, in reference to “Diehard Duterte Supporters”.
“To DDS, listen to this,” read the Tagalog-language text overlaid on the video which was viewed more than a thousand times.
The claim surfaced elsewhere on social media posts such as here, here and here.
Screenshot of the false TikTok video, taken August 14, 2024
The video was shared amid the growing rift between President Ferdinand Marcos and his deputy Sara Duterte, who had teamed up to clinch a landslide victory in the May 2022 polls.
The Marcos and Duterte families have had a bitter, public falling out as they attempt to shore up their rival support bases and secure key positions ahead of the 2025 mid-term elections (archived link).
Several social media users appeared to believe the Swift clip was genuine, with some pro-Marcos users suggesting that Swift’s alleged remarks showed support for the president.
“Thank you miss Taylor Swift and to ur support Pilipino (sic) people who support PBBM,” referring to Marcos by the abbreviated nickname “PBBM” or President “Bongbong” Marcos.
But the video was made with AI.
AI-generated clip
A reverse image search on Google found a clip uploaded by TikTok user @DDSBeLike on July 30, 2024, whose profile said it posts satirical content (archived links here and here).
The TikTok clip shows an uncropped version of the Swift video, along with two other photos superimposed below it.
One picture shows a woman who appears to resemble the Philippine vice president wearing a flower crown and a cropped top, while the other shows the US pop sensation performing in Melbourne, Australia in February 2024 (archived link).
“No wonder there’s no Eras tour here because of DDS (Diehard Duterte Supporters)!!! O, this is only AI in case fellow DDS reacts without reading,” said the video’s Tagalog-language caption.
The user confirmed to AFP on August 15 they created the video with AI using the text-to-speech application starvoice.ai.
The TikTok user also marked the clip as “AI-generated”, a label which appears on posts that have been indicated to be completely AI-generated or significantly edited with AI.
Below are screenshots of the July 30 TikTok video and the platform’s “AI-generated” label, with elements highlighted by AFP:
Screenshots of the July 30 TikTok video and the platform’s “AI-generated” label, with elements highlighted by AFP
Siwei Lyu, director of the Media Forensic Lab at the University of Buffalo, told AFP on August 14 that the clip was generated with AI (archived link).
Lyu also pointed out abnormalities in Swift’s lower lip and teeth in the shared video, which he said are telltale signs of a “lip-syncing deepfake”.
AFP analysed the audio using AI detection tool Loccus.ai, which said it is “very likely AI-generated”.
2021 interview
Further Google reverse image searches found the video misrepresented footage of Swift from an old interview on the US talk show “Late Night with Seth Meyers”.
The full interview footage was uploaded by the show’s official YouTube channel on November 14, 2021 (archived link).
Swift’s hairstyle and hoop earrings, along with the background showing the urban skyline, match the features seen in the falsely shared video.
Below is a screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the 2021 interview (right):
Screenshot comparison of the false video (left) and the 2021 interview of Swift (right)
In the 14-minute interview, Swift talked about re-recording her own music and her album “Red (Taylor’s Version)”.
Nowhere did she mention the Philippines, Duterte’s supporters, nor the “Eras” tour, which was only announced on November 1, 2022 and started the following March (archived link).
Swift has previously been targeted by doctored videos, one of which was debunked by AFP here.
Source link : https://www.yahoo.com/news/ai-video-taylor-swift-assailing-033640707.html
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Publish date : 2024-08-14 16:36:00
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