SM Lee warns public against deepfake videos of him commenting on international matters
SINGAPORE – Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has warned people to be wary of videos of him supposedly commenting on matters, including international relations and foreign leaders, as they may be deepfakes.
In a Facebook post on June 27, he said: “The motive of these deepfakes may not be commercial, but their malicious intent is clear”.
He said that creators of such deepfakes want to make it seem that the views expressed within these videos are supported by him or the Singapore Government, which is “dangerous and potentially harmful to our national interests”.
SM Lee also urged people who come across such videos online to always check if they are real.
“Don’t share them, not even to tell people that they are fake, as viewers may not read your comment and wrongly assume that the videos are real,” he added.
Instead, he advised people to report these videos directly on the respective platform app they appear on.
SM Lee said that authentic videos of him can be found on the Prime Minister’s Office YouTube channel and website, or other official media sites.
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This comes a day after Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat warned in a Facebook post of a malicious scammer sending e-mails in his name.
“Stay vigilant, and ignore any e-mails if you are unable to verify the sender’s identity. Be careful when clicking on links and opening attachments from non-official sources,” he said.
He reminded people that government officials will not ask for personal information such as pin numbers, one-time passwords, and bank account details over e-mail.
Phishing is one of the top online scams in Singapore designed to trick victims into handing over money or data, he added.
For more information on scams, members of the public can visit https://www.scamalert.sg/ or call the Anti-Scam hotline on 1800-722-6688.
Such incidents can also be reported via the ScamShield Bot on WhatsApp at go.gov.sg/scamshield-bot.
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