How to report a deepfake, and get it removed.

How do I report a deepfake?

To report a deepfake, do three things in order: preserve the evidence before it disappears, report it on the platform where it is hosted, and send a takedown notice if the platform is slow. Doing them in that order matters, because the fake can be edited or deleted the moment the person behind it notices attention, and once it is gone your proof can go with it.

Step 1: Preserve the evidence first

Before you report anything, capture it. Save the URL, the account, the date, and the content itself in a record that is timestamped and hard to alter. A phone screenshot is better than nothing, but it is weak: undated, easy to edit, easy to dispute later. If this might become a legal matter, or if it is one fake among many, you want documentation that holds up. How talicense preserves evidence →

Step 2: Report it on the platform

Every major platform has a report path; use the one that fits. On YouTube, report the video for impersonation or privacy, using its dedicated privacy-complaint process for someone's likeness. On Meta, report the Instagram or Facebook post or account for impersonation, or use the intellectual-property or privacy form for likeness. On X, report for impersonation or non-consensual media. On TikTok, report the video under its impersonation or synthetic-media rules.

Point to exactly what was faked and why it is not allowed. A clean record from step 1 makes this fast.

Step 3: Send a takedown

If the platform report stalls, escalate with a formal takedown. In the US this may be a right-of-publicity or likeness demand; where copyrighted footage was used, a DMCA notice can apply. In the EU, the Digital Services Act gives a notice-and-action route. See our guide on deepfake laws for which rule fits.

If it is intimate or sexual content

This is a separate, more urgent track. In the US the TAKE IT DOWN Act requires platforms to remove non-consensual intimate imagery, including AI-generated versions, quickly once notified. Report it immediately through the platform's intimate-image process and preserve the evidence in parallel. If a minor is involved, contact law enforcement.

When to involve a lawyer

Bring in a lawyer when the fake is commercial, when it repeats or spreads faster than you can report, or when the platform will not act. What the lawyer needs first is the documented record: what was used, where, and when. That record is the difference between a complaint and a case.

If you protect talent at scale, finding and documenting every fake is the job talicense does, so that reporting and escalation start from proof, not screenshots. See how PROTECT works →