For the second time this month, Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong has taken to Facebook to warn Singaporeans not to believe deepfake videos of him making the rounds online.

In a Jun. 27 post, he denounced videos of him "commenting" on international relations, foreign leaders, and other subjects, which he previously spoke about.

Two videos that SM Lee called out in his post had been circulated on TikTok.

They appeared to have been based on footage taken from his National Day Rally 2019 speech, and his last interview at the Istana as prime minister in April.

May not be out to scam you, but clearly malicious

Earlier on Jun. 2, SM Lee had said a deepfake video of him "promoting" an investment product was a "scam ad".

In this case, SM Lee noted that "the motive of these deepfakes may not be commercial, but their malicious intent is clear".

"Someone behind them wants to make it seem that these are views supported by me or the Singapore government. This is dangerous and potentially harmful to our national interests," he explained.

Don't share them, just report to the platform

SM Lee also advised those who come across such videos to always verify if they are real, instead of circulating them.

"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 said.

Instead, users should report them directly on the respective platforms, he added.

Those looking for authentic videos of SM Lee can find them on the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) YouTube channel, PMO website, or official media sites.

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Top image from Lee Hsien Loong / Facebook