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This is AI generated summarization, which may have errors. For context, always refer to the full article.
Claim: Dr. Liza Ramoso-Ong, wife of online health personality Dr. Willie Ong, endorses a cure for eye cataracts.
Rating: FALSE
Why we fact-checked this: The video, posted in October 2024, recently resurfaced after several Facebook accounts shared it. As of writing, the post has garnered a total of 6.7 million views, 16,000 reactions, and 869 shares.
“Meron tayong mga gamot, ‘yung eye drops na nilalagay gaya nitong Clear Sight. Ito ay trending ngayon dahil sa kakayahan nitong magtanggal ng katarata (We have medicine [for cataracts], there are eye drops you can apply like Clear Sight. This is trending now because it has the ability to get rid of cataracts),” Ong is heard saying in the video.
In the video’s caption, viewers are urged to message Clear Sight’s Facebook page if they want their eyesight to be restored.
The facts: The eye drops ad uses a May 2020 video from Dr. Willie Ong’s channel where his wife Liza discusses eye conditions commonly associated with age.
The circulating video includes a genuine clip from 7:05 to 7:23 of the original video, in which Ong explains the symptoms of age-related macular degeneration, an eye disease that can blur your central vision and cannot be reversed. This condition is different from cataracts, which is a clouding of the lens of the eye that can be reversed with surgery.
The video in question omitted the portion where Ong advised viewers to seek advice from a doctor or a retina specialist. The ad also includes stock photos of cataract symptoms that are not shown in Ong’s original video.
AI-generated audio: The ad uses AI-generated audio to fabricate statements attributed to Ong. These fake statements, which include endorsements of Clear Sight eye drops, were not part of the original video.
Resemble Detect, a deepfake audio detector, revealed that the video also contains fake audio. The detector claims that its model analyzes the audio with more than 90% accuracy to determine “whether the contents were created by AI.”
Not FDA registered: The product Clear Sight Eye Drops endorsed in the post is also not on the Philippine Food and Drug Administration’s list of registered products, as seen on its online verification portal.
Target of fake advertisements: Rappler already debunked a near-identical claim using a different video of Liza Ong in November 2024.
Ong and her husband have been frequent targets of AI-manipulated advertisements promoting unregistered health products. Most of these false posts use edited videos taken from Ong’s social media accounts or manipulated videos of news reports. (READ: Philippines faces rising AI-driven disinformation)
Previous fact-checks: Rappler has fact-checked other claims about products supposedly endorsed by online medical personalities:
FACT CHECK: Hypertension ‘cure’ ad uses deepfake video of Filipino politician, doctor
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FACT CHECK: ‘News report’ promoting hair spray is AI-manipulated
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FACT CHECK: Arthritis ‘cure’ ad uses deepfake video of Filipino doctor
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FACT CHECK: Ad for joint pain ‘cure’ uses AI-edited video of Filipino doctor
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FACT CHECK: Filipino doctor’s ad endorsing ear drops is AI-manipulated
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– Shay Du/Rappler.com
Shay Du is a graduate of Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program. This fact check was reviewed by a member of Rappler’s research team and a senior editor. Learn more about Rappler’s fact-checking mentorship program here.
Keep us aware of suspicious Facebook pages, groups, accounts, websites, articles, or photos in your network by contacting us at factcheck@rappler.com. You may also report dubious claims to the #FactsFirstPH tipline by messaging Rappler on Facebook or Newsbreak via Twitter direct message. Let us battle disinformation one Fact Check at a time.
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