OpenAI pauses AI-generated content on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. after daughter Bernice King slams Sora deepfake

OpenAI has recently confirmed that it will restrict users from using Sora to create content that looks similar to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The latter is an AI model launched a few weeks ago, and it can recreate the pictures and videos of certain personalities.

The latest change on Sora was announced through a lengthy statement shared on the official handle of OpenAI Newsroom on X (formerly Twitter). Posted on October 17, 2025, the post says that the late civil rights activist’s estate and the company have realized how Martin Luther King Jr.’s “likeness” is being generated through Sora.

The company said that their decision emerges due to certain users who are creating “disrespectful depictions” of the political philosopher, as they said:

“At King, Inc.’s request, OpenAI has paused generations depicting Dr. King as it strengthens guardrails for historical figures. While there are strong free speech interests in depicting historical figures, OpenAI believes public figures and their families should ultimately have control over how their likeness is used.”

Towards the end, the statement expressed gratitude to Dr. Bernice A. King for approaching on behalf of the estate. The company also thanked John Hope Bryant and the AI Ethics Council for bringing a platform for certain conversations related to such matters.

Multiple videos created through AI were being discovered on the Sora app earlier this month, as stated by the Washington Post. The faces featured in those clips resembled popular personalities, including Martin Luther King Jr., President John F. Kennedy, and more.

The ongoing situation created concern among a lot of people, following which Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter, Dr. Bernice King, shared an Instagram post on October 8, 2025. The post included a glimpse of an AI-generated photo of her father and a statement by the late actor Robin Williams’ daughter, Zelda, requesting everyone to stop sending AI videos of her father. The caption reads:

“I concur concerning my father. Please stop.”

OpenAI’s Sora app is facing criticism for generating videos of popular faces

The launch of the new app was confirmed by OpenAI through its official website. They revealed the name as Sora 2, saying that it is “physically accurate, realistic and more controllable.” The company even confirmed the addition of synchronized dialogue and sound effects to the platform.

NBC News stated that the platform has multiple deepfakes of manipulated historical events, which has led to concern among certain personalities. As mentioned, Robin Williams’ daughter Zelda responded to the situation at that period.

Zelda even shared an Instagram Story after the app’s arrival, saying that people should stop generating deepfakes if they have any decency. Apart from that, she also wrote:

“It’s dumb, it’s a waste of time and energy, and believe me, it’s NOT what he’d want.”

Apart from Zelda, George Carlin’s daughter also responded to the matter on Bluesky. Moreover, a few experts even opened up on the negative impact of the deepfakes, with Rice University lecturer Liam Mayes claiming that people might become victims of scams and other things.

While speaking to PCMag, OpenAI said that families or estates of deceased personalities can speak to them if they want to remove that particular individual’s videos from the platform.