IAMDDB Responds After Israeli Government Shared AI Video Using Her Likeness

The Israeli government shared, then deleted, an AI-generated propaganda video built around a likeness of the Angolan-Portuguese rapper and singer IAMDDB — without her consent. Rolling Stone confirmed the posts, which surfaced on Oct. 16 and came down only after broadcaster and activist Rafael Shimunov exposed the fabrication on Instagram.

The video features an AI rapper performing a track titled “Jews From Judea (We Did),” with lyrics including: “Colonizers?/Say the name/Jews from Judea, it’s in the damn name.” Shimunov, dissecting the clip, said: “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.”

How did IAMDDB respond?

IAMDDB retweeted the original government post with the caption: “Hiya yeah so – why did you steal my identity for something I 100% did not consent to.”

In a statement to Rolling Stone on Thursday, she framed the incident within a longer history. “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,” she said. “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.”

She also criticized “the lack of meaningful AI regulation and protection of artists’ rights.”

On Tuesday, she addressed the video on her own Instagram. “I do not support genocide, the killing of innocent people, or the suffering of women, children and families,” she wrote, adding that her heart is with “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 acknowledged performing in Israel when younger, but said: “had I understood then what I understand now, I would have made a different decision.” She closed with: “I stand for humanity... My image is mine. My voice is mine. My values are mine. FREE PALESTINE.”

Who made the video?

The creator is Eyal Ben Moshe, an Israeli-born, New Jersey-based musician who goes by Eyal Be. Speaking to freelance journalist Andrew Esensten, he said a person at Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs — a stranger to him — had asked permission to post the song. “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,” he said.

He was not paid by the government. The clip is the third he has made using the fake Israeli rapper he named “Nova.” He said he was unfamiliar with IAMDDB, that his prompt asked for a “Latina rapper, but one of the Black versions was cooler,” and that he could not tell which models were used as references. “No one was intentionally trying to steal her identity,” he said, adding: “It’s not a commercial project; it’s not a project at all... I hope this will die down soon.”

A representative for the Israeli government did not respond to Rolling Stone’s request for comment. Shimunov, in a follow-up reel, noted the irony: “Even the person’s identity they stole, wasn’t even Israeli.”

What does this change for artists?

Not the law, yet — but the evidence that unregulated AI can place a real artist’s face inside a state propaganda message, with no consent and no payment, and with the maker shrugging it off as one of a hundred random videos. IAMDDB says she will donate a portion of proceeds from upcoming shows to charitable organizations. “For me,” she says, “it’s important to turn this experience into something meaningful and positive.”