FACT CHECK: Photo of De Lima sweeping litter at Rizal Park is AI-generated

Claim: A photo shows House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Mamamayang Liberal (ML) Party-list Representative Leila de Lima vlogging and sweeping away litter in Luneta Park. 

Rating: FALSE 

Why we fact-checked this: The photos, posted on March 22, have already received 38,000 reactions, 8,900 comments, and 424 shares as of writing. The images bear no disclaimer of being artificial intelligence (AI)-generated. 

The photos depict the congressman in casual clothing, holding a tripod and a phone in the first image and a broom and a dustpan in the second. 

The caption of the post, which uses the hashtags #LeilaDelima and #MatatagAtMaasahan, was written in De Lima’s point of view: “Masipag po ako maglinis maasahan ninyo ako simple lamang ako at matulungin ugaliin natin maging mabuting tao may takot sa Panginoon at makabayan.” 

(I am a hard worker, I clean, you can count on me, I am simple and helpful, let’s practice being good people who fear the Lord and are patriotic.)

Most Facebook commenters believed the photos were real. 

The facts: Image detection tools flagged the image as AI-generated. Sight Engine flagged the first photo, where de Lima was portrayed as a vlogger, as 95% likely to be AI-generated. Hive Moderation also detected 99.9% AI probability from the same photo, while Truth Scan flagged the image as 97% likely to be AI-generated. 

Furthermore, Sight Engine flagged the second photo, where de Lima is shown holding a broom and a dustpan, as 99% AI-generated, with 99.9% AI probability from Hive Moderation and 98% AI likelihood from Truth Scan. 

Reverse image searches also yield no such image posted by credible media outlets or from De Lima’s official social media pages.

De Lima and Duterte: The photos were posted ahead of the House’s public hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, which began on March 25. 

De Lima plays a role in the impeachment complaints, having endorsed the third complaint filed by clergy members. It is one of two complaints deemed sufficient in form and substance during the deliberations of the House justice committee.

It was the second time she endorsed an impeachment complaint against the Vice President, the first being a complaint filed by another set of religious leaders and civil society advocates.

De Lima, a critic of the extrajudicial killings under the war on drugs, was detained for seven years under the Rodrigo Duterte presidency due to accusations of drug trading. She was cleared of all drug charges in 2024.

Previous fact-checks: Rappler has previously debunked similar false claims about De Lima: 

• FACT CHECK: Leila de Lima not returning to prison 
• FACT CHECK: Leila de Lima’s office operational even when she was in prison 
• FACT CHECK: Liza Marcos not behind Leila de Lima’s acquittal 
• FALSE: Video of De Lima ‘partying in Bilibid’ 
• FALSE: De Lima ‘rushed to hospital,’ wears neck brace 
• FALSE: Video of De Lima ‘admitting’ she’s a drug lord coddler 
• HINDI TOTOO: De Lima may malawak na akses sa media kahit nakakulong 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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