Fake video of my tenant went viral and now I can't get them to move out

I manage a small apartment building in Portland. Two weeks ago someone deepfaked a video of my ground floor tenant yelling racist stuff at a delivery driver. It got 200k views before anyone figured out it was fake. Problem is the real tenant is a quiet old guy who never hurt anyone. Now his family is scared and he refuses to leave his unit because he says people are waiting outside to get him. I've tried talking to him but he won't budge. Has anyone else dealt with a deepfake making someone paranoid and stuck in place?

3 comments

3 Comments

lewis.mila1mo ago

Poor guy. That's a terrible spot to be in, and I feel for your tenant because his fear is completely understandable. You really need to get someone from victim services or a social worker involved to talk with him, or maybe even a counselor. He's not going to listen to you as the landlord because he sees you as just the person who manages the building, not someone who can actually help with this kind of trauma. Also, make sure you have a clear record of everything about the deepfake video and how it affected him, and maybe reach out to the police's non-emergency line to see if they can do a quick check of the area to reassure him. Right now, forcing him out or taking legal action would only make you look heartless and could backfire badly. You have to treat this like a mental health crisis, not a tenant problem.

lily571mo ago

Yep, all I'm hearing is that I need to find a therapist before my tenants start couch-surfing with me.

beth2761mo ago

This is exactly like what happened with my uncle after a scam call made him think his bank was after him. We got a social worker involved and she slowly built trust with him over a few weeks which made all the difference. You really need an outsider he can trust, not the landlord, to show him it's safe to come out.