‘Babification, tribute art’: Facebook content mills leverage AI to boost Dutertes

By John Hurt Allauigan
PressOne.PH

Part 1 of two parts

A highly coordinated network of Facebook pages leveraged artificial intelligence to systematically generate support for and soften the image of the Dutertes, employing humor to attack political rivals as Vice President Sara Duterte prepares for her 2028 presidential run.

• These Facebook pages, which spilled into news feeds during the arrest of Rodrigo Duterte in March 2025, initially posted AI-generated images of tributes to the detained ex-president but later pivoted to his daughter, Sara Duterte, after she announced her presidential bid.
• While political content mills are not new, generative AI has supercharged their efficiency: operators have begun employing algorithmic flooding and inauthentic amplification to manufacture a bizarre alternate reality—one populated by animated videos of politicians as adorable toddlers and fabricated “tribute art” purportedly from around the world.

Why it matters: Such deceptive tactics fabricate grassroots support and manipulate social media algorithms to dominate users’ feeds. 

• Left unchecked, this strategy of “babification” and weaponized satire could distort public understanding of the Duterte administration’s human rights record and erode the integrity of the information ecosystem ahead of the 2028 national elections.

What we found: A deep dive into our dataset showed evidence of network coordination, synchronized cross-posting, and automated behavior.

• Pages such as “Duterte News Info” and “Bagong Pilipinas 2026” operated on a highly synchronized schedule, frequently dropping identical AI-generated images within minutes of each other.
• These accounts relied on automated, bot-like scheduling, dumping identical political reels to game the algorithm and artificially boost their reach.
• To evade platform fact-checkers and moderation, these pages used standardized disclosure and disclaimer language. For instance, 31 of 34 posts from Duterte News Info claimed, “This is AI-generated content for Entertainment purposes only.”

The “Babification” strategy: The network relied heavily on the “babification” of political figures to reshape public perception.

• Nearly 130 items in the dataset featured AI-generated videos and photos depicting former president Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Sara Duterte as cute, innocent toddlers.
• This tactic mirrored the successful “Gemoy” (cuddly/chubby) strategy used in the 2024 Indonesian elections to soften the image of military strongman Prabowo Subianto.
• AI-generated content functioned as weaponized satire, targeting political rivals under the guise of “parody” and cute facades.
• Videos included a baby Sara Duterte doing witchcraft on a puppet that looked like President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., or firing a missile emitting pink smoke, an obvious reference to the campaign color of the political opposition.

Backing ‘bring him home’ bid: Running from mid-May through June 2025, phase one of this babification strategy focused on Rodrigo Duterte and the coordinated bid to “bring him home” following his detention at the International Criminal Court (ICC). 

• Pages such as “Sarah Germina,” “Frank Villanueva,” “Eunoia,” and “Fritz Julian” mass-produced AI-generated videos of Rodrigo and Sara Duterte as cute toddlers to strategically soften their public images.
• This wave achieved massive engagement: a June 2 post reached 64,000 likes while a June 4 “angry baby” video drew 55,700 likes and 9,800 shares.

Pivot to Sara: Phase two made a strategic pivot toward Vice President Sara Duterte, a narrative shift that has since dominated the network following the ICC affirmation of the case against Rodrigo Duterte for “crimes against humanity” in February 2026.

• The page “Kwentong Bubwit” exemplified this trend on Jan. 21, 2026, with an AI-generated reel of “Baby Sara” in a bear jacket, depicting her as unbothered by looming impeachment threats.
• This short video became viral, with that single reel pulling 1,003,452 views, 68,612 likes, and 7,040 shares. 
• The network’s use of AI-generated political content echoes an earlier episode in which Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte shared an AI-generated video of a supposed interview of a young Filipino student who criticized the impeachment case faced by the vice president in 2025.
• This signals how government officials may openly and increasingly rely on AI as a tool in political influence campaigns.

With reports from Leigh San Diego (with the help of Zelle Corpuz, Yance Dionisio, Marybeth Realba, Azriel Dela Cruz, Angeline Domingo, Savannah Lantay, Arianne Jae Tadina)

Edited by Nathaniel R. Melican and Felipe F. Salvosa II

 

This report was made possible by an Internews project to build the capacity of news organizations in understanding disinformation and influence operations in the Philippines.