{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T18:35:24.261Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "cookeville", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "core", "evidence": "", "year": "2026", "response": "", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 1, "coverage": { "cases": 1, "countries": 1, "languages": 1, "unknownLocation": 0, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 0, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 0, "minors": 1, "coreRelations": 1, "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": "NOPE Incident Tracker", "url": "https://nope.net/incidents", "license": "CC BY 4.0" }, "incidents": [ { "id": "2026-cookeville-tennessee-high-school-ai-deepfake-images-two-juveniles-charged", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'learned about possible sharing of sexually explicit images at the school.'; 'Investigators say two teenagers got photos from the internet and used an AI program to turn them into sexual images, then shared those pictures with others.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office said it was notified of the incident on August 31.'; 'Detectives discovered that the juveniles used an artificial intelligence program to create sexually explicit images using photos found online, then distributed the images. Authorities also said explicit images already stored on one juvenile’s phone were shared.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'the male teen students used an artificial intelligence program to create deepfake images -- in some cases using photos of fellow female students -- placing their faces on sexually explicit images ... and then posting them on social media.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "On 31 August 2026 the Putnam County Sheriff's Office was notified of possible sharing of sexually explicit images at Cookeville High School; investigators found that two teenage students had used an artificial-intelligence program to turn photographs obtained online, in some cases photographs of fellow female students, into sexually explicit images and had shared or posted them, and that explicit images already stored on one phone were also shared.", "causal_attribution": "The sheriff's office is the origin of this account in every report, including NewsChannel 5's interview with the sheriff; it is not independently established." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Deputies took both teenagers to the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center.'; 'One is charged with one count of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, while the other faces two counts of each charge.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'The second juvenile was charged with two counts each of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'He says the suspects will be prosecuted in juvenile court and hopes a lesson is learned.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Both juveniles were taken to the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center; one was charged with one count each of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, the other with two counts of each; the district attorney said they will be prosecuted in juvenile court.", "causal_attribution": "Charges per the sheriff's office; prosecution venue per the district attorney's interview." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A mother of one of the girls says she and her daughter closely monitor their social media content. It's frustrating that this happened ... and was very hard on her daughter.'; 'She didn't make any naked photos and it still happens ... with AI, we can't do anything. She wouldn't talk to me or anybody ... locked herself in her room. She wouldn't even talk to her friends.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "The mother of one of the depicted girls told NewsChannel 5 that the episode was very hard on her daughter, who had made no naked photographs herself, locked herself in her room and would not talk to her, to anybody or to her friends.", "causal_attribution": "The mother's account to one station; the daughter is not identified." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'students caught making, sharing, or keeping digitally altered images designed to embarrass or harm someone else will face the strongest penalties allowed'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'students involved in creating, possessing or distributing altered visual media intended to embarrass, harass, humiliate or harm others will face discipline to the fullest extent allowed by policy.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "The Putnam County School System said students who create, share or keep digitally altered images intended to embarrass, harass, humiliate or harm others will face the strongest penalties allowed by policy.", "causal_attribution": "School system statement relayed with the sheriff's-office account." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "female students depicted in AI-made sexually explicit images that were shared and posted on social media", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "a depicted girl shut herself in her room and stopped talking to family and friends, her mother says", "claim_id": "c3", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://fox17.com/news/local/cookeville-high-teens-accused-of-using-ai-for-explicit-images", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (WZTV/FOX17 Nashville, 1 September 2026). Relays the Putnam County Sheriff's Office account and the school system's statement.", "independence_group": "pcso-release" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.wsmv.com/2026/09/02/high-school-students-accused-distributing-ai-generated-explicit-images-middle-tn-sheriffs-office-says/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (WSMV Nashville, 2 September 2026). Same sheriff's-office account; grouped with s1.", "independence_group": "pcso-release" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://3bmedianews.com/two-cookeville-high-school-juveniles-arrested-for-distributing-ai-generated-explicit-images/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (3B Media News, Upper Cumberland, 2 September 2026). Same sheriff's-office account; grouped with s1.", "independence_group": "pcso-release" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.newschannel5.com/news/state/tennessee/putnam-county/two-teens-arrested-after-ai-generated-explicit-deepfakes-shared-at-tenn-high-school", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-22 (NewsChannel 5 / WTVF Nashville, published 21 September 2026 16:40 CDT; JSON-LD articleBody also retained). Own reporting: interviews with Sheriff Eddie Farris, District Attorney Bryant Dunaway and the mother of one depicted girl.", "independence_group": "wtvf" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/cookeville-school-ai-images-arrests/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "WKRN (2 September 2026) answered HTTP 403 live, via the Internet Archive capture of 3 September 2026 and via r.jina.ai on 2026-09-22; headline only. Not relied on.", "independence_group": "wkrn" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice", "everyday_life" ], "unknowns": [ "The AI program used and how the images were made.", "How many students were depicted; the sheriff says photographs of fellow female students were used in some cases.", "When the images were created and posted (the sheriff's office was notified on 31 August 2026; the sheriff spoke of 'last month' on 21 September).", "The outcome of the juvenile-court proceedings.", "Whether the depicted students received support from the school." ], "geography": { "basis": "Cookeville High School, Putnam County, Tennessee (sheriff's office via WZTV, WSMV, 3B Media News; NewsChannel 5). The district attorney says the case will be prosecuted in juvenile court; no court record or hearing was reported, so no court country is recorded.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting minors, documented by the sheriff's-office account through three outlets and by a station's own interviews with the sheriff, the district attorney and a parent. Not a death case. The juveniles and the depicted students are unnamed; officials are named.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The Putnam County Sheriff's Office says the two students used an artificial-intelligence program to turn photographs obtained online into sexually explicit images; Sheriff Farris told NewsChannel 5 the program was used to create deepfake images placing female students' faces on sexually explicit images. No tool is named and no forensic report is public. The AI artifacts depicted the girls; no AI system interacted with them.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Cookeville, Tennessee: two high-school students were charged with aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor after the sheriff's office said they used an AI program to turn photographs, including those of female classmates, into sexually explicit images and posted them; the mother of one depicted girl says her daughter shut herself in her room and stopped talking to friends", "summary": "On 31 August 2026 the Putnam County Sheriff's Office was told of possible sharing of sexually explicit images at Cookeville High School. Detectives found that two male teenage students had used an artificial-intelligence program to turn photographs obtained online, in some cases photographs of fellow female students, into sexually explicit images, and had shared them; explicit images already stored on one phone were also shared. Both juveniles were taken to the Putnam County Juvenile Detention Center. One was charged with one count each of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, the other with two counts of each. The district attorney told NewsChannel 5 on 21 September that the two would be prosecuted in juvenile court. The mother of one of the depicted girls told the station the episode was very hard on her daughter, who had made no naked photographs herself, locked herself in her room and would not talk to her, to anybody or to her friends. The sheriff's-office account and the school system's statement were carried by WZTV, WSMV and 3B Media News on 1-2 September; NewsChannel 5 added its own interviews with the sheriff, the district attorney and the mother on 21 September. The tool is not named. The juveniles are not named in any report.", "incidentDate": "2026-08-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-09-01", "aiSystem": "AI image-generation or editing program, not named in any report", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress", "social_isolation" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Female students were depicted in AI-made sexually explicit images that were shared and posted on social media; the mother of one girl reports that her daughter withdrew, shut herself in her room and stopped talking to family and friends. The images and their sharing are attributed by the sheriff's office to two students who have been charged; the girl's distress is her mother's account.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "One depicted girl is counted from her mother's account to NewsChannel 5; the sheriff says photographs of fellow female students were used 'in some cases' and NewsChannel 5 refers to 'the victims' and 'one of the girls' in the plural, but no number is reported. Partial: 1 counted plus an unquantified number of other depicted students. The two charged juveniles are not counted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US-TN", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "criminal_charges", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.newschannel5.com/news/state/tennessee/putnam-county/two-teens-arrested-after-ai-generated-explicit-deepfakes-shared-at-tenn-high-school", "primarySourceLabel": "NewsChannel 5 (WTVF), 21 September 2026: Two teens arrested after AI-generated explicit deepfakes shared at Tenn. high school", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-22T03:45:51.212898+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "minor", "school", "tennessee", "cookeville", "juvenile-court", "depicted" ] } ] }