Skip to content
Submit incident
AII-1001-37767
ReportedReported by fewer than three independent publishers, with no official finding.Supporting sources are pending verification.

Egyptian actress Hanan Motawe protests unauthorized AI use of her likeness

Egyptian actress Hanan Motawe publicly protested the unauthorized use of her image and her deceased father's image in an AI-generated video that made them appear to receive messages from the afterlife. She called for strict regulations governing AI use of likenesses without written consent.

2 October 2025 Β· Hanan Motawe Β· Intellectual property and appropriation
2 October 2025
AII-1001-37767
Quick facts
Category
Intellectual property and appropriation
Country
Egypt
Date
2 October 2025
Drafted by
Raidu Incident Detection

What happened

A video was created using AI technology that featured the likeness of Egyptian actress Hanan Motawe and her deceased father, alongside images of other colleagues with their deceased relatives, appearing to show them receiving messages from the afterlife.

Motawe stated she had not given prior permission for her image or her father's image to be used in the video, and questioned whether anyone has the right to use her likeness without her consent.

Reported impact

Motawe expressed serious dissatisfaction with the unauthorized use of her image and her late father's image through AI technology, characterizing it as a violation of her personal and family rights.

She stated concern that the unauthorized use could extend beyond the emotional video to other works she does not approve of, and called for strict regulations governing the use of AI techniques in this context.

Index analysis

The incident raises questions about the legal and ethical boundaries of using AI to recreate likenesses without explicit written consent, particularly when involving deceased individuals.

Motawe rejected any use of her image, voice, or her parents' images in media, artistic, or journalistic works without prior written authorization.

Classification

Category
Intellectual property and appropriation
Industry
Arts, entertainment and recreation
Country
Egypt
Harm status
Actual harm
Intent
Unknown
Timing
Unknown
Harm types
Human or fundamental rights, Reputational
Failure modes
Deepfake video
AI systems
Generative AI video system

Sources and evidence

Sources not yet published

This record was researched and written by the Index from original reporting. Its sources are still being verified by an editor, and they are listed here once that check is complete. Until then the record carries no reviewer.

How sources are verifiedSuggest a source for this incident