BUSINESSMAN Manuel B. Villar, Jr. has warned of a deep fake video on social media showing him discussing an investment scheme aimed at scamming the public.
“A deepfake video has been going around that uses a doctored video of myself talking about an investment scheme. This is a scam. Deceptive individuals used an old footage and digitally altered, using artificial intelligence (AI), what I was saying. I urge the public to disregard that video,” Mr. Villar said in a statement over the weekend.
“There is no such investment program. I enjoin the public to be more discerning and extra cautious when viewing posts and videos that use AI technologies and that promise easy money or success. There is no such thing as easy money. There is no substitute to good, old-fashioned sipag at tiyaga in achieving success in life,” he added.
In April, Forbes cited Mr. Villar among the top 200 richest people in the world, as his estimated net worth jumped to a record $11 billion this year.
At 190th spot, Mr. Villar was the highest-ranking Filipino tycoon in the World’s Billionaires list released by Forbes. He was also the only Filipino who landed in the top 200.
Mr. Villar is a former Senate president and House speaker. He is currently the chairman of listed companies Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.; Golden MV Holdings, Inc.; supermarket chain AllDay Marts, Inc.; home improvement chain AllHome Corp.; and Vista Malls, Inc. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
