OpenAI puts a stop to Martin Luther King Jr. Sora memes after backlash from his estate
When we first tested Sora, the new AI video app from OpenAI, we noted that the app's social feed was full of memes depicting Martin Luther King Jr.
And on Thursday, OpenAI announced that it has now paused the ability for users to create AI-generated videos featuring the likeness of the civil rights icon. In the year 2025, deepfakes like this are a well-known problem, and it's a frankly predictable issue to arise.
The move comes after critical comments from the King family, who objected to offensive depictions of the American hero on Sora.
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OpenAI wrote in a statement on X:
"The Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. (King, Inc.) and OpenAI have worked together to address how Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s likeness is represented in Sora generations. Some users generated disrespectful depictions of Dr. King’s image. So 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. Authorized representatives or estate owners can request that their likeness not be used in Sora cameos."
The Washington Post reported King's likeness was being used in a variety of racist ways. For example, some videos depicted MLK making monkey noises during his "I Have A Dream" speech and wrestling activist Malcolm X. Popular YouTuber Hank Green also railed against Sora 2, notably referencing a video of MLK doing the 6-7 meme in a particularly crass version of AI slop.
Dr. Bernice King, King’s daughter, posted on Instagram asking people to "please stop" using AI to create fake recreations of her father, concurring with Robin Williams' daughter, Zelda, who recently spoke up about this issue as well.
While Sora users may no longer be able to create videos of MLK — at least for now — it seems clear that AI deepfakes of famous people will be an ongoing issue.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
Tim Marcin is an Associate Editor on the culture team at Mashable, where he mostly digs into the weird parts of the internet. You'll also see some coverage of memes, tech, sports, trends, and the occasional hot take. You can find him on Bluesky (sometimes), Instagram (infrequently), or eating Buffalo wings (as often as possible).
