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You see yourself recommending a product you have never used, delivering a statement you never made, or appearing in a synthetic scene. Start with the specific video and the way it identifies you. Your reporting options depend on the content and context, not simply on whether the uploader added an AI label.
If the material is sexual or intimate, threatening, or involves a child, use the platform’s dedicated safety reporting route promptly. Avoid reposting the material to ask whether it is real. The Australian eSafety image-based abuse guide covers altered and deepfake intimate material, and its international support directory lists help outside Australia. Check eligibility for each service.
The problem may be a face swap, a synthetic presenter resembling you, an altered clip from a real interview, or an advertisement using your image together with generated speech. Those are different production methods, but the immediate questions are similar: what is being represented, how are you identified, and where is it reaching people?
You may never learn the exact software used. Begin with the video and its surrounding claims. If the account presents the clip as a real endorsement, save that context. If it labels the video as fiction or parody, save that too. A useful report shows the reviewer what the audience actually encountered.
Write three short statements: “The clip depicts me doing this”; “viewers connect it to me because of these details”; and “I did or did not authorize this use.” If an authentic photograph or video of you also appears to have been reused, identify that source separately.
This avoids a common confusion: you can object to a representation of your identity without claiming that you filmed or own every image involved. Conversely, someone who owns a photograph may have a copying concern even when they are not the person depicted. Bring each issue to the process that can actually review it.
Save the post URL, account handle, discovery date and time zone, and the timestamps where you appear. Record the caption, account biography, endorsement, product link, and comments showing confusion. For an advertisement, record any available advertiser name, ad identifier, and landing page in addition to the video.
Explain why the person depicted is identifiable as you. Your face, voice, name, branding, or surrounding context may help explain the association. Keep an authentic reference privately available for the reporting process; do not post identity documents publicly.
Suppose a fictional fitness coach finds a synthetic version of herself recommending a supplement. A recording of the clip captures her apparent words. The advertiser name, product page, sponsored label, and comments capture the endorsement context. Save both kinds of evidence; a video file by itself may not show the commercial claim that concerned her.
If the same creative appears in several ads, keep the identifiers separately. Ask anyone who alerts you to send the direct link and a screenshot of where they saw it, rather than repeatedly sharing the clip to a wider audience. Record which details came from another person and which you inspected yourself.
A genuine-looking profile name is not enough to establish who operates the account. Record the visible information without asserting a real-world identity you have not verified. This is particularly useful when you later seek help tracing a campaign or documenting repeated use.
A fake profile pretending to be you is an account issue. A synthetic video on another person’s profile is a content issue. An ad falsely suggesting your endorsement also needs the advertising context documented. Report each relevant object through the appropriate available category.
On YouTube, the synthetic-likeness policy provides a privacy route for realistic altered or synthetic depictions that look or sound like you. Use the privacy complaint process. YouTube considers identifiability and context; a label or your objection alone does not predetermine the decision.
On TikTok, follow its AI-generated content reporting guidance. Open the post’s report menu and look for the deepfake or synthetic-media category. For a fake account, also use account reporting. On Instagram, use post reporting help or impersonation reporting help as appropriate. If a link or menu is unavailable in your version, the eSafety Instagram directory provides another route to the official help pages.
A label tells viewers something about how the content is presented. It does not explain whether you participated or what permission exists. When reporting, distinguish your objection to the depiction from an objection that the clip lacks a label. If the content is labeled, acknowledge it and explain the remaining concern, such as a realistic false endorsement or impersonating account.
Also preserve context that may affect review, including commentary, satire, or a news report discussing a fabricated clip. A platform reviewer needs to evaluate the full use. A cropped excerpt can obscure that context and make the report harder to assess.
Describe whether you authorized the particular use. If you previously supplied a photograph, signed a modeling release, or recorded a brand campaign, preserve the agreement. A dispute about what that agreement permits needs a reading of its terms and the applicable law.
If your photograph or video was copied, a copyright issue may also exist, but check who owns that work. Being depicted and owning the photograph are different facts; the photographer, employer, or another party may hold the relevant rights.
Collect the original release, campaign brief, and any later permissions. Separate the authentic shoot or recording from the synthetic output you have now found. Ask the party relying on permission to identify the relevant agreement and the use it believes that agreement permits.
A useful inquiry describes the difference concretely: “I appeared in the campaign for [project]. This new video depicts me making [statement] for [product]. Please explain the authorization for that depiction.” If terms are unclear or the relationship is sensitive, get advice before making categorical public accusations or negotiating a new release.
Keep the source URL, context, and your explanation even if you run an analysis tool. Content provenance information can help establish available creation history, but missing credentials do not prove that a file is authentic. A detector result also needs to be interpreted within its tested limits.
If you use a detector or provenance viewer, save the result together with the tool name, date, exact input, and explanation. Note whether the input was the original file, a downloaded copy, or a recording of a screen. Do not silently attach a result for one version to a different version of the video.
Explain what the result contributes to the case. It might help investigate the production history; it does not supply your consent, identify the uploader, or show the full distribution. Keep those questions attached to their own evidence.
A concise report might say: “This video depicts a realistic version of me at [timestamps]. I did not participate in or authorize this depiction. It identifies me through [details] and presents me as [description]. Please review this post and, if relevant, the advertisement under the appropriate policy.”
Keep the decision and case number, then use any review route offered. For suspected fraud, threats, or financial loss, contact the appropriate local authority; for misuse of personal data, consult the relevant privacy authority. The country help section explains where to begin. Reporting a provider may address the source, but copies on other platforms still need their own URLs and reports.
Keep the decision and revisit the reported URL when appropriate. If the account remains active or another copy appears, record the new object rather than assuming the earlier decision covers it. Ask a provider or platform what its action applied to when the response is ambiguous.
If people believed the endorsement, a factual clarification on your official channels can help establish your position. State which representation you did not authorize and where your genuine statements appear. For financial harm, threats, a contract dispute, or ongoing reputational damage, use the country-specific help and bring the report history with you. The objective is to choose a practical next action, not to keep rerunning detectors while the distribution continues.