Sora, a generative AI model capable of creating realistic videos from text descriptions, are becoming more popular each day. With just a few clicks, the platform can create videos up to 60 seconds long that appear 100% real but are actually artificially generated. One of the most common uses of Sora is the creation of deepfakes, which are synthetic media that replace a person’s likeness or voice with someone else’s. While deepfakes can be used for entertainment purposes, they can also be created with harmful intent, such as fraud or misinformation. As deepfakes become more advanced and harder to detect, concerns about trust and safety continue to grow. Meanwhile, the laws surrounding deepfakes have yet to catch up, leaving gray areas involving privacy, consent, and accountability.
As deepfake technology progresses, the major question is whether or not it’s protected by the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects free speech, expression, satire, and parody, but deepfakes can blur the line between expression and deception. AI-generated videos can appear to be for entertainment, while others look so realistic that they cause misconceptions. Currently, there are no laws stating whether AI is considered a human voice, and courts have not been able to decide how to balance free expression with the potential harms of AI content.
The Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit that supports student journalists, has followed how AI affects media rights. Jonathan Falk, an attorney at the organization, works with students on issues involving online speech and emerging technology.
“We don’t yet have case law on whether AI output is protected by the First Amendment,” Falk said. “If we use copyright rulings as a guide, AI content may not count as speech unless there’s a clear human voice behind it.”
Beyond legal questions, there is an ongoing ethical debate surrounding deepfakes. While some argue that deepfakes fall within the right to freedom of speech, concerns remain over honesty and respect. The ability to create videos of people saying or doing things they never did makes many question what is real online. As technology advances, the ethical responsibilities around it become more important.
“It’s cool technology, but sometimes it feels like we are crossing the line,” junior Nora Heverin said. “If anyone can fake a video of anyone else, it’s going to be harder to trust anything we see online.”
Deepfakes and AI-generated content can be used harmlessly for creative purposes and entertainment, but the technology becomes unethical when used to embarrass, manipulate, or deceive others. If a video uses a person’s likeness or voice without consent, it becomes harmful even if the video is fake. Deepfakes can damage reputations, violate privacy, or spread misinformation, and without existing laws to protect these rights, it is uncertain how far people can go when using someone else’s identity.
“Most deepfake incidents would likely fall under invasion-of-privacy categories,” Falk said. “Without clear federal standards, cases rely on older laws that weren’t designed with AI in mind.”
Deepfakes are becoming more prominent and easier to create, and the question of where to turn when ethical concerns arise remains unanswered. Companies like Sora or OpenAI could be blamed, as well as lawmakers who have yet to establish clear rules or boundaries. Many users of generative AI also take responsibility, as almost anyone can access this technology and spread deepfakes. As AI evolves, creating effective regulations becomes a growing challenge.
The controversy becomes even more difficult when deepfakes involve historical figures who can’t consent or defend themselves. Since the launch of Sora in December 2024, many users have created AI-generated clips featuring deceased figures, such as civil rights leaders, musicians, and politicians. These clips can affect reputations and legacy when used for humor rather than a respectful tribute. In 2025, the situation escalated after disrespectful AI-generated videos of Martin Luther King Jr. went viral online. These deepfakes ranged from mocking and degrading depictions to jokes using his image. In response, the King family requested that the generative videos stop. Shortly after, Sora publicly paused all AI-generated videos of King, as it promised to strengthen safeguards around historical figures.
“Some of the deepfake videos with famous people are hilarious,” senior Emilie Kutcha said. “But even if they’re funny, there are moments when you can tell it crosses a line, especially when it makes someone look different in a way that changes how people remember them.”
