Here’s the latest in the Duterte multiverse: Statues and large-scale art pieces of former president Rodrigo Duterte are created with different materials, and are erected in various parts of the world. They’re handcrafted by people in The Netherlands, Russia, and Korea. One statue was even supposedly sculpted by Jackie Chan himself (not true).

At least, that’s what various AI-generated images have claimed.

On Facebook, the most popular social media platform in the Philippines, images of supposed statues of Duterte have been viewed up to millions of times. They’re often shared by pages such as Duterte News Info and Bagong Pilipinas 2022, which have 120,000 followers and 83,000 followers, respectively.

Many of these posts have been fact-checked by media organizations, which can rate AI-generated images depicting an event that did not happen.

Facebook users have raised concerns about the AI-generated images. They asked Filipinos to be more discerning of viral images, and criticized his supporters for reinforcing Duterte’s “cult of personality.”

Despite fact-checking efforts and warnings from netizens, these fabricated images continue to spread.

There are three reasons for this: 

• Meta’s vague policies on manipulated media
• The images are disguised as “political entertainment”
• Duterte supporters share them since they put the former president in a “good light”

AI-generated sludge

While generative AI has been used for socially relevant causes like fact-checking, it’s also been exploited for disinformation that can manipulate or deceive people. When tech companies fail to put or even remove the proper guardrails, AI-generated sludge could take over information ecosystems as we know it.

In the Philippines, we’ve seen AI-driven disinformation primarily focused on promoting unregistered medical products or cryptocurrency. AI-generated content has also been used to target politicians, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who battled his “polvoron” deepfake incident.

In an interview with The Nerve, Davao-based political analyst Ramon Beleno III identified at least two reasons these posts resonate with Duterte supporters.

First, these supporters might see these AI-generated images mainly as sources of entertainment. Some Facebook posts that shared AI-generated content of Duterte — including fabricated images with women, celebrities, or fictional superheroes — contained disclaimers that these were “for entertainment purposes only.”

“For those who are neutral or even critical of Duterte, [these images are] fake news, it’s not true. But I think [Duterte supporters] don't care if it's true or not. I think what they want is something entertaining to them,” Beleno said.

Political disinformation disguised as entertainment content is not new. 

Previous studies found that entertainment pages can obscure their identities to take advantage of unsuspecting audiences who weren’t initially looking for political content. Some entertainment channels have also gotten away with amplifying political lies.

Second, Beleno said some supporters may have become “willing victims” of these fact-checked, AI-generated images, because they put their “idol” in a good light.

“They idolize Duterte, so if they see an image that praises Duterte, of course they’ll be amused…. Although they’re not sure that it’s true, anything that is good, anything that is telling them your idol is getting stronger…. That’s okay with them. They don’t even want to verify that information because they’re already happy with it,” he explained.

Beleno also said some pro-Duterte users might be aware that the statues aren’t real, but that they might share these images just to spite his rivals or critics. In fact, some pages sharing AI-generated Duterte statues even explicitly said they wanted to provoke anti-Duterte users on the platform.

“I know very few people who already know [these images are] disinformation. But just because they want to insult their opponents, they make a fuss about it, they make it an issue. They’re targeting an audience on the other side of the fence just to spite them,” he added.

Apart from the AI-generated images of Duterte statues, Facebook pages were also sharing AI-generated videos of “baby” Duterte, using audio clips from real speeches and events. These videos garnered up to millions of views on the platform.

This is not the first time AI-generated content was used to transform a strongman leader into a cute, animated character. 

In 2024, Indonesia elected Prabowo Subianto, who benefited from an AI-fueled rebrand that portrayed him as a “cuddly grandpa.” Older Indonesians remembered Prabowo for his human rights abuses under the Suharto dictatorship.

History of Duterte’s populist, emotion-based allure

Beleno linked the appeal of these AI-generated images to Duterte’s history as a populist leader who connected deeply with the masses.

Before he became president, Duterte was a hands-on mayor who “spent most of his time together with the people” in Davao, Beleno explained. When Duterte ran for president in 2016 and thus was constantly out of Davao, Duterte standees were set up in different parts of Davao and became a staple in his presidential campaign.

“I personally know people who visit Davao and go out of their way to take photos with Duterte’s standees, even if they are not supporters of the former president…. I guess that’s where people started being fascinated by these images of Duterte, because they’re used to him always being there. I think the context is the same for these AI-generated images,” Beleno said.

“A populist leader would invest in emotions. They would make you cry, they would make you angry. They’re very divisive…. [Duterte] would invest in the emotions of the people, so I won’t be surprised if these people [sharing these images] are very emotional,” he explained.

These heightened emotions can also cloud one’s judgment and make them prone to disinformation, Beleno said. 

“When it comes to disinformation, the target is [a person’s] emotions. If you tend to be very emotional, you’re no longer rational, you’re no longer thinking straight. You’re putting your emotions and reactions first, without even thinking if something is verified or real,” he added.

Broader political context

These AI-generated images are being circulated against a backdrop of significant political events. Beleno said Duterte’s arrest in March over a warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) had shifted the political landscape. Immediately after the arrest, pro-Duterte Filipinos ramped up support for the former president, mobilizing both online and offline.

“For example, predictions said this would be [a Marcos Jr.] administration-dominated election, or that what happens in Davao will be a very close fight. But it all changed because of the arrest, which was very emotional…. Here, even if you’re not a Duterte supporter, but you can see what’s being done to their family, you’re being dragged into supporting them because of sympathy,” he explained.

Even if Duterte was arrested earlier this March, his allies were able to sustain that support for two months until the May midterm elections, which saw members of the Duterte family winning landslide victories in Davao.

Duterte himself won as Davao City mayor while being detained at The Hague, boasting 662,630 votes against his closest opponent Karlo Nograles’ 80,852 votes. His son Sebastian or Baste won as vice mayor, while Paolo or Pulong secured a third and final term as congressman.

“They invested so much emotion into the arrest of the former president. They made the issue bigger and bigger and dragged it on and on,” Beleno said.

It remains to be seen if Duterte’s base will be able to sustain that support — whether through AI-generated content or other means — for the months to come, and until the ICC decides on his fate.

“[For as long as he stays] in the ICC, they will still continue to create issues here in the Philippines…. We will be expecting a lot more of those in the coming days or weeks, until September 23,” Beleno added. – Rappler.com

Quotes in Filipino were translated into English and some were shortened for brevity.

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This story was originally published on Rappler on June 1, 2025. It was made in collaboration with The Nerve, a data forensics company that enables changemakers to navigate real-world trends and issues through narrative and network investigations. Taking the best of human and machine, we enable partners to unlock powerful insights that shape informed decisions. Composed of a team of data scientists, strategists, award-winning storytellers, and designers, the company is on a mission to deliver data with real-world impact.