AMA urges physician protections against AI deepfake impersonation

Responding to the escalating risk of AI-manipulated images, videos and audio that impersonate physicians, the American Medical Association (AMA) today announced a new comprehensive policy framework to establish clear, enforceable protections for physicians against unauthorized AI-generated “deepfakes.”

Created by the AMA Center for Digital Health and AI, the framework is designed to modernize physician identity protections and close legal gaps to uphold patient safety, professional integrity, and public trust.

“AI deepfakes that impersonate physicians are not just scams—they are a public health and safety crisis,” said AMA CEO John Whyte, MD, MPH. “When bad actors exploit a doctor’s identity, they undermine patient trust and can steer people toward harmful, unproven care. We need strong action by federal and state lawmakers to protect physicians’ identities, ensure transparency, and stop this fraud. Safeguarding professional integrity is essential to preserving trust and delivering high-quality care in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.”

Deepfakes have been maliciously used to impersonate doctors, manipulate the public, and endorse unproven treatments – posing grave threats to both individual patients and the broader health care system. Impersonation scams erode the patient-physician relationship, undermine confidence in evidence-based care, and place the public at risk of deception and harm.

To address these hazards, the AMA is advocating for a framework built around seven key policy principles:

Physician Identity Is a Protected Right: A physician’s name, image, likeness, voice, and digital replicas are protected. Health institutions, vendors, and third-party apps must explicitly recognize that these are not transferrable assets and may only be used with affirmative, informed consent.

Prohibition on Deceptive Medical Impersonation: Without clear, informed consent, any AI-generated or altered content impersonating a physician, especially if it falsely conveys endorsement or authorship likely to mislead patients, must be prohibited and treated as deception.

Informed, Opt-In and Revocable Consent: The use of physician identity in AI-created or manipulated content requires separate, explicit, opt-in consent—never implied or bundled in general agreements. Consent must specify the use, audience, purpose, and duration, and must be revocable if circumstances change.

Mandatory Labeling and Transparency: All AI-generated or altered depictions of physicians must be clearly labeled in plain language, include a digital watermark, and patients must be proactively notified before any interaction with synthetic professionals.

Shared Responsibility for Preventing Impersonation: Platforms, hospitals, and AI vendors share responsibility, implementing safeguards such as rapid takedown mechanisms, conspicuous labeling, and prohibiting AI use of health professional titles.

Enforcement and Practical Remedies: Physicians must have access to robust procedures for documenting misuse, triggering takedowns, and seeking remedies. Institutions must preserve audit logs and work with investigations. Federal agencies should be empowered to enforce laws decisively, require corrective disclosures, and report annually on impersonation incidents.

Minimizing Administrative Burden: Identity protection should be the default, with no undue administrative burden placed on physicians. Consent processes must be standardized, reusable, and institutionally supported.

The new AMA framework will guide how the organization works with government officials and industry partners to stop AI-generated deepfakes of physicians. The AMA is ready to collaborate with lawmakers, regulators, and industry to protect patients and doctors from these risks.

The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.