FACT CHECK: Video of Marcos hair follicle drug test claims to be satire

Claim: President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. underwent a hair follicle drug test that kept Vice President Sara Duterte laughing.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: A YouTube channel named “Viral TV,”  with 591,000 subscribers, posted a one-hour video on February 2 titled, “Bongbong Marcos, sumailalim na sa hair follicle dr*g test! Sara Duterte tawang tawa!” (Bongbong Marcos underwent hair follicle drug test that kept Sara Duterte laughing!)

The video, which currently has 3,793 views, included Marcos photos taken from circulating clips that allegedly showed him undergoing a hair follicle drug test.

In the video, the narrator said in Filipino that the President had finally accepted the challenge to take the test. Malacañang allegedly told the public to wait for the results, as the President is willing to prove that he is not under the influence of drugs.

The clip of the President’s alleged hair follicle drug test has also been circulating on TikTok. One of the users who reposted screenshots of the clip even inserted a text, “Good job BBM stay positive.”

The facts: A check of the video’s watermark and logo showed that the alleged clip of Marcos was originally posted by TikTok user “AMP Satire” on February 1. The post included a disclaimer stating it was satire and its creator labeled it as AI-generated.

Although AI detector Sightengine said it is uncertain about the video being a deepfake, it nevertheless shows 51% face manipulation. 

The original post’s caption asked whether the public agrees that the President should undergo the test, hence the inclusion of the clip. As of writing, it has garnered 1.6 million views and 39,000 likes

However, many users, including the YouTube channel that reposted the clip, added misleading captions. 

Unrelated clips: Other than the manipulated photos added to the claim, the misleading YouTube video did not provide any additional support for its claim. Rather it showed unrelated clips that were about Marcos’ alleged anomalies. 

For example, a clip of Harry Roque was shown criticizing the President after he supposedly signed into law the bicameral conference committee report that allegedly contained blanks. This was followed by a clip of Marcos’ previous executive secretary, Vic Rodriguez, discussing issues about the 2025 budget, extending the video to an hour.

The hair follicle drug test issue: he would not undergo the test because, according to him, it is irrelevant to public office.

This was in response to Rodriguez’s public call for him to undergo the test, made on February 1 during a senatorial debate. Rodriguez cited the constitutional principle that “public office is a public trust.”

Drug use allegations: Since 2024, Marcos has been the subject of controversy after former president Rodrigo Duterte accused him of being an “addict”. A deepfake video of Marcos using illegal drugs even circulated online in July 2024. 

Rappler has also published a fact-check about Marcos’ alleged arrest over illegal drugs. 

Lack of sources: The claim about Malacañang supposedly asking the public to wait for Marcos’ drug test result is unsubstantiated because the test itself was never conducted. There is no proof of the claim, too, that the Vice President kept “laughing” over Marcos’ alleged hair follicle drug test.

The Vice President previously supported House Bill No. 10744, which seeks mandatory random hair follicle drug testing for public officials. The bill was proposed by her brother, Davao City Representative Paolo Duterte, after their father challenged Marcos to undergo the test. 

The clips of Roque and Rodriguez, meanwhile, came from their Facebook pages and were posted on January 30 and 29, respectively. – Lyndee Buenagua/Rappler.com

Lyndee Buenagua is a third year college student and an alumna of Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship of Rappler for 2024.

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