FACT-CHECK: TikTok video of Poa with facial injuries is AI-generated

May 9, 2026 | Fact Checked by PressOnePH

CLAIM: Vice President Sara Duterte’s defense team spokesman Michael Poa appeared in a press conference with facial injuries.

 

RATING: FALSE

 

An AI-generated TikTok video surfaced on May 6, maliciously showing vice president Sara Duterte’s defense team’s spokesperson and lawyer Michael Poa with facial injuries.

Flagged content: TikTok user @jamesbaraddock30 posted the video of Poa seen with bruises and wounds on both of his cheeks and a bandage on the side of his forehead.

  • The video had superimposed text that read: “o hayan fake news daw kayo .. okay lang yan atty.tiis tiis lang paldo nman sa atty’s fee.. [sic]” (“He said you are all fake news peddlers. It’s okay attorney, it will pass, you’ll be raking in attorney’s fee.”)
  • It also mimicked Poa’s voice claiming the allegation to be “fake news.”

Our debunk: PressOne.PH ran the image through multiple AI detection tools, which found strong evidence of artificial manipulation.

  • Both UndetectableAI and ZeroGPT found the video to be 90% likely to have been created by AI.
  • The generated voice noticeably mispronounced certain basic Filipino words, which is a common “glitch” observed in AI models trying to mimic human speech speaking in non-english languages.
  • Reverse image searches of screenshots of the video yielded no conclusive matches which is a strong indication that the video is likely generated by AI.

Rewind: The post coincided with rumors circulating on social media that the vice president had “thrown a laptop” towards one of her legal counsels.

  • On May 7, Duterte told supporters in The Hague, Netherlands, that the allegation was impossible because she “does not know how to use a computer” and mostly relies on her colleagues for tasks that require a laptop.

Why we fact-checked this: As of writing, the video had gained 36,700 views, 273 likes, 112 comments, 32 favorites, and 59 shares. 

  • On May 4, the House Committee on Justice unanimously decided to submit Duterte’s articles of impeachment to the plenary which, on May 11, voted to remove the vice president from office.
  • This major development could trigger more disinformative content to appear online and distort the public’s understanding of the impeachment process.

Spot the fake: As AI-generated videos become more convincing and easier to spread online, users should be more cautious before believing or sharing emotionally charged content involving public figures.

  • Watch closely for visual inconsistencies such as unnatural facial details, odd skin textures, unrealistic bruises or shadows, and lip movements that do not perfectly match the audio.
  • Listen carefully for AI voice cloning errors, including robotic tone shifts, awkward pauses, or mispronounced Filipino words, and verify whether credible news organizations have independently reported the claim. Hurt Allauigan, with reports from Jauzen Juan


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