Philippines Condemns Racist AI Video from Chinese State Media

Malacañang on Monday condemned an AI-generated video released by Chinese state media depicting Filipinos as monkeys, with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. backing government agencies that denounced the material as racist and offensive. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Marcos had seen the video and supported the statements issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Department of National Defense (DND). “Opo, napanood niya po ito. Nakita po natin ang mga mensahe ng Department of Foreign Affairs at Department of National Defense at ito po ay sinusuportahan ng Pangulo,” Castro said. (Yes, the President has seen it. We have seen the statements of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of National Defense, and these are supported by the President.) Castro said Filipinos should not accept such a portrayal. “Kahit sinuman na Pilipino, hindi magiging maganda ang pagtanggap, hindi matatanggap yung ganoong paglalarawan na mga Pilipino bilang unggoy,” she said. (No Filipino would take kindly to or accept such a portrayal of Filipinos as monkeys.) The Chinese video depicts the controversy surrounding tensions between Manila and Beijing over the West Philippine Sea. In the AI-generated video, a monkey dressed in traditional Filipino attire is portrayed as representing the Philippines and is directed by arms symbolizing the United States and Japan on what to sing. After being called “stupid,” the monkey takes out a sheet bearing the words “South China Sea arbitration award.” It is later thrown into the sea and blasted with a water cannon from a vessel, imagery that evokes encounters between Philippine and Chinese ships in the disputed waters. The DFA earlier described the video as racist and offensive, while the DND said it demeaned the dignity of the Filipino people. In 2016, an international arbitral tribunal ruled in favor of the Philippines and invalidated China's sweeping claims over nearly the entire South China Sea, saying these had no legal basis. Beijing has refused to recognize the ruling. The Philippines maintains that the arbitral award is final and binding and has repeatedly called on China to abide by international law. — MCG, GMA News