Angolan-Portuguese rapper and singer IAMDDB has responded after what appears to be an AI propaganda video that features images resembling her was created without her consent. It was shared by the Israeli government on social media, according to multiple reports and confirmed by Rolling Stone. The social media posts have since been deleted.
On Oct. 16, a video that appeared to feature the singer surfaced. The AI singer in it raps a song called “Jews From Judea (We Did),” which includes the lyrics: “Colonizers?/Say the name/Jews from Judea, it’s in the damn name/Same Hebrew letters, same culture, same prayers remain/Berlin to Baghdad, Moscow to Fez/They said, ‘Go back to where you came from’. We did.”
“The exploitation of Black artists, particularly Black women, is nothing new. From blackface to the appropriation of our identities and creativity, this raises serious concerns about how AI is enabling these same patterns in a new form,” IAMDDB tells Rolling Stone on Thursday in a statement. “The lack of meaningful AI regulation and protection of artists’ rights is deeply concerning. As creatives, our image, voice and identity are our livelihood, and knowing they can be replicated without consent threatens our artistic freedom and ability to create safely.”
The fake AI video social posts were first reported by broadcaster and activist Rafael Shimunov, who took to Instagram to dissect the AI video. “The video the Israeli government just shared to claim Israelis are indigenous on stolen Palestinian land is a stolen identity of a musician in England who is from Portuguese Angolan, a very popular musician, just completely stolen to create a fake Israeli to advocate about the indigeneity of Israelis on stolen Palestinian land,” he said in one clip. IAMDDB retweeted the original post made by the Israeli governement, captioning it, “Hiya yeah so – why did you steal my identity for something I 100% did not consent to.”
In a second Instagram video reel following the removal of the videos from social media, Shimunov said, “My intial reaction was how funny it was that in a video Israel used to claim stolen land, the star was also stolen in a video used to claim Israelis are indigenous to Palestine. Even the person’s identity they stole, wasn’t even Israeli.”
He pointed to reporting by freelance journalist Andrew Esensten, who talked to the creator of the song and music video, the Istraeli born, New Jersey resident Eyal Ben Moshe, who goes by Eyal Be. Moshe told Esensten that he was not paid by the Israeli government for the video, but said, “I was contacted by a person in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (we have no prior acquaintance) and asked permission to post the song,” he told Esensten. “I’ve happily granted them permission, and in general, I encourage anyone to use, reuse, repost or completely rip my videos — that’s their only purpose.”
It’s the third video he’s created using the fake Israeli rapper, which he named “Nova.” Moshe added that he was unfamiliar with IAMDDB and that the prompt he used was for a “Latina rapper, but one of the Black versions was cooler.” He added that he could not tell what models were used as references and that “no one was intentionally trying to steal her identity.”
“It’s not a commercial project; it’s not a project at all,” Moshe continued. “It is one of 100 videos I randomly make. I hope this will die down soon.” (A rep for the Israeli government did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment.)
On Tuesday, IAMDDB addressed the video via her Instagram, writing that she did not consent or have anything to do with the video. “I have always approached my music and my art from a place of love, freedom, humanity and connection. I do not support genocide, the killing of innocent people, or the suffering of women, children and families. My heart is with every innocent person experiencing loss, displacement and violence, especially the Palestinian people who have endured unimaginable suffering.” (Humanitarian groups and a United Nations commission have said Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute a genocide. Israel and its allies, including the United States, have denied this.)
She also acknowledged that when she was younger she performed in Israel, but said “had I understood then what I understand now, I would have made a different decision.”
She added: “I stand for humanity. I stand against the killing and suffering of innocent people. And I stand for every artist’s right to decide what their name, face and work are associated with. My image is mine. My voice is mine. My values are mine. FREE PALESTINE.”
The musician tells Rolling Stone she plans on donating a portion of proceeds of upcoming shows to “charitable organisations supporting causes close to my heart.”
“For me,” she says, “it’s important to turn this experience into something meaningful and positive.”
