{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-02T15:47:43.795Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"cease-and-desist","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":1,"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-wisconsin-cooke-van-orden-ai-deepfake-videos-cease-and-desist","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Take, for example, the video posted to your X account on August 4, 2026.'; 'in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her.'; 'to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare.'; 'The video is pure fiction. The events depicted did not occur. Ms. Cooke never made the statements attributed to her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The letter specifically cites an AI video that Derrick Van Orden posted to his X account on Aug. 4, 2026.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A cease-and-desist letter sent on behalf of Cooke for Congress on 30 September 2026 says Van Orden posted to his X account on 4 August 2026 a video purporting to show Cooke speaking on the campaign trail in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her and attributing to her the statement that she seeks to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare; the letter says the events did not occur and she never made the statements.","causal_attribution":"The letter documents the campaign's description and allegation; it is a party's document, and the post itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'has repeatedly used artificial intelligence to post videos to his X account, showing Cooke saying things she never said.'; 'The videos posted to that platform come with an automatic label, indicating that they were made with \"Grok Imagine,\" an AI image and video generator.'; 'Let the peasants eat cake. They will vote for me anyway.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'your pattern of posting misleading AI-generated videos that falsely attribute statements to Ms. Cooke that she did not make'; 'posting myriad such videos.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Van Orden has repeatedly posted AI-generated videos to his X account showing Cooke saying things she never said, including an AI-generated version of her saying 'Let the peasants eat cake. They will vote for me anyway', and the videos carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine.","causal_attribution":"Wisconsin Public Radio's own description of the posts and their platform label, with the campaign letter alleging a pattern; whether the statements are false is the candidate's account."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'for the patently obvious purpose of harming Ms. Cooke’s reputation for your own political advantage'; 'deepfake statute only applies to communications by Wisconsin committees, and thus does not apply to federal candidates.'; 'Wisconsin’s common law of defamation fills the gaps yet remaining in Wisconsin’s statutory protections against fake AI'; 'we will evaluate all legal options to address that misconduct.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The letter alleges the videos are posted for the purpose of harming her reputation for political advantage, says Wisconsin's deepfake statute applies only to communications by Wisconsin committees and not to federal candidates, invokes the common law of defamation, and warns that her lawyers will evaluate all legal options if the conduct persists.","causal_attribution":"The letter establishes what the campaign alleges and threatens; the defamation allegation is untested."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'is instead spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in my mouth, pretending that I said things that I didn'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Cooke said in a statement that Van Orden is spending his time and energy producing AI videos putting words in her mouth.","causal_attribution":"The candidate's own statement, issued through her campaign."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Rebecca Cooke has spent six years running for office, lying to voters about who she is and her record'; 'Van Orden responded to the cease-and-desist letter with another Grok-assisted video.'; 'The short clip includes a red AI-generated duck.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Van Orden's campaign said Cooke has spent six years running for office lying to voters about who she is and her record, and Van Orden responded to the letter with another Grok-assisted video in which an AI-generated duck says 'Cease and desist!'.","causal_attribution":"Van Orden's campaign release and posts as reported by WPR; his reported responses do not address whether the attributed statements are fabricated."}],"effects":[{"label":"a congressional candidate was depicted in AI-generated videos posted by her opponent saying things she says she never said","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.wpr.org/news/cooke-cease-and-desist-letter-van-orden-ai-deepfakes","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-02 (Wisconsin Public Radio, Sarah Lehr, published 1 October 2026). Republished by Urban Milwaukee (also read). The description of the X posts and their Grok Imagine label is the reporter's own; the account of the letter derives from the letter.","independence_group":"wpr"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cqk8OPoIGN__tQeSgNPW0RqHYJr82Xuo/view","kind":"legal_letter","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Two-page letter dated 30 September 2026 from Ben Stafford, Elias Law Group, on behalf of Cooke for Congress, linked from the WEAU and Urban Milwaukee articles; downloaded from Google Drive on 2026-10-02 and converted with pdftotext. A party's own document: it establishes what the campaign alleges, not that the allegations are true.","independence_group":"cooke-campaign"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.weau.com/2026/09/30/rebecca-cooke-sends-derrick-van-orden-cease-desist-over-ai-deepfake-videos/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-10-02 (WEAU Staff, 30 September 2026). Based on the campaign's press release and the letter; Van Orden's statement to WEAU is announced but its text is not in the retrieved page.","independence_group":"cooke-campaign"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["elections","public_life"],"unknowns":["How many such videos were posted and when the first was posted; 4 August 2026 is the earliest specific post in the inspected sources.","Whether every video was made with Grok Imagine, as the platform label reported for the posts indicates, or with other tools.","Van Orden's statement to WEAU, which was not in the retrieved page.","Whether the campaign will pursue a defamation claim or other legal action."],"geography":{"basis":"The videos concern the race for Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, and the 4 August video purports to show the candidate in Eau Claire, Wisconsin (letter, WPR, WEAU). No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated) consistent with 2026-texas-goodwin-ai-deepfake-campaign-ads-sheriff-complaint: a candidate's lawyers' letter, read in full, documents the campaign's allegation that her opponent posted AI-generated videos showing her saying things she never said, and Wisconsin Public Radio describes the posts and their Grok Imagine label. The harm is reputational and electoral and is alleged by the candidate; the opponent's campaign disputes her account of her record.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-02"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The cease-and-desist letter calls the posts AI-generated deepfake videos, and Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos posted to X carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine. The response from Van Orden's campaign quoted by WPR does not address whether the videos are AI-generated (his statement to WEAU was not in the retrieved page), and WPR describes his answer to the letter as another Grok-assisted video.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Wisconsin: lawyers for congressional candidate Rebecca Cooke sent Rep. Derrick Van Orden a cease-and-desist letter on 30 September 2026 over AI-generated videos posted on his X account that show her making statements she never made; Wisconsin Public Radio reports the videos carry an automatic label indicating Grok Imagine","summary":"Rebecca Cooke, the Democratic challenger in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District, says Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden has repeatedly posted AI-generated videos to his X account that put words in her mouth. A cease-and-desist letter sent on her campaign's behalf on 30 September 2026 by Elias Law Group cites a video posted on 4 August 2026 that purports to show her speaking on the campaign trail in Eau Claire with former President Biden seated behind her and saying she seeks 'to take advantage of as much corruption as possible and give every illegal alien free healthcare'. The letter calls the video 'pure fiction', says she never made the statements, alleges the videos are posted to harm her reputation, and warns that her lawyers will evaluate all legal options. Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos posted to X carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine, and quotes two other AI-generated lines attributed to her. Van Orden's campaign accused Cooke of lying to voters about her record, and he answered the letter with another AI video of a duck saying 'Cease and desist!'.","incidentDate":"2026-08-04","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-30","aiSystem":"AI-generated videos depicting the candidate, posted on Rep. Van Orden's X account; Wisconsin Public Radio reports that the videos carry an automatic label indicating they were made with Grok Imagine, an AI image and video generator","aiProduct":"Grok Imagine (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A congressional candidate was depicted in AI-generated videos posted by her opponent on X saying things she says she never said; her lawyers' cease-and-desist letter alleges the videos are false and posted to harm her reputation, and the opponent's campaign accuses her of lying about her record.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, the candidate on whose behalf the letter was sent. Exact 1. Voters said to be misled are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-WI","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.wpr.org/news/cooke-cease-and-desist-letter-van-orden-ai-deepfakes","primarySourceLabel":"Wisconsin Public Radio, 1 October 2026: Cooke campaign sends cease-and-desist to Congressman Van Orden over AI deepfakes","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T03:12:28.898646+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T03:12:28.898646+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","political-deepfake","election","wisconsin","grok-imagine","x","cease-and-desist","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-negrar-italy-google-ai-overview-reported-false-death-notice-orthopedics-chief","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Interrogando il motore di ricerca il sistema ha infatti generato l’output secondo cui Zorzi sarebbe deceduto.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"tramite la funzionalità dell’intelligenza artificiale di Google denominata “AI Overwiew”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Il professor Zorzi sta bene, continua a dirigere il reparto di Ortopedia","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Interrogando il motore di ricerca il sistema ha generato l'output sbagliato.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Un luminare del ginocchio che però secondo l’intelligenza artificiale è passato a miglior vita.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The hospital states that, when the search engine was queried, Google's AI Overview feature generated an output saying that surgeon Claudio Zorzi had died, and that Zorzi is alive and still directs the department and operates.","causal_attribution":"The sources report the connection between the AI output and the reported consequence; no court, regulator or independent finding of causation was inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"scambiato per l’omonimo medico di famiglia","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"verosimilmente originato da un caso di omonimia","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"effettivamente deceduto era un medico di medicina generale","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The hospital and the press attribute the error to confusion with a homonymous general practitioner who died; Il Mattino states that a general practitioner of the same name did die.","causal_attribution":"The hospital says the error was 'verosimilmente' (probably) caused by a homonym. No source shows how the AI system produced the output."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"La notizia si era diffusa ad aprile scorso","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"risale allo scorso aprile","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"puntualmente viene riproposta in rete. È successo lo scorso settembre, succede anche adesso.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Il Mattino and Adnkronos report that the false news of the surgeon's death first spread in April (2025, by their October 2025 publication dates) and, according to Il Mattino, kept reappearing online despite a denial, including in September.","causal_attribution":"Adnkronos ties the April false news to Google's AI Overview in its own text. The hospital note relayed by Sanità Informazione says only that the false news spread 'di recente', and Il Mattino dates the 'death' to April without saying which service showed it. No source dates an AI Overview output."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Se la gente pensa che io sia morto, non mi cerca.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"si era pure rivolto alla Polizia postale per far togliere l’annuncio che lo dava per morto","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"manifestamente erronea e gravemente lesiva dell’immagine e della reputazione dell’ospedale e del suo primario Claudio Zorzi","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Il Mattino quotes Zorzi as saying he is alive and uncomfortable because people who think he is dead do not look for him, and reports that he turned to the postal police to have the notice removed. The hospital describes the false content as seriously damaging to its image and to the reputation of the department head.","causal_attribution":"The statements are attributed to Zorzi and the hospital by Il Mattino, and the place and date of the quotes are not stated. No loss of patients is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"ha dunque notificato, attraverso i suoi legali, un atto di diffida e messa in mora formale nei confronti di Google","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"L’ospedale si riserva inoltre ogni possibilità di agire in separata sede per ottenere risarcimento","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"a provvedere all’immediata e definitiva rettifica e cancellazione della falsa notizia del decesso del professor Zorzi da ogni servizio Google","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"formalmente intimato e diffidato Google a provvedere all'immediata e definitiva rettifica e cancellazione","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On or before 15 October 2025 the hospital, through its lawyers, served Google with a formal cease-and-desist and default notice demanding correction and deletion of the false death notice from all Google services including AI Overview, search results and cached pages, and reserved court action and a damages claim.","causal_attribution":"The hospital's own announcement of its own action, relayed by three outlets that share one chain; the notice itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"in provincia di Verona","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"IRCCS Sacro Cuore-Don Calabria di Negrar (Verona)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The hospital is located in Negrar, in the province of Verona.","causal_attribution":"Location statement only."}],"effects":[{"label":"Named surgeon reported as dead by a search-engine AI summary while alive and practising","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Reported reputational harm and discomfort that people who think the surgeon is dead do not look for him","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.sanitainformazione.it/lirccs-di-negrar-diffida-google-per-la-falsa-notizia-sulla-morte-del-primario-claudio-zorzi/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Italian original read directly by the reviewer (machine-assisted reading, no human translator).","independence_group":"irccs-negrar-note"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ilmattino.it/primopiano/cronaca/claudio_zorzi_morto_ortopedia_falso_ospedale_diffida_google-9130583.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Italian original read directly (machine-assisted reading, no human translator). The page is marked for premium subscribers; its saved text runs to the closing copyright line.","independence_group":"il-mattino-own-reporting-and-irccs-note"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://comunicazioneitaliana.it/news/53df45ea0d4a52772c315ac4521d4da6","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Adnkronos wire text republished by a communications site. Italian original read directly (machine-assisted reading, no human translator).","independence_group":"irccs-negrar-note"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.salutextutti.it/fake-news-sulla-morte-del-primario-di-ortopedia-allirccs-di-negrar-scatta-la-diffida-a-google/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Italian original read directly (machine-assisted reading, no human translator). This rewrite adds statements that conflict with the other sources on dates and is used only for the location of the hospital.","independence_group":"irccs-negrar-note"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["health","work"],"unknowns":["The AI Overview output was not inspected and no screenshot is described in the sources. No source dates an AI Overview output: the sources date the false news to April (year not printed, read as 2025 from the October 2025 article dates), and Adnkronos alone ties the April news to AI Overview.","Whether the hospital's April-to-October timeline concerns the AI Overview or other web pages is not settled. Salutextutti says the news 'emerged on 15 October 2025' and 'in April 2025', which is inconsistent, so that outlet is used only for the hospital location.","No Google response, correction or removal is reported in the inspected sources.","Il Mattino says the hospital explained 'un mese fa' (about a month before 16 October 2025) that its surgeon was in good health, and that the hospital also published a post saying he was not dead. The date of the post is not stated.","Where and when Zorzi's quoted statements were made is not stated. The Il Mattino quote about patients may come from an earlier interview.","No loss of patients, income or other concrete consequence beyond the reported reputational damage and the police report is described.","Il Mattino is marked for premium subscribers. The saved text runs to the closing '© RIPRODUZIONE RISERVATA' line with no mid-word break and is treated as the whole article, although a paywall could hide text the page did not show."],"geography":{"basis":"Sanità Informazione and Salutextutti place the surgeon's hospital in Negrar, in the province of Verona. Where searchers entered the queries is not stated, so no event country is recorded and no country is inferred from the language or the outlets.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["IT"]},"publication":{"basis":"Four Italian reports read (Il Mattino is marked for premium subscribers; its saved text is complete to the closing copyright line). Three (Sanità Informazione, Adnkronos, Salutextutti) relay the hospital's note of 15 October 2025 and are one reporting chain. Il Mattino adds its own reporting with quotes from the surgeon and background on the homonym. The surgeon is named because his hospital named him in its own public note and post and because Il Mattino quotes him by name (for example: 'Sono vivo, sano e vegeto, perfettamente efficiente'). The AI Overview output was not inspected, so the account is reported, and the date is the month in which the press says the false news spread.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The hospital's note, relayed by Sanità Informazione, Adnkronos and others, says the system generated the output that the surgeon had died. Il Mattino writes that 'according to the artificial intelligence' the surgeon had died. The AI Overview output was not inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Google AI Overview reportedly states that an orthopedic surgeon in Negrar is dead after a homonym's death","summary":"Italian outlets report that Google's AI Overview feature told searchers that Claudio Zorzi, head of orthopedics and traumatology at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria hospital in Negrar (Verona), had died. According to the hospital, the surgeon is alive and operating, and the error probably came from confusion with a general practitioner of the same name who died. The false news is reported to have circulated since April 2025 and to have recurred. Zorzi said he felt uncomfortable because people who think he is dead do not look for him, and he reported the notice to the postal police. On 15 October 2025 the hospital served Google, through its lawyers, with a formal cease-and-desist and default notice and reserved a damages claim. No Google response was found. The AI Overview output itself was not inspected.","incidentDate":"2025-04-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-10-15","aiSystem":"AI Overviews (Google Search)","aiProduct":"Google AI Overviews","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The hospital describes the false death notice as seriously damaging to the image and reputation of the hospital and its department head. Zorzi says he is uncomfortable because people who think he is dead do not look for him, and he asked the postal police to have the notice removed (his statements as quoted by Il Mattino). No loss of patients or income is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the surgeon named as dead. The hospital is an organisation and is not counted. The doctor who actually died and that doctor's family are not reported as harmed by the AI output and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.sanitainformazione.it/lirccs-di-negrar-diffida-google-per-la-falsa-notizia-sulla-morte-del-primario-claudio-zorzi/","primarySourceLabel":"Sanità Informazione: L'IRCCS di Negrar diffida Google per la falsa notizia sulla morte del primario Claudio Zorzi","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T14:02:31.994209+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:11.195309+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]}]}