DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /16 March) – At least two Facebook accounts are impersonating two councilors in Davao City: Temujin “Tek” Ocampo of the first district and Antoinette “Petite” Principe of the third district through deepfake technology. This has drawn attention as the accounts spread misleading content and misuse the officials’ images online.
The fake profiles feature AI-generated photos depicting the councilors with a baby, falsely suggesting they are a couple. Users flagged the accounts, questioning their legitimacy due to inconsistencies in the images and metadata.
An investigation revealed that the account named Ronaldo Abellanosa was created on February 1, 2026, and had 39 friends and 10 public posts as of March 16, 2026. Similarly, the account Madelyn Tan, created on the same day, had 33 friends and 8 posts. Both accounts share the same friends.
The councilors confirmed they reported the impersonation to Meta, which prohibits identity misrepresentation under its community standards. Despite this, the profiles remained active as of March 16, 2026.
Further scrutiny exposed discrepancies in the fake accounts’ posts. One photo falsely claimed to be taken at Purok Cattleya, Bankerohan—a non-existent location—while another mislabeled SM Lanang Premier as SM Level Premier, Davao Del Sur. The timestamp of 7:45 AM also conflicted with SM’s official opening time of 10:00 AM.
Analysis of the profile pictures revealed AI-generated flaws, including unnatural skin texture, inconsistent hand tones, distorted backgrounds, and mismatched appearances of the children in the photos.
Meta’s policies explicitly forbid impersonation, including unauthorized use of another person’s image or voice. MindaNews encourages the public to submit fact-checking leads or suggestions. (Rovic Lloyd Buot and Melody Tagnipis/ DOrSU Interns)
