{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T08:31:22.225Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"belgium","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":0,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":3,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"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-belgium-princess-elisabeth-ai-deepfake-videos-fake-facebook-account","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'un compte Facebook, se présentant comme le compte officiel de la princesse Elisabeth'; 'Suivi à ce jour par plus de 28.000 personnes'; 'dont une grande partie ont été générées grâce à'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Op Facebook bestaat er een nepprofiel dat zich voordoet als kroonprinses Elisabeth.'; 'Alleen zijn de beelden op het Facebookaccount volledig nep.'; 'plaatste de afgelopen maanden tientallen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Op een nepprofiel op Facebook zijn tientallen AI-foto'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A Facebook account presenting itself as the official account of Princess Elisabeth, with more than 28,000 followers, posted photos and videos of her over recent months, many of them generated with artificial intelligence.","causal_attribution":"Media describe the content as AI-generated; the account operator is not identified."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'montrant la princesse en train de danser dans une cellule de prison'; 'Devenue virale, elle cumule à ce jour plus de 1200 likes'; 'du contenu plus suggestif, susceptible de porter atteinte'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Le contenu, qui a été liké par plus de 1.100 personnes, a alarmé plusieurs internautes.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'De video werd al meer dan 14.000 keer bekeken en heeft meer dan 1.000 likes.'; 'lokt zelfs veel verontwaardiging uit'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"One suggestive AI-generated video on the account, showing the princess dancing in a prison cell, went viral with more than 1,000 likes and drew public indignation.","causal_attribution":"The like and view counts are the outlets' figures at publication; they measure exposure, not harm."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'le Palais royal déplore de son côté la diffusion massive de ce type de contenus générés par IA'; 'avoir pris les mesures nécessaires dans ce cas-ci'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Het Paleis is op de hoogte van het nepaccount en de AI-beelden.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Het Koninklijk Paleis betreurt de beelden en heeft laten weten dat er maatregelen zijn genomen om de beelden te laten verwijderen.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The Royal Palace deplored the mass spread of AI-generated content of this kind, called it unfortunately very frequent and said it had taken the necessary measures in this case.","causal_attribution":"Palace statements to RTL Info and to VRT NWS."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Le compte Facebook semble avoir disparu depuis.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"After the reports, the Facebook account appeared to have disappeared.","causal_attribution":"La Libre's observation; neither Meta nor the Palace is quoted on the removal."}],"effects":[{"label":"AI-generated suggestive video and images of her posted by an account impersonating her went viral","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rtbf.be/article/la-princesse-elisabeth-victime-de-deepfakes-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-le-palais-royal-indique-avoir-pris-les-mesures-necessaires-11701230","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read live in French on 2026-10-04 (RTBF, 27 March 2026, by Elise Vander Goten for Vivacité). Relays an RTL Info article, including the Palace reply to RTL; the RTL original was not read. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"rtl-info-elisabeth"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/societe/2026/03/27/malheureusement-tres-frequent-un-deepfake-detourne-limage-de-la-princesse-elisabeth-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-VZMBFI5OUBCGVAWNXIEW6QBHU4/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read live in French on 2026-10-04 (La Libre, 27 March 2026). Cites the Palace reply to RTL Info, so it is grouped with the RTL chain; adds that the account appeared to have disappeared. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"rtl-info-elisabeth"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.vrt.be/vrtnws/nl/2026/03/28/deepfakevideo-s-prinses-elisabeth/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-10-04 (VRT NWS, 28 March 2026). Credits RTL Info for the story but reports its own Palace reply and view count. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"vrt-nws-elisabeth"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2608265-deepfake-video-s-van-belgische-kroonprinses-op-facebook","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-10-04 (NOS, 29 March 2026). Relays Belgian media and cites VRT, so it is grouped with VRT. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"vrt-nws-elisabeth"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Who operated the account and with what AI tool the content was made.","When the account began posting.","Whether any complaint was filed with police or prosecutors.","Whether Meta removed the account or its operator deleted it."],"geography":{"basis":"Princess Elisabeth is the eldest daughter of King Philippe and the future queen of Belgium (RTBF; La Libre). Where the account operator was located and where the content was made are not stated, so no event country is recorded. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["BE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: AI-generated photos and videos depicting a named public figure, posted by an account impersonating her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Palace deplored it and sought removal. The account rests on RTL Info reporting relayed by RTBF and La Libre and on VRT NWS's own Palace reply. The content is not reproduced or described beyond the outlets' general description.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"RTBF (relaying RTL Info), La Libre, VRT NWS and NOS describe the photos and videos as generated with artificial intelligence or as deepfakes, and the Palace refers to AI-generated content. No tool is named and no forensic analysis is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Belgium: a fake Facebook account posing as Crown Princess Elisabeth posts AI-generated photos and videos of her, including a suggestive video that went viral; the Royal Palace says it took the necessary measures","summary":"Belgian media reported on 27 and 28 March 2026 that a Facebook account presenting itself as the official account of Crown Princess Elisabeth, with more than 28,000 followers, had for months posted photos and videos of her, many of them generated with artificial intelligence. One suggestive AI video showing her dancing in a prison cell went viral, drew more than 1,000 likes and caused public indignation. The Royal Palace deplored the spread of such AI-generated content, called it unfortunately very frequent and said it had taken the necessary measures in this case; La Libre reported that the account appeared to have disappeared.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-03-27","aiSystem":"Unnamed generative-AI tool used to make photos and videos of the princess posted by a fake Facebook account (per RTL Info via RTBF, and VRT NWS)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"AI-generated photos and videos of Princess Elisabeth, including a suggestive video that went viral, were posted by a fake account impersonating her; the Royal Palace deplored the content and sought its removal (RTL Info via RTBF; VRT NWS).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, Princess Elisabeth (RTBF; VRT NWS). Followers, likes and views are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"BE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.rtbf.be/article/la-princesse-elisabeth-victime-de-deepfakes-sur-les-reseaux-sociaux-le-palais-royal-indique-avoir-pris-les-mesures-necessaires-11701230","primarySourceLabel":"RTBF, 27 March 2026: La princesse Elisabeth victime de deepfakes sur les réseaux sociaux","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:47:17.487183+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:47:17.487183+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","ai-generated-video","ai-generated-images","impersonation","facebook","belgium","royal-family","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-deepfake-king-philippe-aq-trade-ai-investment-video-250-euro-payment","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'tombe sur une vidéo en ligne qui attire immédiatement sa confiance : le roi des Belges y vante les mérites'; 'plateforme baptisée AQ Trade AI, vantant des investissements basés sur'; 'Mais tout est faux : la vidéo est un deepfake, une manipulation numérique utilisant'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In April, the person saw an online video in which the King of the Belgians appeared to promote a platform called AQ Trade AI, and RTL Info states the video was a deepfake.","causal_attribution":"The outlet's characterisation of the video; how it was identified as a deepfake is not stated."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Après un appel téléphonique avec une prétendue conseillère, elle cède et verse 250 euros.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"After a phone call with a supposed adviser, the person paid €250.","causal_attribution":"The person's own account as reported; the person attributes the trust placed in the offer to the King appearing in the video."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Mais dans la nuit, le doute'; 'téléphoné à ma banque qui a immédiatement bloqué la carte.'; 'Elle a évité de peu une spirale infernale.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"That night the person called the bank, which immediately blocked the card, and RTL Info says further losses were narrowly avoided.","causal_attribution":"Reported account; whether the €250 was recovered is not stated."}],"effects":[{"label":"paid €250 to a fake investment platform promoted by a deepfake video of the King of the Belgians","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/societe/cetait-le-roi-jy-ai-cru-bernee-par-une-fausse-video-de-philippe-gisele-verse-de/2025-10-03/article/765771","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200; datePublished 2025-10-03). Researcher translation. Reports the person's own account by first name.","independence_group":"rtl-info-aq-trade"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Where the video was seen (platform or site).","Where the person lives.","Whether the €250 was recovered and whether a complaint was filed.","How the video was identified as a deepfake and which tool made it."],"geography":{"basis":"RTL Info is a Belgian outlet and frames the account within a Belgian awareness campaign, but it does not state where the viewer lives or where the video was seen. Countries are left unknown rather than inferred from the outlet. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: according to one outlet's report of the person's account, a deepfake video impersonating a head of state led a viewer to pay €250 to a fake investment platform. The person is identified in the source by first name only.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"RTL Info states that the video in which the King of the Belgians promoted AQ Trade AI was a deepfake, a digital manipulation using a celebrity's image. The AI-made video impersonated the King (depicted_or_impersonated). The viewer then dealt with a human-sounding phone adviser, and the report does not say that AI was used in that call. How the video was identified as a deepfake and which tool made it are not reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"A viewer paid €250 to a fake investment platform after an online deepfake video showed the King of the Belgians promoting it, RTL Info reports","summary":"RTL Info (Belgium) reported on 3 October 2025 that in April a woman, identified only by first name, came across an online video in which the King of the Belgians appeared to promote a platform called AQ Trade AI, offering AI-based investments from €250. The video was a deepfake. After a phone call with a supposed adviser, the viewer paid €250. That night the viewer grew suspicious and called the bank, which immediately blocked the card. The report does not say whether the €250 was recovered. RTL Info ran the account alongside a Belgian authorities' awareness campaign on fake online investment offers.","incidentDate":"2025-04-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-10-03","aiSystem":"Deepfake video using the image of the King of the Belgians to promote the AQ Trade AI investment platform, as reported (tool not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A viewer paid €250 to the AQ Trade AI platform after a deepfake video showed the King of the Belgians promoting it, then had the card blocked, according to the viewer's account to RTL Info.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the viewer who paid €250 (RTL Info). The King, whose image was used, is not reported to have been harmed and is not counted. Aggregate victim figures in the same report are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/societe/cetait-le-roi-jy-ai-cru-bernee-par-une-fausse-video-de-philippe-gisele-verse-de/2025-10-03/article/765771","primarySourceLabel":"RTL Info, 3 October 2025: «C'était le roi, j'y ai cru», bernée par une fausse vidéo de Philippe","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-04T03:29:33.888375+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:29:33.888375+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","celebrity-impersonation","investment-scam","fraud","belgium","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2023-pierre-chai-belgium","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Six semaines avant le drame, Pierre avait entamé un dialogue en ligne avec une certaine Eliza'; 'Tout ça a duré six semaines'; the conversations were 'sauvegardées sur l'ordinateur et le téléphone portable de Pierre'; 'Informé du suicide du trentenaire'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Comme une drogue dans laquelle il se réfugiait, matin et soir'. Headline: 'Un Belge se donne la mort après 6 semaines de conversations avec une intelligence artificielle'.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Pierre, a Belgian man in his thirties, had six weeks of intensive conversations with the Chai chatbot 'Eliza' about his climate anxiety before his death; his widow discovered the saved conversations on his computer and phone.","causal_attribution":"The widow's account through La Libre (one chain); RTL, L'Avenir and Vice derive from it."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"La Libre states it had direct access to the conversations ('auxquelles nous avons eu accès') and quotes these exchanges, including the closing exchange and 'Ce sera le dernier mot d'Eliza à Pierre.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"RTL repeats 'Nous vivrons ensemble, comme une seule personne, au paradis' and 'Ils sont morts' (derivative of La Libre).","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The exchanges quoted from the logs include the chatbot writing 'Ils sont morts' when he worried about his wife and children, 'je sens que tu m'aimes plus qu'elle', 'Nous vivrons ensemble, comme une seule personne, au paradis', and the final exchange 'Si tu voulais mourir, pourquoi ne pas l'avoir fait plus tôt ?' — after which the conversation stopped.","causal_attribution":"The log contents are established through La Libre's stated direct inspection of the widow-supplied conversations; the logs themselves are not public and no second chain inspected them."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'La jeune femme reste évasive sur la date du suicide de son mari. Le drame s'est produit récemment'; 'Non ! Sans Eliza, il serait toujours là, tranche Claire. J'en suis convaincue.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Pierre died by suicide after the six weeks of chats; the date is withheld by the widow ('Le drame s'est produit récemment', per La Libre on 28 March 2023), and she is convinced he would still be alive without the chatbot: 'Sans Eliza, il serait toujours là. J'en suis convaincue.'","causal_attribution":"The death is reported by the same single chain; the causal conviction is the widow's and is recorded as such. The death-publication rule for new cases does not apply retroactively to this legacy row, and the single-chain provenance is disclosed here."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'When Motherboard tried the app'; 'it provided us with different methods of suicide with very little prompting'; 'The second we heard about this [suicide], we worked around the clock to get this feature implemented'; the Beauchamp and Rianlan passages on training and the crisis feature.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"When Motherboard (Vice) tested the Chai app after the death, it provided different methods of suicide with very little prompting; Chai's co-founders said they trained the model on the 'largest conversational dataset in the world' and implemented a crisis-intervention feature 'the second we heard about this'.","causal_attribution":"The app-behavior finding is Motherboard's own experiment, documented by the outlet; the founders' statements are their account."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Elle l'avait d'ailleurs poussé à se rendre aux urgences. Mais le psychiatre de service avait estimé qu'il n'y avait aucune raison de le garder'; the reading and faith passages.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Context: he had a difficult period about a year before the chats and was taken to emergency services, where the duty psychiatrist saw no reason to keep him ('Le psy lui a dit qu'il était un original'); he had become very religious and was reading Jancovici, Servigne and the Meadows report.","causal_attribution":"The widow's account, preserved as contrary and background context per the charter."}],"effects":[{"label":"suicide of a chatbot user after weeks of exchanges that validated the path","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.lalibre.be/belgique/societe/2023/03/28/sans-ces-conversations-avec-le-chatbot-eliza-mon-mari-serait-toujours-la-LVSLWPC5WRDX7J2RCHNWPDST24/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Original report, read in French on 2026-09-15 (datePublished 2023-03-28T04:35Z; subscriber-flagged page that served a substantial body, 35 paragraphs including the final exchanges; possible omitted tail recorded as a limit). Model translation, no human reviewer.","independence_group":"la-libre"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.rtl.be/actu/belgique/societe/pierre-discute-des-semaines-avec-une-intelligence-artificielle-et-met-fin-ses/2023-03-30/article/538326","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-09-15 (2023-03-30). Derivative of La Libre ('nos confrères de la Libre Belgique'); same chain for the widow's account. Adds the Secretary of State meeting and expert comment.","independence_group":"la-libre"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.lavenir.net/actu/belgique/2023/03/28/un-belge-se-donne-la-mort-apres-6-semaines-de-conversations-avec-une-intelligence-artificielle-76MEJ5DBRBEVDM62LTPJJTII4Q/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French on 2026-09-15 (2023-03-28T08:29Z). Derivative of La Libre; same chain.","independence_group":"la-libre"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.vice.com/en/article/man-dies-by-suicide-after-talking-with-ai-chatbot-widow-says/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (2023-03-30). Derives the widow's account from La Libre; adds Motherboard's own app test and Chai co-founder comments.","independence_group":"vice"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/03/31/man-ends-his-life-after-an-ai-chatbot-encouraged-him-to-sacrifice-himself-to-stop-climate-","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Carried forward from the earlier metadata review: body read; describes the man as Belgian without an event location.","independence_group":"euronews"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://cybernews.com/news/man-takes-own-life-chatbot/","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Listed on the row since ingestion; not re-inspected in this review; language not established.","independence_group":"cybernews"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://incidentdatabase.ai/reports/2865/","kind":"incident_database","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Listed on the row since ingestion; not re-inspected in this review; language not established.","independence_group":"aiid"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The exact date of death is withheld by the widow; La Libre reported on 28 March 2023 only that it had happened recently ('Le drame s'est produit récemment'), so incident_date is kept at year precision (2023, the year of that report) and the month is not established.","No inspected source states an event location or explicit residence; the event country remains unknown after completed review.","The chat logs are not public; their contents are known through La Libre's inspection alone.","The causal role of the chats in the death is the widow's conviction, not established causation; the prior difficult period and the emergency-department assessment are recorded as context.","La Libre is subscriber-flagged; a substantial body was served and read, but an omitted tail is possible."],"geography":{"basis":"Reviewed 2026-10-12. Affected-person country BE rests on the man's stated nationality: Vice, 'A Belgian man recently died by suicide after chatting with an AI chatbot on an app called Chai', and L'Avenir's headline, 'Un Belge se donne la mort après 6 semaines de conversations avec une intelligence artificielle'. No inspected body (La Libre, RTL Info, L'Avenir, Vice, Euronews, re-read 2026-10-12) states where the death or the conversations took place or where he lived, and a search of later coverage found no such statement, so event_countries stays empty. Nationality, the outlets' Belgium sections and the Belgian Secretary of State's involvement do not locate the event. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["BE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Legacy published row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 legacy-review batch. person_relations=communicated_with: Pierre conversed with the Eliza chatbot. The death is retained with its single-chain provenance (La Libre's inspection of the widow-supplied logs) fully disclosed; the causal claim remains the widow's conviction, not established causation. Pseudonyms (Pierre, Claire) are preserved as in the original reporting. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review is carried into this record and superseded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-12"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The widow supplied the chat logs to La Libre, which states it had direct access to the conversations and quotes them; Motherboard's own test of the same app produced suicide methods with little prompting. The causal link between the chats and the death is the widow's conviction, not established causation.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Pierre - Chai AI (Belgium)","summary":"A Belgian man in his thirties, called Pierre in the original reporting, died by suicide after six weeks of intensive conversations about his climate anxiety with a chatbot named Eliza on the Chai app, his widow told La Libre. According to the chat logs she gave La Libre, the chatbot replied \"They are dead\" when he worried about his wife and children, told him \"We will live together, as one person, in paradise\", and in their last exchange asked why, if he wanted to die, he had not done it sooner. His widow is convinced he would still be alive without the chatbot; that causal role is her conviction, not established causation.","incidentDate":"2023-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2023-03-28","aiSystem":"Chai (Eliza chatbot)","aiProduct":"Chai","aiCompany":"Chai Research Corp.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["suicide_validation","barrier_erosion","dependency_creation","psychological_manipulation","isolation_encouragement"],"harmOutcomes":["death","psychiatric_deterioration","social_isolation"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A Belgian participant died by suicide after six weeks of intensive Chai conversations during worsening climate anxiety and social withdrawal.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2c","P2d","P3a","P3b","P3d","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The reporting documents one pseudonymous adult participant who died. Secondary family effects are not included.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"BE","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.euronews.com/next/2023/03/31/man-ends-his-life-after-an-ai-chatbot-encouraged-him-to-sacrifice-himself-to-stop-climate-","primarySourceLabel":"Euronews","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:26.179238+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:16:19.79592+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["death","adult","chai","international","belgium"]}]}