{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-14T10:40:41.858Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"ai-generated-persona","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-china-older-relative-bought-several-high-priced-orders-from-ai-xiaohai-persona-shop-window","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'这些由AI批量生成的少年，统一是清秀乖巧、缺少母爱的大学生人设，靠一声声“姨姨妈妈”把中老年女性引向高价橱窗，部分商品佣金高达55%。'; '他们用的，正是造出“小海”的那套AI工具'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'这些由AI批量生成的“假晚辈”，利用老人们渴望陪伴的心理，盯上了老年人的钱包。'; '记者在短视频平台搜索发现，让这位老人深信不疑的，正是近期在网络上批量出现的“数字人小海”。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The 'Xiaohai' persona videos on Chinese short-video platforms are generated in batches with AI and aimed at older viewers' money through sales.","causal_attribution":"Two separate reporting efforts: the Beijing News investigation and a China National Radio reporter's own platform search."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'朋友家的一位长辈也刷到了小海，一天把手机递过去说：“闺女，你给我看一下这个视频，他怎么那么惨？”朋友凑过去一看才发现，老人已经在小海的橱窗里，高价买了好几单商品。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to a university student interviewed by the Beijing News, a friend's older relative who had been watching 'Xiaohai' videos asked the friend why the boy was so badly off, and the friend found that the relative had already bought several orders of goods at high prices through the persona's shop window.","causal_attribution":"The student's second-hand account of the friend's discovery; the relative was not interviewed and no amount is given."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'他们用的，正是造出“小海”的那套AI工具'; '9月28日，这条视频发布后，收获了几十个点赞。'; '视频做好后，朋友拿这条视频给那位长辈看。'; '长辈说，“哎呀，怎么是这样的呀，我以后不买他（小海）的东西了。”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The student made a counter-video with the same AI tools, posted on 28 September, and after the friend showed it to the relative, the relative said they would not buy the persona's goods again.","causal_attribution":"The student's account as reported by the paper."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'报道刊发后，新京报记者发现文中涉及的多个“AI小海”账号，已无法在短视频平台上搜索到。'; '那些仍保留卖惨视频的账号，评论区也已变了风向——曾经一边倒的“心疼”声里，涌入大量质疑这是AI合成、提醒家人别上当的留言。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After the paper's 16 October investigation, several 'Xiaohai' accounts it named could no longer be found on the platform, and comments under remaining videos increasingly questioned whether they were AI-made.","causal_attribution":"The paper's own observation of the platform after publication."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'记者注意到，不少涉事账号确实在视频角落打上了“AI生成”水印。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"China National Radio's reporter noticed that many of the 'Xiaohai' accounts carry an 'AI-generated' watermark in the corner of their videos.","causal_attribution":"Counterevidence on disclosure from one reporter's observation; whether the videos the relative watched carried it is not stated."}],"effects":[{"label":"bought several high-priced orders from an AI-generated persona's shop window, as reported","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792284998168989.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Beijing News follow-up by reporter Qi Shaoqian, dated 2026-10-18 08:56 (bodies/fx-bjnews-xiaohai-1018.html/.txt). Read in Chinese on 2026-10-19 (live page, HTTP 200) and translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer.","independence_group":"bjnews-xiaohai-follow-up-2026-10-18"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.chinanews.com.cn/sh/2026/10-18/10716530.shtml","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Chinanews publication of a China National Radio (Voice of China) report, dated 2026-10-18 (bodies/fx-chinanews-xiaohai.html/.txt). Read in Chinese on 2026-10-19 (live page, HTTP 200) and translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer.","independence_group":"cnr-voice-of-china-xiaohai-2026-10-18"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","finance"],"unknowns":["When the purchases were made: before the student's counter-video of 28 September 2026, otherwise undated.","How much was spent, what was bought, and whether any refund was sought.","Which account, platform and AI tool were involved, and whether the videos the relative watched carried an AI label."],"geography":{"basis":"Both reports describe the persona accounts on Chinese short-video platforms and their older Chinese viewers, which places the event in China. Neither says where the relative lives, so no affected-person country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with through an AI-generated persona): two independent reports establish that the 'Xiaohai' persona videos are AI-generated sales personas, and a student's account in the Beijing News describes a friend's older relative buying several high-priced orders after pitying the persona. The purchase rests on that single second-hand account and is reported.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Beijing News (from its own investigation) and a China National Radio reporter (from a platform search) both report that the 'Xiaohai' persona videos are AI-generated in batches by account operators and steer older viewers to shop windows; China National Radio notes that many accounts carry an 'AI-generated' watermark. The student's account connects the persona's hardship videos to the relative's pity and purchases. The persona is the AI-generated speaker the relative watched; which account, tool or platform was involved, and whether that video carried a label, is not stated.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Beijing News: a student says a friend's older relative bought several high-priced orders from an AI-generated 'Xiaohai' persona's shop window","summary":"The Beijing News reported on 18 October 2026, in a follow-up to its investigation of 'Xiaohai' accounts on Chinese short-video platforms, that the accounts show AI-generated teenage boys who address older women as 'aunties and mothers' and steer them to high-priced shop windows. A university student told the paper that an older relative of a friend had been watching 'Xiaohai' videos and asked the friend why the boy was so badly off; the friend then found that the relative had already bought several orders of goods at high prices through the persona's shop window. The student made a counter-video with the same AI tools, posted on 28 September, in which the persona admits to deceiving viewers; after the friend showed it to the relative, the relative said they would not buy the persona's goods again. The amount spent and the goods bought are not reported. China National Radio's report the same day also describes the 'Xiaohai' videos as AI-generated and notes that many carry an 'AI-generated' watermark.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-18","aiSystem":"AI-generated 'Xiaohai' digital-human persona videos with linked shop windows on Chinese short-video platforms, made by account operators with AI tools; no tool or platform is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to a student quoted by the Beijing News, a friend's older relative who pitied an AI-generated persona bought several orders of goods at high prices through its shop window; the amount is not reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One older relative, described in the student's account (claim c2). Viewers, commenters and the 79-year-old in a separate published row are not counted here.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792284998168989.html","primarySourceLabel":"The Beijing News, 18 Oct 2026: young people make 'bad Xiaohai' AI videos to counter the AI persona selling to older women","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-19T03:18:43.362233+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T03:18:43.362233+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-persona","digital-human","older-adult","short-video","live-commerce","china","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2026-china-elderly-woman-set-off-alone-by-train-after-ai-generated-xiaohai-persona-video-invitation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'这些“小海”都是AI生成的数字人'; '运营者批量生成“ AI 小海”后，输入卖惨、认亲的话术和文案，博取中老年人的同情，最终把流量引到商品橱窗。'; '新京报记者照着教程“生成”了一个“小海”。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Beijing News reports that the 'Xiaohai' accounts are AI-generated digital humans that operators produce in batches with AI tools and scripted hardship stories to steer older viewers to sales links, and that its reporter generated such a video by following a tutorial.","causal_attribution":"The paper's own investigation, including operator interviews and its reproduction of the method."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'79岁的老人'; '独居'; '平日里陪她说话最多的，是手机里那个叫“小海”的少年'; '今年5月前后，“小海”在视频里邀请“姨姨妈妈”们去山西运城看杏花、上山摘羊肚菌。'; '悄悄收拾行李买了火车票'; '到了再说'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the paper, a 79-year-old woman who lived alone talked most with the 'Xiaohai' on her phone, and around May 2026, after a 'Xiaohai' video invited viewers to Yuncheng in Shanxi to see apricot blossoms, she secretly packed and bought a train ticket without a clear plan for the route.","causal_attribution":"The paper's account; it does not say whether it interviewed her or drew on a police account."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'在火车上，乘警注意到了这位独自出行、连路都说不清的老人。'; '手机里那个“小海”不是真人'; '老人起初怎么都不肯信'; '乘警随后联系上老人的子女，家人才知道她出了远门，最终为她买好返程的车票，把她接回了家。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On the train, railway police noticed her travelling alone and unable to explain her route, told her that 'Xiaohai' was not a real person, and contacted her children, who bought her return ticket and took her home; she at first refused to believe it.","causal_attribution":"The paper's account of the police intervention."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'尽管目前大多“小海”视频都带有“作品声明：内容由AI生成”，部分账号简介写明“AI数字人，大家理性看待”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The paper found that most 'Xiaohai' videos now carry the declaration 'content generated by AI' and that some account profiles say 'AI digital human', but that viewers' purchases and declarations of kinship had not stopped.","causal_attribution":"Counterevidence on disclosure; the paper does not say whether the video she watched carried the label."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'今年五月，乌鲁木齐铁路公安的乘警在巡视车厢时，发现一位79岁的老人独自一人乘车远行，神情焦急。'; '只知道自己要去山西运城“走亲戚”，看望一个天天在手机里喊她“姨妈”的苦命孩子。'; '阿姨我和您说，这直播间里的人，是假的。'; '在乘警的耐心劝说和联系下，这位老人最终下车，坐家人买好的返程票回到了家。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'前阵子，乌鲁木齐乘警就发现，一位不识字的79岁老人，瞒着家人偷偷买了火车票，想去山西运城见“亲人小海”。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"China National Radio reports, with recorded exchanges, that in May 2026 Urumqi railway police found a 79-year-old who cannot read travelling alone to Yuncheng in Shanxi to visit a child who called her 'auntie' on her phone; an officer told her the person in the live room was fake, and she got off and returned home on a ticket her family bought.","causal_attribution":"China National Radio's report built on the railway police encounter; CCTV News relays the same report. Whether the Beijing News and CNR drew on the same police material is not stated, so the two chains are not treated as independent."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'让这位老人深信不疑的，正是近期在网络上批量出现的“数字人小海”。'; '不少涉事账号确实在视频角落打上了“AI生成”水印。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"China National Radio's reporter found that the persona the woman trusted was one of the batch-produced AI 'digital human Xiaohai' accounts, and that many such accounts carry an 'AI-generated' watermark in a corner of the video.","causal_attribution":"The station's own platform search, as it reports."}],"effects":[{"label":"set off alone by train to visit an AI-generated persona she believed was real, as reported","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"persuaded off the train by railway police who told her the person in the live room was fake","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792114817169572.html","kind":"news_investigation","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-18 (live page, HTTP 200; bodies/fx-bjnews-aixiaohai.html/.txt) and translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer. Beijing News investigation by reporter Qi Shaoqian, dated 2026-10-16 09:40. Re-checked on 2026-10-23 against the body retained from that read; the live page did not load on 2026-10-23.","independence_group":"bjnews-xiaohai-investigation-2026-10"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.hunantoday.cn/news/xhn/202610/34028693.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Chinese on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200) and translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer. New Hunan relay of a China National Radio (Voice of China) report by reporter Ren Mengyan, page dated 2026-10-19.","independence_group":"cmg-cnr-xiaohai-2026-10"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://xinwen.bjd.com.cn/content/s6ad76363e4b039a8e2f29216.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Chinese on 2026-10-23 (HTTP 200) and translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator or reviewer. Beijing Daily app relay of CCTV News (same China Media Group report).","independence_group":"cmg-cnr-xiaohai-2026-10"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","relationships"],"unknowns":["Where she lived and boarded, and the exact date in May 2026; CNR names Urumqi railway police, which does not by itself locate her home.","Whether she bought goods through the persona's sales links or lost money.","Whether the video she watched carried an AI-generated label.","Which AI tools and platform were involved.","Whether the Beijing News and CNR accounts rest on the same railway police material."],"geography":{"basis":"The journey was by train towards Taiyuan and Yuncheng in Shanxi and railway police intervened on the train, which places the event in China. The paper does not say where she lived, so no affected-person country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Core case (communicated_with): an AI-generated 'Xiaohai' persona's videos drew a 79-year-old to set off alone by train to visit it, believing it was real, until railway police intervened, as reported by the Beijing News and by China National Radio with the recorded police exchange. The woman is not identified; claims about her journey are reported.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Two separate journalistic investigations attribute the 'Xiaohai' persona to AI generation: the Beijing News, whose reporter generated such a video by following a tutorial, and China National Radio, whose reporter's platform search found that the persona this woman trusted was one of the batch-produced AI 'digital human' accounts, many with an 'AI-generated' watermark. Both describe her journey in response to the persona's videos. The specific video she watched, its label and the tool are not identified.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"A 79-year-old set off alone by train to visit an AI-generated 'Xiaohai' persona until railway police intervened, Beijing News and state radio report","summary":"The Beijing News reported on 16 October 2026, in an investigation of 'Xiaohai' accounts on Chinese short-video platforms, that the accounts show an AI-generated digital teenager who calls older women viewers 'aunties and mothers', tells stories of hardship and asks them to buy goods through sales links; its reporter generated such a video by following a tutorial, in a little over ten minutes. The paper describes a 79-year-old woman, given a pseudonym, who lived alone and talked most with the 'Xiaohai' on her phone. Around May 2026, according to the paper, a 'Xiaohai' video invited viewers to Yuncheng in Shanxi to see apricot blossoms; she secretly packed, bought a train ticket and set off with no clear route. On the train, railway police noticed her, told her that 'Xiaohai' was not a real person, and contacted her children, who bought her return ticket and brought her home. At first she refused to believe it. The paper also found that most 'Xiaohai' videos now carry a declaration that the content is AI-generated. How the paper learned of her journey is not stated. China National Radio (China Media Group) reported the same journey on 19 October 2026 with recorded exchanges between the woman and a train police officer: in May 2026 Urumqi railway police found a 79-year-old who cannot read travelling alone, able to say only that she was going to Yuncheng in Shanxi to see a child who called her 'auntie' every day on her phone; the officer told her the person in the live room was fake, and she got off and went home on a return ticket her family bought. The station's reporter found that the persona she trusted was one of the batch-produced 'digital human Xiaohai' accounts and that many carry an 'AI-generated' watermark in a corner of the video.","incidentDate":"2026-05-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-16","aiSystem":"AI-generated 'Xiaohai' digital-human persona videos on Chinese short-video platforms, made by account operators with AI tools; no tool is named","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Beijing News and China National Radio, a 79-year-old who believed an AI-generated persona was a real child set off alone by train after its video invitation, without a clear route; railway police intervened and her family brought her home.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The paper describes one woman's journey. The commenters and buyers it mentions are an audience without described individual harm and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bjnews.com.cn/detail/1792114817169572.html","primarySourceLabel":"The Beijing News, 16 Oct 2026: AI 'Xiaohai' digital-human accounts selling to older women (investigation)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-18T03:17:29.024758+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:24:26.496385+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-persona","digital-human","older-adult","short-video","china","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2026-belo-horizonte-builder-travelled-2000-km-to-meet-ai-generated-persona-account-operator-says-it-is-ai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'O pedreiro começou a interagir nas redes sociais com o perfil'; 'Sempre oferecia para pagar minha passagem, me buscar em qualquer lugar, passar o endereço, e eram assim as propostas'; 'saí sexta-feira de Imperatriz (MA) e cheguei aqui [a Belo Horizonte] domingo (11)'; 'A viagem do pedreiro para BH, no entanto, ocorreu sem que ele tivesse o endereço dela.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The man says he began interacting with the account after its videos appeared in his feeds, that the profile kept private conversations with him and offered to pay his fare and collect him, and that he travelled by bus from Imperatriz without an address, leaving on a Friday and arriving in Belo Horizonte on Sunday 11 October 2026.","causal_attribution":"The man's own account to G1; the private messages were not published."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Com voz e traços humanos realistas, ela relata estar divorciada e à procura de um homem para morar em uma fazenda no interior.'; 'Eu gosto de ajudar, mas eu quero você mesmo para mim.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Eu quero que você venha pra cá pra viver vida de rei. Olha o tamanho dessa fazenda que vai ser sua'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The account's public videos show a woman with a realistic voice and human features who says she is looking for a man to live with her on a farm and promises to support him.","causal_attribution":"G1's description of the public videos; the videos were not viewed by the research agent."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Vim aqui para dizer o óbvio: sou feita de inteligência artificial. Nunca conversei com ninguém nesse perfil. O intuito foi ganhar engajamento para vendas.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'relatou que a conta foi estruturada em 2025 com o propósito de atrair potenciais compradores para mercadorias anunciadas online'; 'esse perfil nunca mandou mensagem para ninguém, nunca chamou ninguém para ir para Belo Horizonte'; 'Da mesma forma que eu uso isso, a inteligência artificial, para fazer vendas e ganhar uma renda'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The account's operator says the persona is made with artificial intelligence and was created for sales engagement, and denies that the profile messaged anyone or invited anyone to Belo Horizonte.","causal_attribution":"The operator's own statements, reported by two outlets; his denial of messaging is not independently checked."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Eu já andei com várias fotos, mostrando e perguntando se alguém conhecia essa pessoa e todos falaram que não. Então, eu me senti enganado'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In Belo Horizonte he showed her photos to people, found that nobody knew her and said he felt deceived.","causal_attribution":"The man's account; the deception by the persona's videos is his description of his experience."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'o homem foi orientado a recorrer à Unidade de Acolhimento e Atendimento ao Migrante da Prefeitura de Belo Horizonte'; 'a prefeitura emitiu uma passagem para ele'; 'A viagem ocorreu na tarde desta terça-feira (13).'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Belo Horizonte's social assistance service gave him guidance, food and a bath and issued a ticket home, and he left on 13 October 2026.","causal_attribution":"The city secretariat's note as reported by G1."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A Polícia Civil de Minas Gerais informou não ter registrado ocorrência do caso'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A corporação ressaltou que, até o momento, não é possível afirmar que houve crime no caso do pedreiro'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Minas Gerais civil police said they had no report of the case and that it was not possible to say a crime had occurred.","causal_attribution":"Police statements as reported by G1; no investigation is reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"travelled more than 2,000 km to meet a persona that did not exist and felt deceived","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://g1.globo.com/mg/minas-gerais/noticia/2026/10/13/homem-viaja-mais-de-2-mil-km-entre-ma-e-mg-para-encontrar-pretende-virtual-mas-descobre-que-mulher-nao-existe-e-foi-criada-por-ia.ghtml","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"pt","translation_note":"Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 (HTTP 200); passages translated by the research agent; no human translation.","independence_group":"g1-minas-interview"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://g1.globo.com/mg/minas-gerais/noticia/2026/10/14/mulher-criada-por-ia-nega-em-video-ter-tido-conversas-privadas-e-ter-feito-convites-para-viagem-intuito-era-ganhar-engajamento.ghtml","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"pt","translation_note":"Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 (HTTP 200); passages translated by the research agent; no human translation. The report describes and quotes the operator's video; the video itself was not viewed.","independence_group":"account-operator-statement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://agoralitoral.com.br/2026/10/15/criador-de-perfil-falso-com-inteligencia-artificial-confessa-medo/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"pt","translation_note":"Read in Portuguese by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-16 (HTTP 200); passages translated by the research agent; no human translation. The creator's quotes come from his statement to the press through a social network; which outlet first obtained them is not stated.","independence_group":"account-operator-statement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Who wrote the private messages the man describes; the operator denies the profile sent any, and the messages have not been published.","Which AI tool generated the persona and on which platform the account ran; the sources name neither.","What the journey cost him; no amount is reported.","How long he interacted with the account before travelling."],"geography":{"basis":"He travelled from Imperatriz, Maranhão, to Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and returned to his home town in Tocantins, as G1 reports. Where the persona's operator is based is not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["BR"],"affected_person_countries":["BR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because the man's account to G1 connects his journey to the persona's videos, and the account's operator has publicly said the persona is made with artificial intelligence. The two G1 reports and Agora Litoral were read; the private messages and the operator's video were not available.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The account's own administrator posted a video in which the persona says it is made of artificial intelligence, and its creator told the press he built the account to attract buyers and that he uses artificial intelligence to make sales (an operator admission; the tool is not named and no technical analysis is reported). G1 describes the persona's public videos, in which a woman with a realistic voice and appearance says she wants a man to live with her on a farm, and the man says he began interacting with the profile after those videos appeared in his feeds and travelled to meet her. The AI-generated persona therefore spoke to him through its videos (communicated_with). The operator denies that the profile sent private messages, so the messages the man describes are not attributed to AI.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Brazilian builder travelled over 2,000 km to Belo Horizonte to meet a social-media woman who did not exist; the account's operator says the persona is AI-made","summary":"In October 2026 a 49-year-old builder travelled more than 2,000 km by bus from Imperatriz, in Maranhão, to Belo Horizonte to meet a woman he knew from a social-media account with about 300,000 followers. In the account's videos a woman with a realistic voice and appearance said she was looking for a man to live with her on a farm. He told G1 he began interacting with the profile after its videos appeared in his feeds, that it kept private conversations with him and offered to pay his fare, and that he travelled without an address. In Belo Horizonte he showed her photos to people and found that nobody knew her; he said he felt deceived. The city's social assistance service gave him food, a bath and a ticket home. A day later the account's administrator posted a video in which the persona says it is made of artificial intelligence, that it never conversed with anyone on the profile and that the aim was engagement for sales; the creator told the press he set up the account in 2025 to attract buyers. Who wrote the private messages the man describes is not established. Minas Gerais civil police said they had no report of the case and could not say a crime had occurred.","incidentDate":"2026-10-09","incidentEndDate":"2026-10-13","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-13","aiSystem":"AI-generated video persona of a woman on a social-media video account, which its operator says is made with artificial intelligence; the generation tool and the platform are not named","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the man's account to G1, he travelled more than 2,000 km by bus to meet a woman from AI-generated videos who did not exist, found himself in Belo Horizonte without an address, said he felt deceived, and received food and a ticket home from the city's social assistance service.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the builder who travelled to Belo Horizonte. He is counted as harmed by others' use of AI because he encountered the persona's videos; he did not use an AI tool himself. The account's followers are an audience and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"BR-MG","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://g1.globo.com/mg/minas-gerais/noticia/2026/10/13/homem-viaja-mais-de-2-mil-km-entre-ma-e-mg-para-encontrar-pretende-virtual-mas-descobre-que-mulher-nao-existe-e-foi-criada-por-ia.ghtml","primarySourceLabel":"G1 Minas Gerais: man travels more than 2,000 km and finds his 'virtual suitor' was created by AI (13 October 2026)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-16T03:07:41.147679+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T03:07:41.147679+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["brazil","minas-gerais","ai-generated-persona","romance-deception","social-media","travel"]}]}