ConfirmedA court, a regulator or the organization itself has stated the core facts, or the record cites a court or regulator source.
Deepfake video falsely portraying Pepe Aguilar criticizing Mexican president circulates
A deepfake video using AI-generated audio and manipulated video footage falsely portrayed singer Pepe Aguilar criticizing Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. Aguilar publicly denied the video and warned about deepfake risks, while fact-checkers confirmed the audio was synthetic and the video was spliced from unrelated 2024 press conferences.
11 April 2025 · Pepe Aguilar · Misinformation and synthetic media
A video circulated on social media purporting to show Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum announcing she was expelling singer Ángela Aguilar from Mexico. The video was a deepfake created with AI-generated audio and video footage spliced from two separate presidential press conferences from April 3 and 4, 2024.
Pepe Aguilar, Ángela Aguilar's father, posted on Instagram to deny the video, stating it was not him and warning about the dangers of deepfake technology. He noted that AI can now be used to replicate anyone's voice or image, including for extortion through false kidnapping threats.
Reported impact
The deepfake video was seen more than 4,700 times on Facebook. Pepe Aguilar cautioned that deepfakes are destabilizing public understanding of news and social media content.
Index analysis
A reverse image search and keyword searches found no official statements from Claudia Sheinbaum or mainstream media reporting the purported expulsion. Analysis of the video showed the footage was taken from La Mañanera conferences on April 3 and 4, 2024, where Sheinbaum discussed unrelated topics such as soft drink consumption and exports, with no mention of Aguilar.