FACT CHECK: Old Sarah Discaya ‘confession’ deepfake used…

On August 18, 2026, a social media reel featuring an AI-generated audio clip of businesswoman Sarah Discaya went viral, falsely claiming she admitted that politicians and contractors were jointly stealing public funds. The video, which surfaced during severe flooding in Luzon, garnered over 410,000 views, misleading many viewers into believing the audio was a genuine confession.

What happened

The viral content utilized AI-manipulation to create a deepfake of Sarah Discaya, a contractor currently detained on charges related to flood control projects. The video paired footage of flooded streets with audio in which Discaya allegedly tells investigators not to blame contractors alone, but to scrutinize government officials and committee members.

Fact-checkers confirmed that no record of these remarks exists. The statements do not appear in any transcripts or recordings from Discaya’s 2025 Senate Blue Ribbon Committee testimony. During those 2025 hearings, Discaya and her husband testified regarding alleged kickbacks demanded by lawmakers, but she never made the sweeping, self-incriminating confession featured in the deepfake.

This specific deepfake has been previously debunked in September 2025 and June 2026. Despite its prior exposure as a fabrication, the content was recycled and repurposed during the August 2026 monsoon season, which saw significant flooding in Metro Manila and Central Luzon. Discaya remains in detention, as she faces a non-bailable malversation case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman regarding a flood control project in Calumpit, Bulacan, even after being granted bail in a separate case in July 2026.