Incident·WS-0061·Oct 2025·disclosed Oct 16, 2025 (1 days later)·in the wild·Deepfakes & fraud
Sora 2 floods feeds with deepfakes of dead public figures
29/100
WS-2 ModerateHarm score 40, signal score 16. Autonomy: tool (a person misused it). How the scores work.
Harm 1/5
damage actually done
Reach 4/5
who was affected
Autonomy 0/4
how much the AI did on its own
Novelty 2/5
how new the behavior was
Permanence 2/5
how hard it is to undo
After Sora 2's launch, users produced disrespectful and bizarre videos of deceased figures such as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Robin Williams, whose families publicly objected. OpenAI paused MLK depictions at the King estate's request and let estates request opt-outs for historical figures.
Damage
unquantified; reputational/emotional harm to families; misinformation risk
The capability behind it
- Veo 3 generates video with synchronized dialogue; Sora 2 puts it in a free appMay 20, 2025 · Google DeepMind; OpenAI · reliable for a defined task: partial
Sources
Newsone, second source. Sora 2 announced 30 Sept 2025; living people required opt-in via 'characters', but deceased figures initially lacked safeguards.
Factor ratings and the score are this index’s judgments by a published formula; facts, dates and figures come from the linked sources. Where a lawsuit is pending, the summary reports allegations, not findings.
