Claim: Former senator Richard “Dick” Gordon promotes Acure+, an eye supplement that allegedly cures eye conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, nearsightedness, and poor eyesight.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post containing the claim has over 67,000 views, 333 likes, and 47 comments. It shows Gordon supposedly talking about his vision problems and how one product was able to improve his eyesight.
AI-manipulated: The video containing the claim is AI-manipulated. Sensity, a web-based tool for detecting AI, found the video “suspicious” with a 90% confidence level.
Sensity noted that a high confidence level means that the content has “definite signals of AI generation or manipulation.” The Netherlands-based company also said that the minimum confidence for their detector is 50%.
According to Sensity’s pixel-based assessment, Gordon’s face in the video is “fake.”
Old, unrelated interview: The ad used AI to manipulate a clip from an interview of Gordon with showbiz talk show host Ogie Diaz. The original video was published on Diaz’s YouTube channel on April 30, 2022.
The ad spliced several clips from Diaz’s video. In the original, Gordon talked about his thoughts on Philippine politics and his personal life. The politician did not mention Acure+ or anything about eye illnesses in the video.
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Not FDA registered: The Acure+ eye supplement endorsed in the misleading video is also not on the Philippine Food and Drug Administration’s list of registered products, as seen on its online verification portal.
Debunked: Rappler has debunked several false posts promoting unregistered products that claim to improve eyesight and cure vision problems. Several of these ads use AI tools to make it seem like known personalities are endorsing these products.
- FACT CHECK: Manipulated video used in ‘vision cure’ ad
- FACT CHECK: ‘Cure’ for eye conditions not approved by Doc Willie Ong, FDA
- FACT CHECK: Unregistered eye drug does not cure cataracts, macular degeneration
- FACT CHECK: Unregistered cataract ‘cure’ not promoted by health TV show
- FACT CHECK: Eyes Blue neither endorsed by Doc Willie Ong nor approved by FDA
– Lorenz Pasion/Rappler.com
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