Malaysia: footage of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad mourning his wife was edited, in what sources believe was AI manipulation, to add dancing, and posted on TikTok in September 2026; the communications regulator MCMC said it was examining content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of him in mourning
Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, wife of former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, died on 28 September 2026 aged 100. BuzzKini reported on 30 September that a TikTok account had posted a video of Mahathir grieving beside her body, edited to show a woman dancing next to him, and another clip of the moment he raised his hands in prayer edited with dancing movements while seated in a wheelchair. BuzzKini says the edits are believed to have been made with AI, and that many social media users condemned them and asked the regulator and police to act. On 2 October the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it was examining social media content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of Mahathir in mourning, had contacted the platforms concerned, and that action could follow under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 if a breach was found.
- AI system
- Unidentified video tool (suspected)
- Occurred
- Sept 2026
- Reported
- 30 September 2026
- Event location
- Unknown
- What the AI did
- Depicted or impersonated the person
- Reported harm
- Reputational Harm
- Whose AI use
- Someone else’s AI use
- Setting
- Everyday life
- Evidence
- AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources
- 5 claims: 5 reported. 4 open questions
- People reported harmed
- 1 person
AI system as recorded: Edited videos of Mahathir Mohamad mourning his wife, posted by a TikTok account; BuzzKini says they are believed to have been edited with AI and MCMC describes content believed to use AI. The tool and the account holder are not identified
What Happened
The videos. Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali died on 28 September 2026 aged 100, and the government gave her a state funeral (Utusan Melayu). BuzzKini reported on 30 September that a Threads user had shared videos from a TikTok account. One showed Mahathir grieving beside his wife's body with a woman dancing on the right in revealing clothing. BuzzKini says the image was believed to have been taken from another newspaper and then edited. In a second clip, the moment Mahathir raised his hands in prayer was edited with dancing movements while seated in a wheelchair. BuzzKini says that, judging from the result, the videos are believed to have been edited with artificial intelligence.
Reaction. BuzzKini says many social media users criticised and condemned the edits and asked MCMC, the police and others to act against the TikTok account holder. Some suggested the account was fake. BuzzKini said that when it checked, the account could no longer be found on TikTok.
Regulator. On 2 October, Utusan Melayu reported an MCMC statement saying the commission was examining social media content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of Mahathir as he went through his grief. MCMC said that altering real footage in ways that can mislead the public, change the context of an event or harm the dignity of an individual and family is a serious matter, all the more when it involves a person facing loss. It said it had contacted the platforms and that action could follow under Act 588 if a breach was found.
Limits. The videos were not inspected for this review. Neither source names the tool or explains how the AI attribution was made; both hedge it ('dipercayai', believed). No statement from Mahathir or his family about the videos is reported. The MCMC statement as reported does not describe the content, name TikTok or mention dancing; that it concerns the videos BuzzKini described is inferred from its subject and timing.
Reported harm
Footage of the former prime minister mourning beside his wife's body was edited, believed to be with AI, to add dancing and was posted on TikTok, prompting public condemnation and an MCMC review of content it said could harm the dignity of an individual and family (BuzzKini; MCMC via Utusan Melayu).
Outcome
OngoingMCMC said in a statement reported on 2 October 2026 that it had contacted the social media platforms concerned and was examining the content, and that appropriate action could be taken under the law in force, including the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 (Act 588), if a breach is found (Utusan Melayu). No arrest or charge is reported. BuzzKini said on 30 September that, when it checked, the TikTok account could no longer be found on the platform; it does not say whether TikTok or the account holder removed it.
What remains unknown
- Which tool was used and how the AI attribution was established.
- Who operated the TikTok account, how widely the videos were seen, and whether the account's disappearance from TikTok (BuzzKini, 30 September) was a removal by the platform or by its holder.
- Whether MCMC found a breach or took action.
- Whether Mahathir or his family commented on the videos.
What the evidence supports
AI involvement: suspected. BuzzKini says that, judging from the result, the videos are believed ('dipercayai') to have been edited with artificial intelligence. MCMC's statement, as reported by Utusan Melayu, refers to content believed ('dipercayai') to use AI to manipulate the footage. Neither names a tool or explains how the attribution was made, and the videos were not inspected. The edited videos depict Mahathir (depicted_or_impersonated).
5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean
Reported A TikTok account posted a video of Mahathir grieving beside his wife's body edited to show a woman dancing beside him, and a second clip in which the moment he raised his hands in prayer was edited with dancing movements while seated in a wheelchair.
Causal attribution. BuzzKini's description of videos shared by a Threads user; the videos were not inspected for this review.
- buzzkini.my(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'terdapat satu akaun di TikTok yang memuat naik video memaparkan keadaan Tun M yang sedang berada di sebelah jenazah Tun Dr Hasmah'; 'dipercayai telah menyunting video Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad yang sedang bersedih ketika berada di sebelah jenazah Tun Dr Siti Hasmah dengan meletakkan aksi wanita sedang menari'; 'kelihatan individu itu menyunting momen ketika Tun M sedang mengangkat tangan untuk berdoa dengan aksi sedang menari sambil duduk di atas kerusi roda'
Reported The videos are believed to have been edited with AI.
Causal attribution. Both sources hedge the AI attribution as a belief; no tool or forensic basis is reported.
- buzzkini.my(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'Dilihat dari hasil video berkenaan ia dipercayai telah disunting dengan menggunakan artificial intelligence (AI).'
- utusanmelayuplus.com(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'sedang meneliti kandungan media sosial yang dipercayai menggunakan kecerdasan buatan (AI) bagi memanipulasi rakaman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad ketika beliau melalui saat dukacita selepas pemergian isterinya'
Reported Many social media users condemned the edits and asked MCMC and the police to act against the account holder.
Causal attribution. BuzzKini's account of social media reaction.
- buzzkini.my(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'Ramai netizen mengkritik dan mengecam tindakan tersebut serta meminta pihak berkuasa seperti MCMC dan polis untuk mengambil tindakan atas perbuatan tidak bermoral itu.'; 'mengambil tindakan segera terhadap pemilik akaun TikTok terbabit'
Reported MCMC said it had contacted the social media platforms concerned and was examining the content, that altering real footage in ways that can mislead or harm the dignity of an individual and family is serious, and that action could follow under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 if a breach is found.
Causal attribution. MCMC statement as reported; no finding of a breach is reported.
- utusanmelayuplus.com(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'MCMC sudah berhubung dengan platform media sosial berkaitan dan sedang meneliti kandungan berkenaan.'; 'menjejaskan maruah individu dan keluarga adalah perkara serius'; 'termasuk Akta Komunikasi dan Multimedia 1998 (Akta 588)'
Reported Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali died on 28 September 2026 aged 100.
Causal attribution. Background fact; her death is not connected to the AI-edited videos.
- utusanmelayuplus.com(opens in new tab) supports · Malay
'Dr Siti Hasmah meninggal dunia pada 28 September lalu pada usia 100 tahun.'
Sources
2 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.
- Utusan Melayu, 2 October 2026: MCMC teliti video AI manipulasi saat duka Tun Dr Mahathir(opens in new tab)
s1 · utusanmelayuplus.com · News report · Malay · Inspected · 2 October 2026 · Primary
- BuzzKini, 30 September 2026: Ramai minta pihak berkuasa ambil tindakan terhadap individu sunting video Tun M(opens in new tab)
s2 · buzzkini.my · News report · Malay · Inspected
How the sources were read, and where the events happened
Read live in Malay on 2026-10-03 (Utusan Melayu, 2 October 2026); relays the MCMC statement. Harian Metro ran an item headlined 'MCMC teliti video AI manipulasi detik duka Tun Dr Mahathir', but only its description was retrieved and it was not used. Researcher translation. Applies to s1.
Read live in Malay on 2026-10-03 (BuzzKini, 30 September 2026); describes the TikTok videos as shared by a Threads user and the public reaction. Researcher translation. Applies to s2.
Event countries: Unknown. Affected-person countries: Malaysia. Court countries: Unknown.
Utusan Melayu's photo caption places Mahathir at his wife's burial at the Pusara Negara in Putrajaya, and BuzzKini says she died at the Institut Jantung Negara in Kuala Lumpur, so he was in Malaysia during the mourning the footage shows. Neither source says where the edited videos were made or posted from; the Malaysian regulator's review does not establish an event location. No court is involved.
Reviewed for publication 2026-10-03: Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: edited videos depicted a former prime minister mourning his wife, reportedly made with AI, and the national communications regulator said it was examining them. He is a public figure and is named as the sources do. Two independent accounts (BuzzKini's report of the videos; the MCMC statement, which does not describe the content, so its link to the TikTok videos is inferred); both hedge the AI attribution.
People described
Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former prime minister of Malaysia (public figure), shown in footage taken while he mourned his wife
People reported harmed in this case
1 person
0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed
One person, Mahathir Mohamad, who is depicted in the edited footage (BuzzKini; Utusan Melayu). Viewers and commenters are not counted. Exact 1.
Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.
Cite this case
Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.
APA
NOPE. (2026). Malaysia: footage of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad mourning his wife was edited, in what sources believe was AI manipulation, to add dancing, and posted on TikTok in September 2026; the communications regulator MCMC said it was examining content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of him in mourning. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-malaysia-mahathir-mourning-footage-manipulated-videos-mcmc-review
BibTeX
@misc{2026_malaysia_mahathir_mourning_footage_manipulated_videos_mcmc_review,
title = {Malaysia: footage of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad mourning his wife was edited, in what sources believe was AI manipulation, to add dancing, and posted on TikTok in September 2026; the communications regulator MCMC said it was examining content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of him in mourning},
author = {NOPE},
year = {2026},
howpublished = {AI incidents},
url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-malaysia-mahathir-mourning-footage-manipulated-videos-mcmc-review}
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