FACT CHECK: Photo of Duterte ‘fishnet statue’ is AI-generated

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Top comments on the post came from Filipinos who mistook the image as genuine, congratulating the supposed artists and glorifying the detained former president

Claim: A photo shows a colossal statue of detained former president Rodrigo Duterte, which was allegedly created using fishnets.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The Facebook post containing the claim has 86,000 reactions, 2,600 shares, and 5,500 comments as of writing.

Caption in the post states: “Art made of fishnet.”

Some Filipino social media users who believed the post to be true congratulated the supposed artists and praised the former president. 

One comment read: “Really amazing how these talented artists [have] the undying support [of] our Tatay (Father) Digz. We all enjoy and [are] deeply [touched] immensely. Thank you.”

Another commented: “The overwhelming majority of the Filipinos admired, loved, and cherished the former President Duterte because of his love, sincerity, and dedication to serve the good of the Filipinos and development of the nation.”

The facts: The AI detection tool Sight Engine analyzed the image from the Facebook post and found a 99% likelihood that it was AI-generated. The analysis showed a 77% match with Imagen diffusion technology, 21% with GPT-4o, and 3% with Reve.

The Facebook page “Duterte News Info,” which posted the claim, is known for regularly sharing content that glorifies Duterte. Although some of its previous posts are labeled as AI-generated, this one had no such disclaimer, which misled social media users into thinking it was real.

Additionally, while there have been small-scale artworks inspired by Duterte — such as a portrait made of nails and fishnet twine displayed at the Leyte Electric Cooperative III mini-museum in August 2016 — there are no credible reports of a large-scale fishnet statue of him. 

Monument joke: As for the idea of a Duterte monument, it stems from a joke Duterte made in March 2025 during a speech to overseas Filipino workers in Hong Kong. 

Addressing supporters amid reports of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant linked to his controversial drug war, Duterte said, “Mag-contribute kayo maski 5 dollars, 10 dollars para paglabas ko sa presohan, pagawa ‘nyo ako monumento katabi ni (Jose) Rizal.”

(Chip in even just $5 or $10 so that when I get out of prison, you can build a monument of me next to Rizal).

To date, however, there are no announcements regarding any plans to create such a monument. 

Disinformation tactics: The post is among many others that surfaced following Duterte’s arrest in March for crimes against humanity linked to his controversial war on drugs. 

About 45% of online discussions during the 2025 midterm elections were driven by fake accounts promoting pro-Duterte content, a Cyabra investigation found. These coordinated networks helped shape public sentiment ahead of Duterte’s mayoral win in Davao City.

An investigation by Rappler also revealed that Duterte’s arrest revived familiar disinformation tactics rooted in his history of weaponizing social media. (READ: [DECODED] Three ways Duterte’s propaganda machine has changed)

Debunked: Rappler has debunked several deceptive posts showing AI-produced images of non-existent statues and monuments honoring Duterte:

• FACT CHECK: Photo of Duterte ‘Coca-Cola statue’ in the Netherlands is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Photo of ‘Arab gold’ Duterte statue is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Image of Jackie Chan sculpting Duterte statue is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Duterte’s monument photo is AI-generated
• FACT CHECK: Photo of Duterte ‘national hero’ statue is AI-generated

– 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.

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