Realistic AI-generated videos of dead public figures have spread across social media in recent months, and platforms and lawmakers have begun to respond. In December, YouTube terminated two large channels built on fabricated trailers, OpenAI tightened controls on depictions of deceased people in its Sora video app, and New York enacted a law requiring heirs’ permission before a dead person’s name, voice or digital likeness is used commercially.
The videos, many made with text-to-video tools such as Sora, which OpenAI launched as a standalone app in September, show deceased actors, musicians, politicians and historical figures giving speeches they never gave, appearing in advertisements or taking part in events that never happened. Families of several of the people depicted have described the clips as distressing.
YouTube removes fake-trailer channels
YouTube terminated the channels Screen Culture and KH Studio, which together had more than two million subscribers and over a billion views, Deadline reported. The channels published AI-assisted trailers for films that did not exist or were not yet in production. They had described the clips as fan trailers, but YouTube found that their titles and metadata misled viewers in violation of platform policy. Industry commentators noted that studios had tolerated the channels for years before the platform acted.
OpenAI and the King family
In October, OpenAI paused the generation of videos depicting Martin Luther King Jr. in Sora after his estate objected to clips that distorted his “I Have a Dream” speech, which the family called disrespectful. The company said that estates or authorized representatives of recently deceased public figures could request that their likeness be blocked from the app, a change from its initial approach of allowing historical figures by default.
Other families have spoken out as well. Zelda Williams, the daughter of actor Robin Williams, asked people on social media to stop sending her AI videos of her father, describing them as disturbing. Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, called the use of her father’s image in such clips deeply disrespectful. Fact-checkers have catalogued videos showing Queen Elizabeth II promoting supermarket products or appearing at wrestling events, along with fabricated scenes of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley and Stephen Hawking.
New York’s digital replica law
On December 11, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation addressing AI depictions of deceased people. The law requires the consent of heirs or the estate before a dead individual’s name, voice or AI-generated digital replica is used for commercial purposes, and sets statutory damages starting at $2,000 for violations. It applies to people who were domiciled in New York at the time of death. A companion measure requires disclosure when advertisements in film and television include synthetic performers, which the governor’s office described as a first in the nation.
A question of who owns a likeness
Legal scholars and digital rights advocates say the episode exposes a gap between what generative video tools can produce and the rules that govern a person’s identity after death. Postmortem publicity rights vary widely by jurisdiction, and most platform policies were written for impersonation of living people. Researchers who study synthetic media warn that as the clips become harder to distinguish from real footage, they can cause real harm to families and erode trust in what users see online.
The December actions suggest the direction of travel: platforms acting on misleading labels, AI developers offering opt-outs to estates, and states writing consent requirements into law. Whether those measures keep pace with the tools remains an open question for 2026.
