FACT CHECK: Filipino actress used in manipulated ad of arthritis cure

Be cautious online! A manipulated video featuring Filipina actress Maritoni Fernandez has surfaced, falsely claiming she is endorsing a natural remedy for arthritis and gout.

The misleading advertisement appeared on a Facebook page pretending to be the official Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC). The video showed Fernandez in an interview, seemingly stating that a natural solution had cured her chronic arthritis in under a week. The ad also inaccurately claimed the product was endorsed by a POC doctor and approved by the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Fact-checking reveals that this video is a deepfake. The footage was taken from a genuine 2023 interview on the "Toni Gonzaga Studio" YouTube channel, where Fernandez actually discussed her battle with breast cancer, not any product endorsement. Both the audio and her mouth movements were altered to create the false narrative.

Furthermore, the Facebook page promoting this product is not the authentic Philippine Orthopedic Center page. The fake page was created just four days before the ad was posted and has significantly fewer followers than the official POC account, which has been active since 2022. The official POC has also previously issued a statement clarifying that they do not endorse any medical products and warned the public about fraudulent accounts.

Adding to the red flags, page transparency information for the fake page indicates its administrators are located in Vietnam, a pattern observed in other fake pages promoting unverified health products.

The product mentioned, "Bee Venom Advanced Joint and Bone Care Cream," does not appear on the Philippine FDA's list of registered products, directly contradicting the claim made in the advertisement.

Clicking the link in the ad leads not to the legitimate POC website, but to a counterfeit site. This fake site includes fabricated testimonials and an order form that requests personal details like name, phone number, and address, potentially exposing users to phishing risks. The real POC website has a distinct address, layout, and content.

This isn't an isolated incident. Similar false claims involving manipulated videos of Filipino medical professionals endorsing "Bee Venom" products have been debunked multiple times before, highlighting a recurring deceptive tactic.