FACT CHECK: Photo of bronze Duterte statue is AI-generated

4 days ago 7

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Photo of bronze Duterte statue is AI-generated

‘Model of Coke Zero’ — some Filipinos called the detained ex-president after mistaking the statue as real

Claim: A photo shows a statue of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, allegedly made of bronze.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post containing the claim has 18,000 reactions, 863 shares, and 2,100 comments as of writing.

The caption in the post states: “Great artwork made of bronze, Coca-Cola Zero.”

Many Filipinos believed the claim was true, with one commenting, “Wow, amazing souvenir for Tatay [Father] Digong with his favorite drink, Coke Zero.”

Another praised the craftsmanship, saying, “Wow, this bronze statue is truly impressive! The details are incredible. Great job! Thank you, our proud Tatay Digong, our Superman.”

The facts: The AI detection tool Sight Engine analyzed the image and found it 93% likely to be AI-generated. Specifically, it showed a 93% probability of being created by generative AI, with 68% confidence it used Stable Diffusion technology. The analysis also detected minimal signs of face manipulation (1%) and smaller contributions from other techniques like Diffusion Recraft (14%) and Flux (9%).

The only official bronze casting related to Duterte is a much smaller bust created by Russian artist Natalya Bronzova. This sculpture, a compact head bust standing 42cm x 22cm in height and weighing 40 kilograms, was created using official reference images from the Office of the President. It was intended to be mounted on a granite or marble pedestal approximately 1.7 meters high and displayed in a public location.

However, based on the most recent updates, the monument has not yet been fully completed or permanently installed. As stated in the original project description: “Measurements indicated are only for presentation purposes. Final numbers, materials and location will [be] decided with the sponsors once the project is approved for production.”

Duterte’s go-to drink: The image appears to draw on Duterte’s known preference for Coke Zero. In March, during a visit to her detained father in The Hague, Vice President Sara Duterte shared that despite his diabetes, her father continues to drink Coke Zero heavily, consuming at least two cans daily with his meals. This personal detail likely inspired the AI-generated photo showing a Coke Zero bottle beside Duterte.

Monument joke: During a speech to overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong, Duterte jokingly referred to reports of a possible arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) related to his administration’s controversial drug war.

He openly admitted that he might be sent to jail and humorously asked people to contribute small amounts of money — like $5 or $10 — to fund a monument of him to be built next to Jose Rizal’s statue, if he ever got out of prison. However, as of May 2025, there have been no verified official or private efforts to create or install such a monument.

Debunked: Since Duterte’s arrest, numerous pro-Duterte false claims have circulated online — yet his strong popularity in Davao City still secured his win in the 2025 mayoral election.

Among these falsehoods, Rappler has debunked several, including AI-generated images of fake monuments and statues allegedly honoring him.

– Marjuice Destinado/Rappler.com

Marjuice Destinado is a Rappler intern. She is also a fact-checker and researcher-writer at Explained PH. A third-year political science student at Cebu Normal University (CNU), she serves as the feature editor of Ang Suga, CNU’s official student publication.

Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.

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