SM Lee warns of 'malicious' deepfake videos of him commenting on foreign relations, leaders

SINGAPORE: Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Thursday (Jun 27) warned people about deepfake videos of him commenting on international relations and foreign leaders.

"The motive of these deepfakes may not be commercial, but their malicious intent is clear," said Mr Lee in a Facebook post.

"Someone behind them wants to make it seem that these are views supported by me or the Singapore government. This is dangerous and potentially harmful to our national interests."

If people come across such videos, they should always check if they are real and report them to the respective platform app.

He said: "Don't share them, not even to tell people that they are fake, as viewers may not read your comment and wrongly assume that the videos are real."

Authentic videos of the Senior Minister can be found on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) YouTube channel, the PMO website or official media sites.

In his Facebook post, Mr Lee showed screengrabs of the deepfake videos, which are hosted on TikTok.

One video, posted two days ago, uses a clip of him delivering a speech at what looks like the 2022 National Day Rally. It has been viewed more than 146,000 times.

The other video, posted six days ago, used a clip of him from his last interview with the media as prime minister. It has been played over 190,000 times.

The deepfake videos show Mr Lee apparently talking about US-China relations in the context of tensions in the South China Sea, as well as the two superpowers' relationship with the Philippines.

In response to CNA’s queries, TikTok said on Friday that it was aware of the videos and had “taken action” to remove them.

“Like other platforms, TikTok continues to invest in detection, transparency, and industry partnerships to address this rapidly evolving technology," said a spokesperson.

“We have strict policies in place to remove misleading AI-generated content from our platform, which include falsely showing public figures in certain contexts like being bullied, taking a position on a political issue, commercial product, or a matter of public importance, making an endorsement, or being endorsed.”

This is not the first time Mr Lee has been the subject of a deepfake video.

In December last year, Mr Lee asked members of the public not to respond to scam videos promising guaranteed returns on investments or giveaways.

In the altered video, Mr Lee is seen being interviewed by a presenter from Chinese news network CGTN. They discussed an investment opportunity purportedly approved by the Singapore government, referring to it as a "revolutionary investment platform designed by Elon Musk".

The video ended with the presenter urging viewers to click on a link to register for the platform to earn "passive income".

The deepfake video appeared to have been manipulated from CGTN's actual interview with Mr Lee in Singapore in March last year.

Deepfakes are created using artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to alter or manipulate visual and audio content.

The quality of deepfaked videos tends to suffer and become blurry as a result of attempts to hide manipulation. Viewers can look out for visual and audio anomalies in the form of atypical facial movements or blinking patterns and noticeable edits around the face.