Here’s the rewritten content without additional comments:
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews /02 March) – Photos circulating on TikTok that supposedly show former President Rodrigo Duterte with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have gone viral, prompting strong reactions and speculation among social media users. These photos are fake and AI-generated.
MindaNews fact-checked these posts after the images circulated widely and drew strong reactions. Metropolitan News Channel, an account claiming to provide critical analysis, first posted a photo of Duterte beside Epstein with text suggesting a connection. The following day, another image was released with similar claims.
Some netizens reacted strongly, with comments like, “Birds of the same feathers flock together,” while others speculated about Duterte’s alleged ties to Epstein. The posts gained significant traction, with hundreds of thousands of views and engagements.
However, a reverse image search revealed that Epstein’s image was taken from a well-known photograph with former US President Donald Trump, originally published by Getty Images in 1997. In the manipulated versions, Trump’s figure was digitally replaced with Duterte’s likeness.
Duterte’s face and posture in the altered images closely match an archival photograph by Reuters photojournalist Rene B. Lumawag, showing him as mayor of Davao City in the 1990s. The viral images appear to have digitally inserted his likeness into a fabricated scene.
Visual inconsistencies, such as unnatural finger counts and varying hairstyles, further indicate AI manipulation. The posts provide no verifiable evidence linking Duterte to Epstein or the released documents.
By presenting AI-generated images as factual discoveries, these posts risk misleading the public and spreading unverified claims. MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions for future fact-checking reports. (Allizah Keziah Manulat / MindaNews)
