{ "meta": { "exportedAt": "2026-09-22T13:51:05.191Z", "formatVersion": 2, "selection": { "q": "depicted", "system": "", "harm": "", "context": "", "country": "", "role": "", "relation": "", "evidence": "", "year": "", "response": "regulatory", "severity": "", "verification": "", "view": "incidents", "sort": "added" }, "totalIncidents": 13, "coverage": { "cases": 13, "countries": 8, "languages": 8, "unknownLocation": 1, "locationPending": 0, "unknownLanguage": 0, "unknownDate": 0, "lawsuits": 0, "regulatory": 13, "minors": 8, "coreRelations": 13, "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-berlin-weissensee-heinz-brandt-schule-ai-nude-images-classmates", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'An der Heinz-Brandt-Schule in Berlin-Weißensee wird gegen zwei Schüler wegen des Verdachts ermittelt, KI-generierte sexualisierte Nacktbilder von Mitschülerinnen erstellt und verbreitet zu haben.'; 'Die Senatsverwaltung für Bildung bestätigte dem Tagesspiegel die Vorfälle und die laufenden Ermittlungen.'; 'Den Schülern sollen mindestens drei Fälle vorgeworfen werden. Die Schulleitung informierte die Schulgemeinschaft, dass sie am vergangenen Freitag von den Vorfällen erfahren habe.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Two pupils of the Heinz-Brandt-Schule in Berlin-Weißensee are suspected of having created and distributed AI-generated sexualised nude images of female classmates in at least three cases; the school leadership learned of the incidents on 'the previous Friday' (19 June 2026, read relative to the 24 June 2026 report), informed parents in a letter, and the Senate Department for Education confirmed the incidents and the investigation.", "causal_attribution": "The school's letter and the Senate confirmation as reported by the Tagesspiegel; 'vergangenen Freitag' before the 24 June 2026 report is 19 June 2026." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Die beiden mutmaßlich hauptverantwortlichen Schüler seien mit sofortiger Wirkung vom Unterricht suspendiert worden. Zudem habe die Schule Maßnahmen gegen Schülerinnen und Schüler verhängt, die von den Bildern gewusst, die Vorfälle jedoch nicht gemeldet haben sollen.'; 'In dem Schreiben bezeichnet die Schulleitung die mutmaßlichen Taten als „massiven Angriff auf die Persönlichkeitsrechte der betroffenen Schülerinnen“ und als „Form sexualisierter Gewalt“.'; 'Als Reaktion wolle die Schule ihr Präventionskonzept sowie das Konzept zur Sexualerziehung überarbeiten.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The two pupils alleged to be mainly responsible were suspended from lessons with immediate effect and the school imposed measures on pupils who are said to have known of the images and not reported them; the school called the alleged acts a massive attack on the affected girls' personality rights and a form of sexualised violence and said it would revise its prevention and sex-education concepts.", "causal_attribution": "The school's letter as reported." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'„Es liegen Anzeigen wegen der Erstellung sogenannter Deepfakes vor“, sagte ein Sprecher der Berliner Polizei.'; 'Die Ermittlungen dazu habe die Abteilung des Landeskriminalamts übernommen, die für Sexualdelikte zum Nachteil Minderjähriger zuständig sei.'; 'Dabei komme eine Strafbarkeit wegen des Besitzes, der Beschaffung, der Erstellung oder Verbreitung von Jugendpornografie nach Paragraf 184 c des Strafgesetzbuchs in Betracht.'; 'Die Schule habe die Polizei eingeschaltet, die Ermittlungen würden im Auftrag der Staatsanwaltschaft geführt.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "A Berlin police spokesman said complaints had been filed over the creation of deepfakes, that the State Criminal Police Office unit for sexual offences against minors had taken over the investigation, and that liability for possessing, obtaining, creating or distributing youth pornography under section 184c of the Criminal Code was under consideration; the school's letter says the investigation is conducted on behalf of the public prosecutor.", "causal_attribution": "Police spokesman as quoted by the Tagesspiegel; the prosecutor's role is the school letter's statement." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "female pupils depicted in AI-generated sexualised nude images distributed at their school, described by the school as sexualised violence", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/schule/polizei-eingeschaltet-jugendliche-sollen-ki-nacktbilder-von-mitschulerinnen-an-berliner-schule-verbreitet-haben-15754057.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "de", "translation_note": "Read live in German on 2026-09-22 (Der Tagesspiegel, 24 June 2026 14:39, marked 'Update', with dpa). Own reporting: the school leadership's letter to parents, statements from the Senate Department for Education, a Berlin police spokesman and the Pankow district parents' committee. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "tagesspiegel" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "How many girls were depicted; 'at least three cases' is a count of alleged acts, not of persons.", "The ages of the suspects and of the depicted pupils, and the tool used.", "When the images were created and how they were distributed.", "Whether charges followed; no development after June 2026 was found on 2026-09-22.", "The Berliner Morgenpost's first report was not read.", "The date of the school's letter is not given; 19 June 2026 assumes 'am vergangenen Freitag' is relative to the week of the 24 June report." ], "geography": { "basis": "Heinz-Brandt-Schule, Berlin-Weißensee, Pankow district; Berlin police and public prosecutor (Tagesspiegel). No court proceeding reported.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "DE" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "DE" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting minors at a school, documented by the school's letter, the Senate education administration and the police through one newspaper's own reporting (single article, several official origins, recorded as reported). Not a death case. Nobody is named.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The school's letter and the Senate education administration describe KI-generated sexualised nude images; the police spokesman refers to complaints over the creation of deepfakes. No tool is named and no forensic detail is public. The artifacts depicted the girls; no AI system interacted with them.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Berlin-Weißensee: two pupils of the Heinz-Brandt-Schule are suspected of creating and distributing AI-generated sexualised nude images of female classmates in at least three cases; the school suspended them and sanctioned pupils who are said to have known and not reported, and the police's sexual-offences unit investigates with liability under section 184c StGB (youth pornography) under consideration", "summary": "On 'the previous Friday' (19 June 2026, read relative to the 24 June 2026 report) the leadership of the Heinz-Brandt-Schule in Berlin-Weißensee (Pankow district) learned that two of its pupils were suspected of having created and distributed AI-generated sexualised nude images of female classmates; the school wrote to parents that it was 'shocked and appalled' that classmates' photographs had been abused in this way and described the alleged acts as a massive attack on the personality rights of the affected girls and a form of sexualised violence. The two pupils alleged to be mainly responsible were suspended from lessons with immediate effect, and the school imposed measures on pupils who are said to have known about the images without reporting them. The Senate Department for Education confirmed the incidents and the ongoing investigation in the Tagesspiegel's report of 24 June 2026. The school's letter says the investigation is conducted on behalf of the public prosecutor. A Berlin police spokesman said complaints had been filed over the creation of so-called deepfakes, that the investigation had been taken over by the State Criminal Police Office unit responsible for sexual offences against minors, and that criminal liability for possessing, obtaining, creating or distributing youth pornography under section 184c of the Criminal Code was under consideration; the police gave no further details, citing victim protection. At least three cases are alleged. The school said it would revise its prevention and sex-education concepts and asked parents to talk to their children about handling other people's photographs and AI applications. Nobody is named; the number of girls depicted is not reported.", "incidentDate": "2026-06-19", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-06-24", "aiSystem": "AI image-generation ('deepfake') tool, not named", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Female pupils were depicted in AI-generated sexualised nude images that were distributed at their school, which the school describes as a massive attack on their personality rights and a form of sexualised violence; the creation and distribution are attributed by the school's letter to two suspended pupils, and the police confirm complaints over the creation of deepfakes and an investigation by the LKA unit for sexual offences against minors. No account from the depicted girls has been published.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 0, "affectedCountStatus": "unquantified", "affectedCountEvidence": "The report speaks of 'Mitschülerinnen' (female classmates, plural) and of 'mindestens drei Fälle' (at least three cases) alleged against the pupils, without stating how many girls were depicted; a count of cases is not a count of persons. Unquantified, with zero placeholders.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "DE-BE", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.tagesspiegel.de/berlin/schule/polizei-eingeschaltet-jugendliche-sollen-ki-nacktbilder-von-mitschulerinnen-an-berliner-schule-verbreitet-haben-15754057.html", "primarySourceLabel": "Der Tagesspiegel, 24 June 2026: Polizei eingeschaltet: Jugendliche sollen KI-Nacktbilder von Mitschülerinnen an Berliner Schule verbreitet haben", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-22T03:45:58.07027+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "minor", "school", "germany", "berlin", "pankow", "184c-stgb", "depicted" ] }, { "id": "2026-rajasthan-influencer-ganga-dip-ai-deepfake-reel", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'The victim had visited Haridwar with her family in June to take a dip in the Ganga. On June 6, she also uploaded a video on social media showing herself taking a dip in the river while wearing a salwar suit. The video was edited to create a fake version, which went viral last week'; 'Around two months later, she suddenly discovered that the original video had been manipulated using AI to create and circulate an objectionable video showing the same movements. Her face and body were portrayed in a shameful manner in the fake video.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "On 6 June 2026 the influencer uploaded a video of herself taking a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar, wearing a salwar suit; about two months later she discovered that it had been manipulated with AI into an objectionable video showing the same movements, which went viral in the week before 20 September 2026.", "causal_attribution": "The victim's account as reported; the AI characterisation is the report's." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'I am mentally very disturbed. People are commenting... I have reached a point where I cannot even step out of my house.'; 'In a statement, the victim said the fake video had caused her severe mental distress. People were posting objectionable comments under the video, while several others were also sharing it.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "She said the fake video caused her severe mental distress, that people were posting objectionable comments and sharing it, and that she had reached a point where she could not step out of her house; she appealed for its removal as a matter of her dignity.", "causal_attribution": "The victim's statement." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'The victim then filed a complaint with the cyber crime police on September 16.'; 'RPS officer Pallavi Gupta, who is investigating the case, said they are trying to establish who created and circulated the video. Efforts are also being made to remove it from social media. She said it would take time to complete the investigation and identify the accused.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "She filed a complaint with the cyber-crime police on 16 September 2026; the investigating RPS officer said police were trying to establish who created and circulated the video and to have it removed, and that identifying the accused would take time.", "causal_attribution": "Police statement as quoted by the report." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "an AI-manipulated objectionable reel of the influencer went viral with abusive comments; she reports severe mental distress and being unable to leave her house", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/rajasthan/news/rajasthan-influencer-ai-deepfake-video-controversy-cyber-safety-139083898.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 200; published 2026-09-20 06:00 IST; Dainik Bhaskar English, Rajasthan local news, 'Sunday Big Story'). Based on the victim's public statement and the investigating officer; the victim is not named.", "independence_group": "dainik-bhaskar-2026-09-20" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The tool used, the platform on which the fake circulated and who made it are not established.", "The exact date the manipulated reel began circulating is given only as 'last week' relative to 20 September; the record uses the complaint date.", "The victim's town and the police unit handling the complaint are not stated.", "No arrest, takedown outcome or later coverage was found by 21 September 2026." ], "geography": { "basis": "The original video was recorded at Har Ki Pauri, Haridwar (Uttarakhand); the victim is a Rajasthan influencer and the complaint is with the cyber-crime police and is investigated by a Rajasthan Police Service officer (Dainik Bhaskar English, Rajasthan edition). No court proceeding.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "IN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "IN" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an AI image-based abuse case with a reported harm (severe distress, withdrawal from public life) stated publicly by the victim and a registered cyber-crime complaint confirmed by the investigating officer. One source read in full; claims recorded as reported. The victim is anonymous in the source and here.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-21" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The report states that the original video 'was manipulated using AI to create and circulate an objectionable video showing the same movements' and describes the case as a deepfake; the investigating officer is quoted on the investigation, not on the tool. No forensic finding is reported and the tool is not identified.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Rajasthan: a social-media influencer's video of a Ganga dip at Haridwar was manipulated with AI into an objectionable reel that went viral; she says she is mentally disturbed and cannot leave her house, and filed a cyber-crime complaint on 16 September 2026", "summary": "A Rajasthan social-media influencer visited Haridwar with her family in June 2026 and on 6 June uploaded to Instagram a short video, recorded by relatives, of herself taking a dip in the Ganga at Har Ki Pauri wearing a salwar suit. About two months later she found that the video had been manipulated with AI into an objectionable version showing the same movements with her face and body portrayed 'in a shameful manner'; the fake reel went viral in the week before 20 September and drew objectionable comments and re-sharing. In a public appeal she asked whoever uploaded it to remove it, saying it was a matter of her dignity, that she was mentally very disturbed and had reached a point where she could not step out of her house. She filed a complaint with the cyber-crime police on 16 September 2026; the investigating Rajasthan Police Service officer said they were trying to identify who created and circulated the video and to have it removed, and that identifying the accused would take time. Dainik Bhaskar's English edition reported the case on 20 September in a 'Sunday Big Story' that does not name her.", "incidentDate": "2026-09-16", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-09-20", "aiSystem": "AI video manipulation (deepfake) tool, not identified", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "The influencer says the AI-manipulated reel, its viral spread and the comments left her mentally very disturbed and unable to leave her house, and that it damaged her dignity (her statement as reported by Dainik Bhaskar English); the objectionable depiction itself is the abuse.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One depicted person, the influencer who filed the complaint (Dainik Bhaskar English). Exact 1.", "victimAgeRange": "unknown", "jurisdiction": "IN", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/rajasthan/news/rajasthan-influencer-ai-deepfake-video-controversy-cyber-safety-139083898.html", "primarySourceLabel": "Dainik Bhaskar English (Rajasthan), 20 September 2026, Sunday Big Story: Truth behind Rajasthan influencer's viral objectionable reel: AI-generated deepfake video", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-21T04:11:24.565395+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-video", "harassment", "influencer", "india", "rajasthan", "haridwar", "depicted", "cyber-crime-complaint" ] }, { "id": "2026-solo-semarang-ex-boyfriend-ai-deepfake-porn", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Pelaku ini mengedit wajahnya dari korban yang kemudian itu dipasangkan dengan badan seseorang dengan menggunakan AI yang wajahnya asli korban' (the perpetrator edited the victim's face and attached it to someone's body using AI, the face being the victim's real face); 'Konten hasil rekayasa kemudian diunggah pelaku melalui platform X. Polisi memastikan materi itu tidak diperjualbelikan' (the fabricated content was then uploaded by the perpetrator on X; police confirmed it was not sold).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'Wajah korban ditempelkan pada tubuh perempuan lain dalam kondisi tanpa busana sehingga seolah-olah korban tampil dalam konten pornografi' (the victim's face was attached to another woman's unclothed body so that the victim appeared in pornographic content).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'Yang diedit itu wajah korban. Kemudian dipasang pada tubuh orang lain sehingga seolah-olah itu korban, fotonya telanjang bulat, ditemukan di Instagram dan Telegram' (what was edited was the victim's face, then placed on someone else's body so it looked like the victim, fully naked, found on Instagram and Telegram); 'terdapat pula video berbau pornografi dengan wajah korban yang diduga merupakan hasil editan AI' (there was also a pornographic video with the victim's face believed to be an AI edit).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "The complainant's face was composited with AI onto another woman's naked body in images and a pornographic video; the suspect uploaded the content to his X account and did not sell it, and the complainant's lawyer said the material was found on Instagram and Telegram.", "causal_attribution": "Police statement of 6 August 2026 (based on the investigation and the suspect's admission) and the complainant's lawyer (based on the material found); the two accounts differ on where the material was found. Recorded as reported (not corroborated) because the pornographic video (lawyer chain only) and the X upload / no-sale detail (police chain only) rest on single chains; the 28 January complaint and the 4 August detention are carried by both chains." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Korban mengetahui hal tersebut pada 1 Januari 2026. Pihak korban pun telah melapor ke Polda Jateng dengan nomor aduan STPA/182/I/2026/Ditressiber' (the victim learned of it on 1 January 2026; the victim's side reported to the Central Java police under complaint number STPA/182/I/2026/Ditressiber).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'Perkara ini bermula ketika seorang perempuan mendatangi Polda Jawa Tengah pada 28 Januari 2026' (the case began when a woman came to the Central Java regional police on 28 January 2026); 'Polda Jawa Tengah menerbitkan laporan polisi pada 31 Juli 2026' (the regional police issued the police report on 31 July 2026); 'ditangkap di tempat kosnya di kawasan Gunungpati, Semarang. Penyidik Polda Jawa Tengah kemudian menahannya di Rutan Polda Jawa Tengah sejak Selasa (4/8/2026)' (arrested at his boarding house in the Gunungpati area of Semarang; investigators then detained him at the regional police detention centre from Tuesday 4 August 2026).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'dijerat dengan Pasal 51 juncto Pasal 35 Undang-Undang Nomor 11 Tahun 2008 tentang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik (ITE) serta Pasal 407 Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2026' (charged under Article 51 in conjunction with Article 35 of Law 11 of 2008 on Electronic Information and Transactions and Article 407 of Law No. 1 of 2026); 'ancaman hukuman maksimal adalah 12 tahun penjara dan denda paling banyak Rp12 miliar' (the maximum penalty is 12 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp12 billion).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'korban telah melaporkan kasus tersebut ke Polda Jawa Tengah sejak 28 Januari 2026' (the victim reported the case to the Central Java regional police on 28 January 2026); 'penyidik akhirnya menetapkan tersangka dan melakukan penahanan terhadap pelaku pada 4 Agustus 2026' (investigators finally named the suspect and detained him on 4 August 2026).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "The complainant learned of the material on 1 January 2026; she and her family reported to the Central Java regional police cyber directorate on 28 January 2026; police issued a formal report on 31 July, arrested the suspect at a boarding house in Gunungpati, Semarang, and detained him on 4 August 2026; he is charged under Articles 51 and 35 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and an article printed as Article 407 of 'Law No. 1 of 2026', with a maximum of 12 years' imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp12 billion.", "causal_attribution": "Dates from the police statement and the complainant's lawyer agree on the 28 January complaint and 4 August detention; the discovery date comes from the lawyer alone. Recorded as reported (not corroborated) because the 1 January discovery date (lawyer only), the 31 July formal report (police only) and the statute text rest on single chains; the 28 January complaint and the 4 August detention are carried by both chains." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'pelaku nekat membuat konten deepfake AI porno diduga karena sakit hati setelah hubungan asmara antara dirinya dan korban berakhir secara putus-nyambung' (the perpetrator made the pornographic AI deepfake content allegedly out of hurt after his on-and-off romantic relationship with the victim ended).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'sempat memergoki ... sedang melakukan panggilan telepon video dengan perempuan lain. Hal itu memicu kemarahan' (she had caught him on a video call with another woman, which triggered her anger).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "Police said the suspect admitted acting out of resentment after an on-and-off relationship with the complainant ended; her lawyer said she ended the relationship after finding him on a video call with another woman.", "causal_attribution": "Motive as stated by the police spokesman from the suspect's admission and by the complainant's lawyer." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Iya sempat psikologisnya terkena, susah tidur, murung, malu. Dia tahu gambar-gambar itu kan dari teman-teman ceweknya. Malu dan drop' (yes, she was affected psychologically, could not sleep, was withdrawn, ashamed; she learned of the images from her female friends; ashamed and down); 'sempat stres, sempat murung dan sudah tidak ada harapan lagi waktu itu' (she was stressed, withdrawn and had no hope at that time); 'Kuasa hukum korban meminta Dinas Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak memberikan pendampingan psikologis secara intensif' (the victim's lawyer asked the women's empowerment and child protection office to provide intensive psychological support).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'Stresnya setengah mati, enggak bisa tidur. Nangis dia, murung sekali' (she was extremely stressed, could not sleep, cried, was very withdrawn).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "According to her lawyer, the complainant had trouble sleeping, was withdrawn and ashamed, cried, at one point had no hope, and has since recovered some spirit; he asked the local women's and children's protection office for intensive psychological support.", "causal_attribution": "Interested-party account: the complainant's lawyer in two interviews on 7 August 2026; no clinical source." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'penelusuran tim kuasa hukum menemukan total tujuh orang yang diduga menjadi korban manipulasi konten pornografi berbasis AI oleh tersangka. Namun, enam korban lainnya belum membuat laporan resmi' (the legal team's tracing found seven people in total allegedly victims of AI pornographic manipulation by the suspect, but the other six had not filed formal reports); 'Keluarga pelaku itu minta supaya berdamai' (the perpetrator's family asked for a settlement).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'Sementara ini korban yang terkonfirmasi baru satu orang, yaitu pelapor' (for now only one victim is confirmed, the complainant).", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "The lawyer said his team had found seven women in total allegedly targeted by the suspect, six of whom had not filed reports, and that the suspect's parents apologised and asked for an out-of-court settlement so he could continue his studies; police said only one complainant was confirmed.", "causal_attribution": "The seven-woman figure and the settlement approach are the lawyer's account; police confirmed one complainant." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "her face was composited with AI onto pornographic images and a video that were posted on X and found on Instagram and Telegram", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "sleeplessness, withdrawal, shame and loss of hope reported by her lawyer during the nearly seven-month investigation", "claim_id": "c4", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://regional.kompas.com/read/2026/08/07/133400678/motif-mahasiswa-semarang-bikin-deepfake-ai-wajah-mantan-terancam-12-tahun", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (Kompas.com regional, published 2026-08-07 13:34 +07:00). Central Java police spokesman's written statement received on 6 August 2026. Model reading of the original; English glosses are the reviewer's.", "independence_group": "polda-jateng-statement-2026-08-06" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://kumparan.com/kumparannews/mahasiswa-di-semarang-edit-foto-mantan-pacar-jadi-konten-porno-berakhir-dibui-27vvfyraEgL", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (kumparan, published 2026-08-06 09:14 UTC). Same police spokesman at the 6 August briefing; adds the statutes and the one-complainant confirmation.", "independence_group": "polda-jateng-statement-2026-08-06" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://news.detik.com/berita/d-8593323/mahasiswi-di-solo-jadi-objek-deepfake-ai-porno-korban-lapor-polisi", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (detikcom citing detikJateng, published 2026-07-28 10:29 +07:00; the lawyer's remarks are dated Monday 27 July 2026). Complainant's lawyer; police spokesman said he was checking. Predates the arrest.", "independence_group": "complainant-lawyer" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://indonesiaonline.co.id/deepfake-porno-di-solo-trauma-korban-dan-lambannya-proses-hukum/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (indonesiaonline.co.id, published 2026-08-08 10:32 +07:00). Feature built on a phone interview with the complainant's lawyer on 7 August 2026.", "independence_group": "complainant-lawyer" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://rejogja.republika.co.id/berita/tjglkl282/dendam-diputusin-mahasiswa-semarang-edit-wajah-mantan-pacar-pakai-ai-jadi-konten-porno", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (Republika Jogja, published 2026-08-08 23:24 +07:00). Interview with the complainant's lawyer on 7 August 2026 on the relationship history and her reaction.", "independence_group": "complainant-lawyer" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://indoraya.news/keluarga-korban-desak-hukuman-maksimal-untuk-pelaku-deepfake-porno-mahasiswi-uns", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "id", "translation_note": "Read in Indonesian on 2026-09-19 (Indoraya News, published 2026-08-06 22:28 +07:00). Complainant's lawyer at the regional police lobby on 6 August 2026; restates the statutes.", "independence_group": "complainant-lawyer" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "relationships", "privacy", "justice", "education" ], "unknowns": [ "Whether the six other women named by the lawyer exist as complainants; police had confirmed one complainant as of 6 August 2026.", "The statute printed by kumparan and Indoraya as 'Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2026' is recorded as printed; it may be a misprint for the 2023 Criminal Code (Law No. 1 of 2023), whose Article 407 concerns pornography. Not verified.", "The identity of the woman whose body appears in the composites is unknown to police.", "No indictment, court filing or trial date had been reported by 2026-09-19.", "The AI tool used is not identified.", "When the content was created and uploaded is not reported; 1 January 2026 is the date the complainant learned of it from friends." ], "geography": { "basis": "The complainant studies in Solo and the suspect was arrested in Semarang, both in Central Java, Indonesia; the case is held by the Central Java regional police. No court proceeding has begun, so court_countries is empty.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "ID" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "ID" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a criminal investigation: AI-composited pornographic images and video of a named-by-initial student, posted online by an ex-partner who was detained after seven months. Six Indonesian items read from two account chains (police statement and the complainant's lawyer). The complainant and suspect appear only by initials in the sources and are not identified here; the lawyer is not named; one cited URL identifies the complainant's university.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-19" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The Central Java police spokesman said the suspect edited the complainant's face onto another person's body using AI ('menggunakan AI'); her lawyer described the material as AI manipulation. No forensic report was inspected and the tool is not named.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Solo and Semarang, Indonesia: a university student's face was composited with AI onto pornographic images and a video by her ex-boyfriend and posted online; the suspect was detained after a nearly seven-month investigation", "summary": "A female student at a state university in Solo (Surakarta), Central Java, learned on 1 January 2026 from friends that her face had been composited onto pornographic images and a video, which her lawyer said were found on Instagram and Telegram. Her family reported the case to the Central Java regional police cyber directorate on 28 January 2026. Police issued a formal police report on 31 July, arrested her ex-boyfriend, a university student in Semarang, at his boarding house in Gunungpati on 4 August 2026, and detained him. The police spokesman said the suspect used AI to place the complainant's face on another woman's naked body so that she appeared in pornographic content, uploaded it to his X account, did not sell it, and acted out of resentment after an on-and-off relationship ended. He faces charges under Articles 51 and 35 of the Electronic Information and Transactions Law and an article printed by two outlets as 'Law No. 1 of 2026', with a maximum of 12 years' imprisonment. Her lawyer said she could not sleep, withdrew, felt shame and at one point lost hope, that his team had found seven women in total allegedly targeted of whom six had not reported, and that the suspect's parents asked for an out-of-court settlement; police said only one complainant was confirmed.", "incidentDate": "2026-01-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-07-28", "aiSystem": "AI face-composite tool used to place the complainant's face on pornographic images and a video (tool not identified); content posted on X and found on Instagram and Telegram", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "AI-composited pornographic images and a video of the complainant were posted online; her lawyer reported sleeplessness, withdrawal, shame and loss of hope during the seven months before a suspect was named.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "One complainant confirmed by police ('korban yang terkonfirmasi baru satu orang, yaitu pelapor'). Her lawyer says his team found seven women in total, six of whom have not reported; that figure is an interested party's count and is not added.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "ID", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://regional.kompas.com/read/2026/08/07/133400678/motif-mahasiswa-semarang-bikin-deepfake-ai-wajah-mantan-terancam-12-tahun", "primarySourceLabel": "Kompas.com, 7 August 2026: Motif Mahasiswa Semarang Bikin Deepfake AI Wajah Mantan, Terancam 12 Tahun Penjara (Central Java police statement)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-20T03:19:38.26217+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ncii", "ex-partner", "university", "indonesia", "central-java", "criminal-investigation", "depicted-or-impersonated", "image-based-abuse" ] }, { "id": "2025-muar-johor-school-ai-deepfake-three-pupils-expelled", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Sebuah sekolah Cina di Muar, Johor, mengambil tindakan buang sekolah terhadap tiga pelajar lelaki kerana menggunakan kecerdasan buatan (AI) untuk menghasilkan imej lucah deepfake melibatkan rakan sekelas perempuan mereka' (a Chinese school in Muar, Johor, expelled three male pupils for using AI to produce indecent deepfake images involving their female classmates); 'China Press melaporkan bahawa sebahagian daripada imej yang diubahsuai itu tersebar di internet, melibatkan sekurang-kurangnya dua pelajar perempuan yang telah membuat laporan polis' (China Press reported that some of the altered images spread on the internet, involving at least two female pupils who lodged police reports).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'3名涉案学生分别就读初二、初三及高一。据了解，他们利用人工智能软体，将多名女生的头像合成至不雅照片中，部分影像更已在网路上流传' (the three pupils are in junior two, junior three and senior one; they used AI software to composite several girls' faces into indecent photos, some of which had already circulated online); '至少有2名女学生受害，受害者已向警方报案' (at least two girls were affected and the victims have reported to police).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'expelled three male students for using artificial intelligence to make explicit AI deepfake images of their female classmates'; 'affecting at least two female students who filed police reports'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Three male pupils in Forms 2, 3 and 4 at a Chinese secondary school in Muar used AI software to composite several female classmates' faces onto indecent images; some of the images spread on the internet; at least two girls lodged police reports.", "causal_attribution": "School statement and principal's account as first reported by China Press and relayed by FMT and Seehua; single reporting chain." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'校方是本周一接获校内流传不雅合成照片的消息，鉴于事态严重，立即展开调查，并在确认涉案学生与受害女生身分后，安排双方家长到校会面' (the school received word on Monday this week that composited indecent photos were circulating in the school, began an investigation immediately given the seriousness, and after confirming the identities of the pupils involved and the affected girls arranged for both sets of parents to meet at the school); '男生家长也接受校方开除学籍的决定' (the boys' parents accepted the school's decision to expel them).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'telah membuang pelajar Tingkatan 2, 3 dan 4 tersebut selaras peraturan sekolah' (expelled the Form 2, 3 and 4 pupils in line with school rules); 'Ibu bapa ketiga-tiga pelajar terbabit menerima keputusan sekolah untuk membuang mereka' (the parents of all three pupils accepted the school's decision to expel them).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The school was told of the images on Monday 1 December 2025, investigated immediately, met the parents of all pupils involved, expelled the three boys under its rules citing zero tolerance, urged the victims to report to police and parents to delete such images; the boys' parents accepted the decision.", "causal_attribution": "School statement and principal's account; single chain." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'麻坡警区主任拉益慕克里兹受询时证实，警方已接获相关报案，并已传召涉案男学生协助调查，案件仍在进一步调查中' (the Muar district police chief confirmed when asked that police had received the reports, had summoned the boys involved to assist the investigation, and the case was still under investigation).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'Ketua Polis Muar ... mengesahkan laporan telah diterima dan siasatan sedang dijalankan' (the Muar police chief confirmed reports had been received and an investigation was under way).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "The Muar district police chief confirmed that reports had been received, that the boys had been summoned to assist the investigation, and that an investigation was under way.", "causal_attribution": "Police chief's confirmation as quoted in the same reports." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "female classmates' faces were composited with AI onto indecent images, some of which spread online; at least two girls lodged police reports", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2025/12/04/3-pelajar-dibuang-sekolah-buat-imej-lucah-rakan-sekelas-guna-ai", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "ms", "translation_note": "Read in Malay on 2026-09-19 (FMT Malay edition, published 2025-12-04 11:03 UTC). Credits China Press; carries the school statement and the Muar police chief's confirmation. Model reading of the original; English glosses are the reviewer's.", "independence_group": "china-press-school-and-police-2025-12-03" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/12/04/3-muar-students-booted-for-making-explicit-ai-deepfakes-of-classmates", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (FMT, published 2025-12-04 10:49 UTC). English version of the same China Press-derived report.", "independence_group": "china-press-school-and-police-2025-12-03" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://news.seehua.com/post/1412690", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "zh", "translation_note": "Read in Chinese on 2026-09-19 through a Wayback Machine capture (the live page returns HTTP 403); Seehua, published 2025-12-03 22:37 +08:00, Muar dateline 3 December. Same school statement and police confirmation with more detail on the school's steps; no attribution to another outlet is shown, so independence from China Press is not established.", "independence_group": "china-press-school-and-police-2025-12-03" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "How many girls were affected beyond the two who lodged police reports; Seehua says several.", "The ages of the three boys beyond their forms (Form 2 to Form 4, roughly 14 to 16).", "When the images were made and how widely they circulated; the school learned of them on 1 December 2025.", "The AI software used.", "Any charge or outcome of the police investigation.", "The China Press original was not read (HTTP 403), so the reporting chain is established from FMT's attribution only." ], "geography": { "basis": "The school and the police district are in Muar, Johor, Malaysia; the pupils are of that school. No court proceeding is reported.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "MY" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "MY" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case involving minors with an institutional response and a police investigation, on the school's own statement and the district police chief's confirmation as relayed by three outlets in Malay, English and Chinese (one reporting chain, recorded as reported). The pupils are minors and unnamed; the school is described by type and district; the principal and police chief are not named in the record.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-19" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The school and the China Press report describe the images as AI deepfakes made with AI software ('menggunakan kecerdasan buatan (AI)', '利用人工智能软体'); the police confirmation does not describe the tool. No forensic finding and no tool name.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Muar, Johor: three boys were expelled from a Chinese secondary school for using AI to make indecent deepfake images of female classmates; some images spread online and at least two girls lodged police reports", "summary": "In early December 2025 a Chinese secondary school in Muar, Johor, expelled three male pupils in Forms 2, 3 and 4 after finding they had used AI software to composite several female classmates' faces onto indecent images, some of which had spread online. The school said it was told of the images on Monday 1 December, investigated immediately, met the parents of all pupils involved, expelled the three under its rules with a stated zero-tolerance policy, and urged victims to lodge police reports and parents to delete any such images. The boys' parents accepted the decision. At least two girls lodged police reports; the Muar district police chief confirmed reports had been received, that the boys had been summoned to assist the investigation, and that an investigation was under way. No charge or later outcome has been reported.", "incidentDate": "2025-12-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-12-03", "aiSystem": "AI image software used by pupils to composite classmates' faces onto indecent images (software not identified)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "AI-composited indecent images of female classmates were made and some circulated online; at least two girls lodged police reports and the school expelled the three boys.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 2, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "At least two female pupils lodged police reports ('sekurang-kurangnya dua pelajar perempuan yang telah membuat laporan polis'; '至少有2名女学生受害'); Seehua says several girls' faces were composited ('多名女生'), which is not quantified. The three expelled boys are not counted as harmed.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "MY", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "unknown", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2025/12/04/3-muar-students-booted-for-making-explicit-ai-deepfakes-of-classmates", "primarySourceLabel": "Free Malaysia Today, 4 December 2025: 3 Muar students booted for making explicit AI deepfakes of classmates (citing China Press)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-20T03:19:35.893689+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ncii", "minors", "school", "malaysia", "johor", "expulsion", "depicted-or-impersonated", "image-based-abuse" ] }, { "id": "2026-manhattan-da-deepfake-ncii-site-seizure", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'seizure of 12 domain names of illegal websites'; 'turn pre-existing photos and videos of approximately 1,200 real people into what appear to be hyper-realistic images and videos of those individuals engaging in sexual conduct'; 'overwhelmingly women and primarily public-facing individuals'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'the seizure of 12 domains'; 'Around 1,200 people—overwhelmingly women—were depicted in nonconsensual sexual images and videos on the websites'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "The Manhattan DA seized 12 domains used to disseminate, publish and sell non-consensual AI-generated sexual deepfakes of approximately 1,200 real people, overwhelmingly women, including actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, activists and influencers.", "causal_attribution": "Directly established by the DA's press release; corroborated by WIRED's independent reporting." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'many videos appeared to be reposts of content that had originally be[en] shared on the MrDeepFakes website'; 'On at least two of the seized websites, elected officials were given profiles'; '56 European politicians... 16 US politicians and two based in the UK'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Many videos reposted content from the defunct MrDeepFakes platform, and dozens of politicians appeared on the sites (56 European, 16 US and two UK-based figures per the American Sunlight Project), some with profiles containing their names and positions.", "causal_attribution": "Reported by WIRED, citing researchers Benjamin Shultz (American Sunlight Project) and Leonie Oehmig (Institute for Strategic Dialogue); not part of the DA's release." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'seized these websites pursuant to a court order'; 'Our investigations into these websites and similar operations are ongoing'; sites not named.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'a seizure warrant issued by a New York State Supreme Court'; 'has not publicly named the websites'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "The seizure was carried out under a New York State Supreme Court warrant; the DA did not name the sites and said investigations into who ran them and uploaded content are ongoing.", "causal_attribution": "DA release and WIRED." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "about 1,200 real people depicted in non-consensual AI-generated sexual imagery published and sold on 12 seized websites", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://manhattanda.org/manhattan-d-a-s-office-seizes-domains-of-12-illegal-websites-selling-ai-generated-deep-fakes/", "kind": "official_statement", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (DA press release, 14 Sep 2026). ~1,200 real people, 12 domains, overwhelmingly women, court-ordered seizure, ongoing investigation, victim hotline.", "independence_group": "manhattanda" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/new-york-seizes-a-dozen-celebrity-deepfake-websites/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-09-14). Independent reporting: observed takedown notices pre-announcement, New York State Supreme Court warrant, MrDeepFakes reposts, ISD and American Sunlight Project researchers, 56 EU / 16 US / 2 UK politicians.", "independence_group": "wired" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "privacy", "justice", "everyday_life" ], "unknowns": [ "No individual victim is named and the ~1,200 figure is the DA's approximation; how it counts depicted people versus content creators is not fully specified.", "The site operators and uploaders are not identified and no arrests are reported.", "How long the sites operated is unclear (WIRED cites one claiming to have been online since 2018); the anchoring event date is the 14 September 2026 seizure." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event and court: the seizure was executed by the Manhattan DA under a New York State Supreme Court warrant (DA release, WIRED). Affected people span many countries (US, UK and dozens of European figures per the American Sunlight Project) and are not enumerated, so affected-person countries are left empty.", "court_countries": [ "US" ], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a bounded series of non-consensual AI-generated sexual imagery affecting about 1,200 real, identifiable-category people, anchored to the Manhattan DA's 14 September 2026 seizure. The DA's release and WIRED's independent reporting (with named researchers) are read; the count is the DA's approximate figure and the counting method for anonymous-actor artifact waves is flagged for the operator.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The Manhattan DA's office states AI image- and video-creation tools were used to turn real people's photos into sexual deepfakes; WIRED and cited researchers describe the AI-generated non-consensual imagery on the seized sites. The specific tools are not identified.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "New York: the Manhattan District Attorney seized 12 websites selling AI-generated sexual deepfakes of about 1,200 real people", "summary": "On 14 September 2026 Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced the seizure of 12 domain names used to disseminate, publish and sell non-consensual AI-generated sexual 'deepfake' videos. His office said individuals under investigation had used AI image- and video-creation tools to turn photos and videos of approximately 1,200 real people, overwhelmingly women, into hyper-realistic sexual imagery without consent. The victims included actors, politicians, athletes, musicians, activists and social-media influencers. WIRED and outside researchers reported that many videos reposted content from the defunct MrDeepFakes platform and that dozens of politicians appeared on the sites; investigations into who ran them are ongoing.", "incidentDate": "2026-09-14", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-09-14", "aiSystem": "AI image- and video-generation tools (not identified), used to create non-consensual sexual deepfakes", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "reputational_harm", "psychological_distress" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Approximately 1,200 real people, overwhelmingly women, had their faces and bodies turned into non-consensual AI-generated sexual imagery published and sold on 12 websites; the Manhattan DA described an immense toll on victims' emotional and mental wellbeing and careers, and seized the domains.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1200, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "The Manhattan DA's office states approximately 1,200 real people were depicted in non-consensual sexual imagery on the 12 seized sites; WIRED independently reports the same approximate figure, and the American Sunlight Project counted dozens of politicians among them (56 European, 16 US, 2 UK). The 1,200 figure is the prosecuting authority's approximate count of depicted real people; recorded as a documented minimum.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://manhattanda.org/manhattan-d-a-s-office-seizes-domains-of-12-illegal-websites-selling-ai-generated-deep-fakes/", "primarySourceLabel": "Manhattan District Attorney's Office press release, 14 September 2026: D.A. seizes domains of 12 illegal websites selling AI-generated deepfakes (~1,200 real people)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-17T03:27:44.31761+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ncii", "non-consensual-imagery", "manhattan-da", "new-york", "celebrities", "united-states", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] }, { "id": "2026-leal-ai-impersonation-immigration-scam", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'his image and name and even his voice have been cloned with artificial intelligence to deceive desperate immigrants'; 'fake contracts bearing his firm's logo, forged signatures, websites that mimic his site... entirely fabricated immigration hearings'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'criminals are creating fake videos using his image, voice and name'; the WhatsApp-to-Zelle/Venmo script.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'scammers have used AI to produce fake immigration hearings over Zoom to dupe immigrants'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Criminals used AI to clone Ángel Leal's image, name, voice, signature and firm logo, producing fake videos, look-alike websites, forged contracts and fabricated Zoom hearings that offered immigration services (residency, citizenship 'without an exam', work permits) he never provided.", "causal_attribution": "Leal's own account, carried by four independent outlets." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'some victims end up with deportation orders without having filed any real paperwork, believing their case was in progress'; payments via Zelle/Venmo/Cash App.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'It's gotten to the point where I literally have one to two people every day, all day, answering calls of people who have been defrauded or scammed'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "Leal describes the harm to 'other people's needs'; ABA/AILA describe victims paying scammers who impersonated lawyers.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Immigrants were defrauded of money paying for services Leal never provided, and some ended up with deportation orders believing their cases were in progress.", "causal_attribution": "Reported by Leal and immigration-lawyer groups; individual victims are not named and the total is not quantified." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'6,454 fake profiles linked to these scams have been taken down' since March.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'in June alone... they had taken down over 6,600 fake videos and profiles'; 'Leal has filed a report with the Doral Police Department.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Leal changed his phone number, hired an anti-piracy firm that removed thousands of fake profiles and videos (about 6,454 since March per NBC Miami; more than 6,600 by June per WLRN), and reported the fraud to Doral police and federal authorities.", "causal_attribution": "Leal and his anti-piracy vendor, as reported; the two removal figures cover different windows." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "attorney's identity cloned with AI and used to defraud immigrants; reputational harm and business disruption to him, financial and legal harm to victims", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scammers-impersonate-immigration-lawyers-rcna348238", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-06-04). NBC News national report; Leal interview, FTC/FBI context, ABA and AILA comment.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/south-florida-immigration-lawyers-identity-cloned-with-artificial-intelligence/3817579/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-06-05). NBC6 South Florida; Leal interview, fake videos and WhatsApp/Zelle scheme; story translated from Spanish with an AI tool and editor-reviewed.", "independence_group": "nbcmiami" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/south-florida-immigration-attorney-says-ai-scammers-are-using-his-identity-to-target-immigrants/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture 20260728171300 (CBS live returns HTTP 406); datePublished 2026-06-09. CBS News Miami; Leal interview, the $2,200 residency-video scheme, ~6,500 profiles removed.", "independence_group": "cbsmiami" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.wlrn.org/immigration/2026-08-20/abogado-inmigracion-ai-scam-fraud", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2026-08-20). WLRN Public Media; Leal realised the problem last October, one to two defrauded callers a day, 6,600+ removals in June, fake Zoom hearings, Doral police report.", "independence_group": "wlrn" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "justice", "finance", "everyday_life" ], "unknowns": [ "No individual defrauded immigrant is named and the total amount lost is not established; the reported per-victim figure (about $4,820/$5,000) comes from a Latin Times headline not inspected in full.", "No arrests are reported and no defendant is identified.", "Whether the fabricated 'deportation orders' outcome affected specific named people is not established." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event: South Florida (Doral/Miami); Leal practises there and reported to Doral police (WLRN, NBC Miami). Affected people are immigrants in South Florida. No court proceeding established.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an AI-impersonation case with real harm: a named attorney's likeness and voice were cloned to defraud immigrants, causing him reputational and business harm and causing victims financial and reported legal harm. Four independent chains, including his own on-camera interviews; victim count left partial because individual victims are unquantified.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Leal and multiple outlets state that his real videos were manipulated with AI to clone his face and voice; NBC News, NBC Miami, CBS Miami and WLRN carry his account, and an anti-piracy firm documented thousands of AI-generated fake profiles. The specific AI tools are not named.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Miami: scammers cloned immigration attorney Ángel Leal's face and voice with AI to defraud immigrants seeking legal help", "summary": "From around October 2025, criminals used AI to clone the image, voice, name, signature and firm logo of Ángel Leal, a long-established immigration attorney in Doral, Florida. They created fake videos, look-alike websites, forged contracts and even fabricated Zoom 'immigration hearings' to persuade immigrants to pay for legal services Leal never provided. Immigrants were defrauded of money, and some believed their cases were progressing when they were not; Leal received one to two defrauded callers a day, changed his phone number, hired an anti-piracy firm that removed thousands of fake profiles and videos, and reported the fraud to local police and federal authorities.", "incidentDate": "2025-10-01", "incidentKind": "ongoing_experience", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-06-04", "aiSystem": "AI voice- and video-cloning / deepfake tools (not identified in the inspected reporting)", "severity": "medium", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "reputational_harm", "financial_loss", "legal_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "An immigration attorney's identity was cloned with AI and used to defraud immigrants, causing him reputational harm and business disruption (he changed his phone number and hired an anti-piracy firm) and causing defrauded immigrants financial loss, with some reportedly left facing deportation orders after believing their cases were progressing.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "One counted, identified harmed person: Ángel Leal, whose likeness and voice were cloned and whose practice was disrupted. An unquantified additional group of immigrants was defrauded (Leal reports one to two defrauded callers a day; one legal immigrant reportedly lost about $4,820 per a Latin Times headline not inspected in full); no reliable victim count is established, so the status is partial.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "US", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/scammers-impersonate-immigration-lawyers-rcna348238", "primarySourceLabel": "NBC News, 4 June 2026: Scammers impersonate immigration lawyers (Angel Leal interview; FTC/FBI context; ABA/AILA comment)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-09-17T03:27:41.533841+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "voice-clone", "impersonation", "immigration", "fraud", "united-states", "florida", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] }, { "id": "2026-bhopal-ai-images-blackmail-suicide", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A 17-year-old Class 11 student allegedly died by suicide at her house in Bhopal's Aishbagh area on Thursday night'; 'The girl was found hanging inside her room after she allegedly sent her younger sister outside on some pretext. Family members rushed her down and attempted to save her, but she already died by then. Her body was sent for post-mortem examination on Friday.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'भोपाल के ऐशबाग इलाके में 11वीं कक्षा की 17 वर्षीय छात्रा ने गुरुवार रात घर में फांसी लगाकर आत्महत्या कर ली'; 'उसने छोटी बहन को सामान लेने के बहाने बाहर भेजा। इसी दौरान उसने कमरे में दुपट्टे का फंदा बनाकर फांसी लगा ली'; 'पोस्टमॉर्टम के बाद शुक्रवार दोपहर परिजन शव लेकर सीधे ऐशबाग थाने पहुंचे'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "On Thursday night, 14 May 2026, a 17-year-old Class 11 student was found hanging in her room at the family home in Bhopal's Aishbagh area after sending her younger sister outside on a pretext; relatives brought her down but she had died; the body was sent for post-mortem on Friday.", "causal_attribution": "Death and circumstances reported by two outlets from the family and police; Thursday before the Friday post-mortem of 15 May is 14 May 2026." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'family members accusing two youths of harassing and blackmailing her using morphed obscene photographs allegedly created with the help of artificial intelligence tools'; 'two youths from the Chhola area were threatening to circulate edited obscene images prepared using photographs taken from her social media accounts'; 'the accused allegedly were stalking the girl while she travelled to and from school and were pressuring her to meet them'; 'the girl never personally interacted with the youths and that the images were digitally manipulated using AI tools'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'चाचा के मुताबिक, आरोपियों ने सोशल मीडिया से छात्रा की तस्वीरें लेकर एआई की मदद से अश्लील फोटो तैयार किए थे। इन्हें वायरल करने और बदनाम करने की धमकी देकर वे छात्रा पर दबाव बनाते थे'; 'छात्रा की आरोपियों से कभी सीधी मुलाकात तक नहीं हुई थी'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "The family alleged that two young men harassed her for weeks, stalked her to and from school, pressured her to meet them and threatened to circulate obscene images made from her social-media photographs with AI tools, and said she had never met them in person.", "causal_attribution": "The family's allegations as reported by two outlets; not confirmed by police at the time of reporting." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'As of now a case of unnatural death has been registered and based on the statement of kin and the evidence further course of action will be decided'; 'Aishbagh police station in-charge Sandeep Pawar told TOI. Police said no suicide note was recovered from the spot.'; 'relatives, who gathered at Aishbagh police station on Friday, demanding strict action against the accused'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'ऐशबाग टीआई संदीप पवार ने बताया कि मौके से कोई सुसाइड नोट नहीं मिला है। घरवालों के बयान दर्ज किए जा रहे हैं, जिसके आधार पर आगे की कार्रवाई तय होगी'; 'परिजनों ने शुक्रवार को ऐशबाग थाने का घेराव किया'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Aishbagh police registered an unnatural-death case; the station in-charge said no suicide note was recovered, that the family's statements were being recorded (Dainik Bhaskar) or yet to be recorded (Times of India) and that further action would be decided on the statements and evidence; relatives protested at the police station after the post-mortem demanding action against the accused.", "causal_attribution": "Police statements to both outlets." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'चाचा के मुताबिक, आरोपियों ने सोशल मीडिया से छात्रा की तस्वीरें लेकर एआई की मदद से अश्लील फोटो तैयार किए थे'; 'परिवार का दावा है कि आरोपियों ने छात्रा के पिता से भी बदसलूकी की थी, लेकिन बदनामी के डर से पहले पुलिस में शिकायत नहीं की गई'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'The uncle claimed that the student had informed her parents about the harassment earlier'; 'Family members had reportedly tried to reason with the accused, but they allegedly misbehaved with the girl's father as well'; 'One of them lives in the Chhola area, while the other is from the victim's neighbourhood'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'two youths from the Chhola area were threatening to circulate edited obscene images'", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Her uncle told Dainik Bhaskar that one accused lives in the Chhola area and the other in her neighbourhood (the Times of India describes both as from Chhola), that she had told her parents about the harassment, that the men misbehaved with her father when the family tried to reason with them, and that the family had not complained earlier for fear of defamation.", "causal_attribution": "Family allegations carried by Dainik Bhaskar only; the Times of India differs on the accused's localities." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "a 17-year-old died by hanging after, her family says, weeks of stalking and blackmail with obscene images made from her photographs with AI tools", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "threats to circulate AI-made obscene images, stalking and pressure to meet, as alleged by the family", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/class-11-girl-dies-by-suicide-after-harassment-blackmail-by-2-youth-using-ai-images/articleshow/131126861.cms", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (Times of India, Bhopal, published 16 May 2026 00:35 IST, bylined). Own reporting: family allegations and the Aishbagh station in-charge quoted directly.", "independence_group": "toi" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.bhaskar.com/g/local/mp/bhopal/news/bhopal-11th-student-suicide-blackmail-threat-137941035.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "hi", "translation_note": "Read live in Hindi on 2026-09-21 (Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal, published 15 May 2026 14:22 IST, updated 18:13). Own reporting quoting the uncle and the station in-charge. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "dainik-bhaskar" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/mp/bhopal/news/bhopal-youths-blackmail-student-suicide-protest-police-station-137942433.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read live in English on 2026-09-21 (Dainik Bhaskar English, published 15 May 2026 17:18 IST). English version of the same Bhaskar reporting; grouped with s2.", "independence_group": "dainik-bhaskar" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.ibc24.in/videos/bhopal-student-suicide-news-11th-grade-student-commits-suicide-by-hanging-troubled-by-blackmailing-she-committed-suicide-3596570.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "IBC24 video page cited by the historical record; answered HTTP 403 on 2026-09-21 and the Internet Archive CDX service was offline. Not relied on.", "independence_group": "ibc24" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "privacy", "justice", "education" ], "unknowns": [ "Whether the images were in fact made with AI tools: no police, forensic or platform confirmation was reported.", "Bhaskar English also reports the family saying the accused possessed AI-generated obscene photos and videos of her; no other source mentions videos.", "Whether the accused were identified, questioned or arrested, and whether an FIR was registered against them after the family's statements.", "The AI tool used and where the images were sent or posted.", "No later coverage of the investigation was found on 2026-09-21." ], "geography": { "basis": "Death at the family home in the Aishbagh area of Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh; case registered at Aishbagh police station (Times of India; Dainik Bhaskar). No court proceeding reported.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "IN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "IN" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case involving a minor's death. Three bodies read across two independent reporting chains (Times of India; Dainik Bhaskar Hindi and English), both confirming the death through the station in-charge and both reporting the family's allegation of AI-made images, which meets the two-independent-sources rule for the death and the reported AI connection; the AI use and the causal link remain the family's allegations. The girl, her family and the accused are not named in this record.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-21" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The family, including the girl's uncle, told the Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar that the two accused made obscene images from her social-media photographs using AI tools and threatened to circulate them. No police statement, seized image or forensic finding confirming AI use was reported; the police said the family's statements were still being recorded. The artifacts depicted the girl; no AI system interacted with her.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh: a 17-year-old Class 11 student died by hanging at home on 14 May 2026; her family told police that two young men had stalked her and blackmailed her with obscene images made from her social-media photographs with AI tools", "summary": "On the night of Thursday 14 May 2026 a 17-year-old Class 11 student was found hanging in her room at the family home in Bhopal's Aishbagh area after sending her younger sister out on a pretext; relatives brought her down but she had died. Her family told the Times of India and Dainik Bhaskar that two young men (both from the Chhola area according to the Times of India; one from Chhola and one from her neighbourhood according to Dainik Bhaskar) had harassed her for weeks, stalked her to and from school, pressured her to meet them, and threatened to circulate obscene images of her that they had made with AI tools from photographs taken from her social-media accounts; the family said she had never met them in person; they also told Dainik Bhaskar that she had told her parents, that the men had misbehaved with her father when the family tried to reason with them, and that fear of social defamation had kept them from going to the police earlier. The Aishbagh police station in-charge said an unnatural-death case had been registered, no suicide note was found, the family's statements were being recorded and further action would follow; investigators were expected to examine her phone and social-media accounts. After the post-mortem on 15 May relatives took the body to the police station and demanded action against the accused. No arrest or later development was found in this review.", "incidentDate": "2026-05-14", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-05-15", "aiSystem": "AI image-manipulation tools, not named in any inspected report; AI use is the family's allegation", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "psychological_distress", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 17-year-old died by hanging after, according to her family, weeks of stalking and blackmail with obscene images made from her photographs with AI tools; the family attributes her death to that harassment. Police registered an unnatural-death case and said the cause could not yet be confirmed. Causation is the family's allegation.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One depicted person, the girl who died (all inspected reports). Her family members are not counted; the two accused are alleged perpetrators. Exact 1.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "IN", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "unknown", "primarySourceUrl": "https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bhopal/class-11-girl-dies-by-suicide-after-harassment-blackmail-by-2-youth-using-ai-images/articleshow/131126861.cms", "primarySourceLabel": "The Times of India (Bhopal), 16 May 2026: Class 11 girl dies by suicide after harassment, blackmail by 2 youth using AI images", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-06-15T06:54:55.51261+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "blackmail", "stalking", "minor", "suicide", "death", "india", "madhya-pradesh", "bhopal", "depicted", "image-based-abuse" ] }, { "id": "2026-brazil-influencer-ai-sexualized-minors", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Influenciador digital usou ferramentas de IA para inserir fotos de jovens evangélicas da Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) em vídeos com conotação sexual dentro das igrejas da entidade.'; 'O material foi publicado nas redes sociais do influencer, onde ele soma quase 50 mil seguidores.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'Um influenciador digital é investigado pela Polícia Civil de São Paulo sob suspeita de usar inteligência artificial para manipular imagens de jovens evangélicas, sem consentimento, criando vídeos com conteúdos sexualizados. As manipulações eram divulgadas em perfis nas redes sociais.'; 'O caso foi inicialmente divulgado pelo g1 e confirmado pela Folha.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'Pego a foto, as irmãs postando de costas, e jogo na IA. A IA faz dançar'; 'Disse que retirou as imagens de perfis públicos em redes sociais e que não sabia que algumas das pessoas retratadas eram adolescentes.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'publicadas em perfis dele no Instagram, no TikTok e no YouTube'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "A digital influencer manipulated, without consent, photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil into videos with sexual connotation using AI ('deepfake') tools and published them on his social-media profiles, including Instagram, TikTok and YouTube; he admitted in his own recordings that he takes the congregants' photographs and puts them into an AI that makes them dance.", "causal_attribution": "Reported by g1 from the police and the victims, confirmed by Folha, and admitted by the influencer in his own recordings and police statement." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Ele pegou a minha foto sem autorização e fez uma montagem com inteligência artificial, com as mulheres sensualizando na frente e [comigo] junto a elas'; 'Eu sou muito envergonhada, então não queria ter sido exposta. Eu tomo cuidado e também fico com medo disso afetar meu convívio social'; 'Eu não tirei mais nenhuma [fotografia]. Eu não tirei mais de mim.'; 'O caso veio à tona em fevereiro, quando a jovem e os pais procuraram a 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM), em São Mateus, Zona Leste da capital paulista.'; 'A família entrou com ação na Justiça pedindo indenização por dano moral.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'após uma adolescente de 16 anos, vítima do influenciador em uma das publicações, denunciar o caso à 8ª Delegacia da Defesa da Mulher (DDM) de São Paulo'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "A 16-year-old congregant told g1 that her photograph, taken in 2025 in front of the altar of a CCB church, had been used without authorisation in an AI montage placing her beside women in sensual poses; she said she was very shy and had not wanted to be exposed, feared the effect on her social life and had stopped taking photographs of herself; she and her parents had gone to the 8ª DDM in February 2026 and the family filed a civil action for moral damages.", "causal_attribution": "The girl's and her family's account to g1; Metrópoles confirms the 16-year-old's complaint to the 8ª DDM. g1's 15 May report describes the first complainant as also 17, a discrepancy recorded in unknowns." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A Polícia Civil de São Paulo investiga o caso.'; 'O inquérito, que começou na 8ª DDM da capital, foi encaminhado'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'A ocorrência foi registrada na 8ª DDM (Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher) da capital e posteriormente encaminhada à Delegacia de Polícia de Lençóis Paulistas, responsável pela área onde teriam ocorrido os fatos.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'O Metrópoles apurou que a investigação é feita por meio de um inquérito policial que foi direcionado às autoridades de Lençóis Paulista, no interior de São Paulo, por determinação judicial.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "The São Paulo Civil Police investigate the influencer; the inquiry was registered at the 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher in São Paulo and sent to the police of Lençóis Paulista by judicial order.", "causal_attribution": "The investigation and the transfer to Lençóis Paulista are reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha and Metrópoles; Folha frames the transfer by where the facts occurred, g1 by where the suspect lives." }, { "id": "c3b", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'conforme o artigo 241-C do Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (ECA), cuja pena varia de 1 a 3 anos de reclusão, além de multa. A polícia também apura se ele cometeu difamação em relação a outras jovens expostas.'; 'à 2ª Vara da Comarca de Lençóis Paulista, no interior do estado, onde o investigado mora. O pedido foi feito pelo Ministério Público (MP).'; 'A gente está investigando esse caso de deepfake. Houve uma simulação dessas imagens dessas meninas, algumas delas adolescentes'; 'pede que outras jovens expostas pelo influencer também procurem à delegacia'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "g1 reports that he is investigated under article 241-C of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (one to three years plus a fine) and for possible defamation of other young women exposed; that the transfer to the 2ª Vara of Lençóis Paulista, where he lives, was ordered by the 1ª Vara de Crimes Praticados contra Crianças e Adolescentes at the Ministério Público's request; and that the delegada of the 8ª DDM said some identified victims were adolescents and asked others to come forward.", "causal_attribution": "g1's reporting of the police and court steps; single chain for these details." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'O boletim de ocorrência mais recente foi registrado em 30 de abril, pela mãe da adolescente, na 4ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher (DDM) Norte, após a divulgação da reportagem do g1 sobre o caso.'; 'A divulgação na internet afetou a garota psicologicamente.'; 'outras jovens evangélicas da CCB tiveram suas imagens expostas sem autorização, mas o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado.'; 'também é investigado por difamação, já que há vítimas adultas que aparecem nos vídeos manipulados com deep fake'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "On 30 April 2026 the mother of a second adolescent, aged 17, registered a police report at the 4ª DDM Norte; g1 reported that the online exposure had affected the girl psychologically, that the influencer was also investigated for defamation of adult women in the videos, and that the total number of victims was still being established.", "causal_attribution": "g1's report of the second complaint; the psychological effect is g1's statement without an attributed speaker." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A defesa enfatiza que as publicações realizadas em suas redes sociais tinham o intuito estrito de sátira e crítica de costumes, inseridas em um contexto de humor. Em nenhum momento houve a intenção de promover exploração sexual, pornografia ou qualquer ato que atentasse contra a dignidade sexual das pessoas mencionadas'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'alegou que as publicações foram feitas em um “contexto de humor”, sem a intenção de atentar contra a dignidade sexual das vítimas.'; 'realizou uma retratação pública, pedindo desculpas às jovens, às famílias e à comunidade da Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) por qualquer constrangimento ou sofrimento causado'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "Through his lawyer the influencer said the publications were satire and criticism of customs in a context of humour, without intent of sexual exploitation, that he did not know the ages of those depicted, and that he had expressed regret and made a public retraction apologising to the young women, their families and the CCB.", "causal_attribution": "The defence note was sent to both g1 and Metrópoles." }, { "id": "c5b", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Pego a foto, as irmãs postando de costas, e jogo na IA. A IA faz dançar'; 'Eu peço perdão a todos que se sentiram ofendidos. Eu prometo ser mais cauteloso'; 'declarou apoiar a adoção de medidas legais cabíveis pelas autoridades'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'negou ter vinculado a imagem da adolescente a fotografias de mulheres com pouca vestimenta ou a qualquer conteúdo sexualizado ou pornográfico'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "g1 reports that he admitted in his own earlier recordings and in his police statement that he takes the congregants' photographs and animates them with AI, that he posted an apology video, and that the CCB said it supports the legal measures taken by the authorities; in his police statement he also denied linking the adolescent's image to scantily dressed women or any sexualised content and said he had taken her for an adult.", "causal_attribution": "g1's reporting of his recordings, statement and video; the CCB note as given to g1." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "a 16-year-old depicted in an AI-made sexualised video: embarrassment, fear for her social life, stopped taking photographs of herself", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "a 17-year-old reported to be psychologically affected by the video made from her photograph", "claim_id": "c4", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "young women and adolescent girls of a church inserted without consent into sexualised videos posted to tens of thousands of followers", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2026/04/22/pegou-foto-sem-autorizacao-diz-evangelica-de-16-anos-vitima-de-influencer-que-usou-ia-para-sexualizar-sua-imagem-em-igreja.ghtml", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 22 April 2026, updated 23 April). Own reporting: the 16-year-old and her parents, another congregant, the delegada, the family's lawyer, experts. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "g1" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2026/04/24/influencer-investigado-por-videos-sexualizados-de-evangelicas-com-ia-diz-que-usou-humor-para-criticar-roupas-usadas-por-jovens-em-igreja.ghtml", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 24 April 2026). The suspect's defence note, police statement, own recordings and apology video; CCB and platform responses. Grouped with s1.", "independence_group": "g1" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2026/05/15/nova-vitima-de-17-anos-registra-bo-contra-influenciador-que-usa-ia-para-sexualizar-jovens-evangelicas.ghtml", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (g1 São Paulo, 15 May 2026). Second police report of 30 April 2026. Grouped with s1.", "independence_group": "g1" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www1.folha.uol.com.br/cotidiano/2026/04/influenciador-e-investigado-sob-suspeita-de-criar-videos-sexualizados-de-jovens-evangelicas-em-sp.shtml", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 at the .shtml path (Folha de S.Paulo, 22 April 2026); the .ghtml path cited by the historical record answers 404 and its Internet Archive capture is a subscription shell. Folha states the case was first reported by g1 and confirmed by Folha.", "independence_group": "folha" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.metropoles.com/sao-paulo/influencer-acusado-de-sexualizar-adolescentes-usando-ia-alega-humor", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "pt", "translation_note": "Read live in Portuguese on 2026-09-22 (Metrópoles, 24 April 2026). Defence note, Metrópoles's own checking of the inquiry's transfer, CCB note to Metrópoles.", "independence_group": "metropoles" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "privacy", "justice", "religion" ], "unknowns": [ "The age of the first complainant: 16 per g1 on 22 April 2026, 'também de 17 anos' per g1 on 15 May 2026.", "How many people were depicted; the police were still establishing the number in May 2026.", "When the videos were first posted; the photographs date from 2025 and the first complaint from February 2026.", "Whether the suspect has been indicted or charged, and the status of the civil damages action; no development after 15 May 2026 was found.", "Which AI tools were used beyond the TikTok tools he named to police.", "When the apology video was posted: g1's 22 April report dates it to 5 April 2026 and says it does not mention the deepfakes; g1's 24 April report describes it as posted after his police statement.", "Which police station took the first complaint: 8ª DDM (g1 22 April, Metrópoles) or 5ª DDM Leste (g1 15 May)." ], "geography": { "basis": "Photographs taken in CCB churches in São Paulo; complaints at the 8ª DDM (São Mateus, São Paulo) and 4ª DDM Norte; suspect in Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state (g1, Folha, Metrópoles). Court: the inquiry was transferred by the 1ª Vara de Crimes Praticados contra Crianças e Adolescentes of São Paulo to the 2ª Vara of Lençóis Paulista, and the first girl's family filed a civil damages action (g1).", "court_countries": [ "BR" ], "event_countries": [ "BR" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "BR" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case involving minors, documented by g1's interviews with the victims, their families and the delegada, confirmed by Folha and Metrópoles, and admitted in substance by the influencer, who disputes criminal intent. Not a death case. The girls and their families are unnamed; the adult suspect is described but not named in this record.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-22" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The influencer admitted in his own recordings and in his police statement that he takes the congregants' photographs and puts them into an AI that makes them dance; the delegada describes the case as deepfake; g1, Folha and Metrópoles all report AI manipulation. The tool is not named. The artifacts depicted the girls and women; no AI system interacted with them.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "São Paulo: a 37-year-old influencer used AI 'deepfake' tools to insert photographs of young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil, taken from their social-media profiles without consent, into sexualised videos set inside churches; a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old filed police reports and the Civil Police investigate under the child-protection statute", "summary": "A humorist and tyre repairer from Lençóis Paulista, São Paulo state, who posts on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok as an impersonator of a television presenter, used AI tools to turn photographs that young women and adolescent girls of the Congregação Cristã do Brasil (CCB) had posted from inside churches into videos in which they appear dancing sensually beside women in short skirts, with the presenter inserted and the influencer commenting on their clothes. A 16-year-old congregant and her parents went to the 8ª Delegacia de Defesa da Mulher in São Paulo in February 2026; g1 made the case public on 22 April 2026 and Folha de S.Paulo confirmed the investigation. The girl told g1 the photograph had been taken in 2025 in front of the altar of a CCB church, that she was very shy, had not wanted to be exposed and was afraid the exposure would affect her social life, and that she had stopped taking photographs of herself; her family sued for moral damages. On 30 April 2026 the mother of a second girl, aged 17, registered a police report at the 4ª DDM Norte; g1 reported that the exposure had affected the girl psychologically. The São Paulo Civil Police investigate under article 241-C of the Estatuto da Criança e do Adolescente (simulating a sex or pornography scene with a minor by digital means) and for defamation of adult women in the videos; the inquiry was sent at the prosecutor's request to Lençóis Paulista, where the suspect lives, and the total number of people depicted was still being established. The influencer admitted making the videos with AI, said through his lawyer that they were satire and criticism of customs in a context of humour, said he did not know some of those depicted were minors, denied in his police statement linking the adolescent's image to sexualised content and said he had taken her for an adult, and posted an apology video (dated 5 April by g1's first report, which says it does not mention the deepfakes; described as posted after his police statement in g1's second report). The CCB said it had identified him, was taking internal measures and supports legal measures by the authorities. No later development was found on 2026-09-22.", "incidentDate": "2026-02-01", "incidentEndDate": "2026-04-30", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2026-04-22", "aiSystem": "AI image-animation and face-insertion ('deepfake') tools; the influencer told police he used TikTok tools to animate and manipulate the images, and said in a recording that he 'throws' the photographs into an AI that makes them dance", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Adolescent congregants and adult women were depicted without consent in AI-made sexualised videos posted to tens of thousands of followers; a 16-year-old described embarrassment, fear for her social life and giving up photographs of herself, and a 17-year-old was reported to be psychologically affected. The creation and posting are admitted by the influencer, who disputes any sexual or criminal intent.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 2, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "Two identified minors who filed police reports (a 16-year-old, g1 22 April; a 17-year-old, g1 15 May). Other congregants, adult and adolescent, are described as depicted ('uma quantidade enorme de vítimas' per the father; 'o número total de vítimas ainda está sendo apurado' per g1) but not counted. Partial: 2 counted plus an unquantified number.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "BR", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://g1.globo.com/sp/sao-paulo/noticia/2026/04/22/pegou-foto-sem-autorizacao-diz-evangelica-de-16-anos-vitima-de-influencer-que-usou-ia-para-sexualizar-sua-imagem-em-igreja.ghtml", "primarySourceLabel": "g1 São Paulo, 22 April 2026: 'Pegou foto sem autorização', diz evangélica de 16 anos vítima de influencer que usou IA para sexualizar sua imagem em igreja", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-06-14T11:18:13.776891+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "minor", "brazil", "sao-paulo", "church", "influencer", "eca", "depicted" ] }, { "id": "2025-valencia-spain-deepfake-school", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'began investigating in December last year after a female student reported the creation of a social media account in her name that featured an AI-generated video'; '\"All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked\"'; 'a webpage devoted to advertising the images for commercial purposes'; 'After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints'; 'a 17-year-old boy was being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "From December 2024 a girl in the Ribera Alta area reported fake accounts in her name with an AI-generated video and AI-manipulated nude photos of minors, plus a webpage advertising the images commercially; 15 other minors complained; the Guardia Civil traced the accounts to a 17-year-old schoolmate, now investigated for corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court.", "causal_attribution": "Guardia Civil statement as reported by the Guardian; single chain." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "16 minors depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos on fake accounts, one impersonated by name, images advertised for sale", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-18 (The Guardian, 27 July 2025). Reports and quotes the Guardia Civil's statement of 27 July 2025; the Spanish original of the statement was not read.", "independence_group": "guardian" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The outcome of the youth-court proceeding is not known.", "The AI tools and the platforms hosting the accounts are not named.", "Whether any images were actually sold is not stated." ], "geography": { "basis": "Guardia Civil officers in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province investigated; the victims are the suspect's schoolmates there; a youth court in Valencia oversees the case (Guardian).", "court_countries": [ "ES" ], "event_countries": [ "ES" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "ES" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case involving identified (unnamed) depicted minors, an impersonation and a police investigation under a youth court. One chain read; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; incident date corrected to the first complaint.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-18" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The Guardia Civil statement, as quoted by the Guardian, describes AI-generated videos and AI-modified photos and a website advertising AI image-modification services; no forensic detail is published. The artifacts depicted the minors and impersonated one girl by name.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Ribera Alta, Valencia: a 17-year-old was investigated for making AI-generated nude images and videos of 16 schoolmates, impersonating a girl on fake accounts and advertising the images for sale", "summary": "In December 2024 a female student in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province reported to the Guardia Civil that a social-media account had been created in her name featuring an AI-generated video, and later a second account in her name, other accounts showing AI-generated nude videos, and a webpage advertising the images for commercial purposes; the Guardia Civil said the photos, all of minors, had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked. After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints, officers traced IP addresses and account emails to the home of a 17-year-old schoolmate, who is being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court. The Guardia Civil announced the investigation on 27 July 2025.", "incidentDate": "2024-12-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2025-07-27", "aiSystem": "AI image and video manipulation tools (not named; police examined a website advertising AI image-modification services)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Sixteen minors were depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos published on fake accounts, with one girl also impersonated by name, and the images were advertised for sale; a schoolmate is under youth-court investigation.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 16, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One complainant plus 15 other minors who came forward with similar complaints (Guardian, quoting the Guardia Civil): exact count of 16 depicted minors.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "ES", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos", "primarySourceLabel": "The Guardian, 27 July 2025: Spanish teenager investigated over AI-generated nude videos of 16 schoolmates (Guardia Civil statement)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-09T05:45:25.741735+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "minors", "school", "impersonation", "spain", "valencia", "guardia-civil", "youth-court", "depicted" ] }, { "id": "2025-heacock-ai-sextortion-death", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Local teenager Eli Heacock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last month'; 'he took his life on Feb 28'; 'at 11:30 p.m. on that Thursday night, Eli's twin sister found him'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'He died by suicide shortly after receiving the message, CBS affiliate KFDA reported'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'After their 16-year-old son died by suicide, a Kentucky family is pushing for stronger sextortion laws'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'Elijah Heacock died Feb. 28 at a local hospital, WBKO-TV reported'; 'the Barren County Sheriff's Office responded to the hospital on Feb. 27'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Elijah Heacock, 16, a Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025 after being found injured at home on the night of 27 February.", "causal_attribution": "The death is reported independently by WKMS (own reporting) and CBS (citing KFDA), with Spectrum and the WBKO/ABC relay consistent; the 27/28 February dates come from WKMS and NewsNation." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'During a search of Eli's phone, AI-generated images used to extort the young man were discovered. The offender created the images, some sexually explicit, and sent them to Eli. They then threatened to release the pictures unless Eli sent them $3,000.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'when Elijah received a threatening text with an A.I.-generated nude photo of himself demanding he pay $3,000 to keep it from being sent to friends and family, everything changed'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'a perpetrator threatened him, saying he needed to send $3,000 or they would release sexually explicit images of him'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'fake, AI-generated nude images'; 'Though the photos were not real, it's unclear whether Elijah Heacock knew they were AI-generated.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Investigators found on his phone AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, sent by an anonymous extortionist who threatened to release them unless he paid $3,000.", "causal_attribution": "WKMS attributes the AI-generated finding to investigators' search of the phone; CBS's account rests on the parents' interview. Whether he knew the images were fake is unknown (NewsNation)." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'His parents told Spectrum News 1 that Heacock sent $50, but did not have enough to cover the rest.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'Shannon Heacock said she found texts indicating that her son had sent some money to the scammer, to which the scammer replied, \"This is not enough,\" she told ABC News.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "Best friend: 'The last message I got from him was, \"I love you so much\"' after Eli asked to borrow money that night.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "He sent a partial payment of $50 and the extortionist replied that it was 'not enough'.", "causal_attribution": "Both accounts are the parents' descriptions of the messages on his phone, given to two separate outlets; the $50 figure appears only in Spectrum." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'The FBI continues to investigate. The family hopes the exploiter will be caught and charged with murder.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'a sheriff's detective reviewed Elijah Heacock's phone and escalated the case to the FBI'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating; no arrest has been reported.", "causal_attribution": "Investigation status as of the inspected reports (March and June 2025); nothing later was inspected." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law this month, making sextortion a felony. It also mandates education about sextortion in schools and in law enforcement agencies.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'state lawmakers passed a bill that establishes sexual extortion as a felony, and mandates training about the topic at schools and law enforcement agencies. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, signed it into law.'; Rep. Guthrie on the Take It Down Act", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'The recently-passed \"Take It Down\" Act... makes it a federal crime to post real and fake sexually explicit images'; 'They said they hope the \"Take It Down\" Act will make a difference.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Kentucky's governor signed a law in March 2025 making sexual extortion a felony and mandating education in schools and law-enforcement agencies; the parents publicly supported the federal Take It Down Act, signed in May 2025.", "causal_attribution": "Legislative context reported by three outlets; the Kentucky law is described, not inspected." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "a 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and died by suicide", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion", "kind": "public_radio_news", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-03-24; WKU Public Radio, Lisa Autry); own interviews with his mother, father and best friend; quotes the KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander.", "independence_group": "wkms" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sextortion-generative-ai-scam-elijah-heacock-take-it-down-act/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 28 December 2025 (datePublished 2025-05-31; CBS Saturday Morning interview with the parents); the live URL answers HTTP 406 to this box. The article attributes the death report to CBS affiliate KFDA and the advocacy to WLKY.", "independence_group": "cbs" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2025/04/10/sextortion-kentucky-elijah-heacock", "kind": "local_tv_news", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-04-10; Glasgow, Ky. dateline; the parents' own statements to Spectrum News 1).", "independence_group": "spectrum" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/teen-suicide-ai-images/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 26 November 2025 (datePublished 2025-06-11); the live URL answers HTTP 403. NewsNation relays WBKO-TV and ABC News interviews with the parents, so it is grouped with those originals rather than counted as independent.", "independence_group": "wbko-abc" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "privacy" ], "unknowns": [ "The tool used to generate the images and the identity or location of the extortionist are not reported; no arrest has been reported in the inspected sources.", "Whether he knew the images were AI-generated is unclear (NewsNation).", "When the extortion messages began is not reported; the record uses the night of 27 February (when his friend received his last messages and the sheriff reviewed the phone) and the 28 February death date.", "The earliest local report (WBKO-TV, cited by NewsNation) was not inspected: its URL answers HTTP 404; the reported_date uses the earliest inspected report (WKMS, 24 March 2025).", "The CBS article's cited affiliate reports (KFDA, WLKY) were not inspected.", "Investigation status after June 2025 was not researched in this review." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event and residence: Barren County (Glasgow area), Kentucky, per WKMS ('In southern Kentucky, the Barren County community') and Spectrum's Glasgow, Ky. dateline. No court proceeding is reported; the extortionist has not been identified.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "US" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "US" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a reported death: AI-generated sexual images of a minor were used to extort him and he died by suicide. The death and the AI connection are each carried by two independent inspected chains (WKMS own reporting and CBS), meeting the additional death rule; causation rests on investigators and the family, recorded as supported, not established. He is named because his parents campaign publicly in his name; the method of death is not described here.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-16" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "WKMS reports that investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images used to extort him, and quotes the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch commander on AI-generated exploitation; CBS separately describes the extortion message as carrying an AI-generated nude photo of him. The generation tool is not identified in any inspected source.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Kentucky: Elijah Heacock, 16, died by suicide after a sextortion demand backed by AI-generated nude images of him", "summary": "Elijah Heacock, a 16-year-old Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025. Investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, that an anonymous extortionist had sent with a demand for $3,000 and a threat to share them with his family and friends; his parents say he sent a small partial payment and was told it was 'not enough'. The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating in the inspected reports; no arrest has been reported. His parents have campaigned publicly, Kentucky made sextortion a felony in March 2025, and the family supported the federal Take It Down Act.", "incidentDate": "2025-02-27", "incidentEndDate": "2025-02-28", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2025-03-24", "aiSystem": "AI image-generation or manipulation tools (unspecified; investigators described the extortion images as AI-generated)", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "exploitation_or_abuse", "psychological_distress" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and a $3,000 demand, and died by suicide the same night his best friend received his last message; investigators and his parents connect the death to the sextortion.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One person, Elijah Heacock, was depicted in the AI-generated images and died; his family members are not counted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "US", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion", "primarySourceLabel": "WKMS / WKU Public Radio, 24 March 2025: investigators found AI-generated images used to extort him; KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander quoted", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-09T05:43:08.739008+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "sextortion", "deepfake", "minor", "kentucky", "suicide", "depicted-or-impersonated", "take-it-down-act" ] }, { "id": "2025-west-bengal-teen-deepfake-suicide", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'A class 10 student was found hanging from the ceiling of her room in Sonarpur in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district'; 'where doctors declared her brought dead on Thursday night, a police officer said'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'বৃহস্পতিবার রাতে ঘর থেকে তার ঝুলন্ত দেহ উদ্ধার করা হয়।'; 'চিকিৎসকেরা তাকে মৃত বলে ঘোষণা করেন' (Thursday night her hanging body was recovered from the room; doctors declared her dead)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "'On Thursday night, her body was found hanging in her room.'; 'she was rushed to hospital where doctors declared her dead'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" }, { "locator": "'শুক্রবার সকালে ঘর থেকে ওই কিশোরীর ঝুলন্ত দেহ উদ্ধার হয়'; 'সোনারপুর থানা এলাকা থেকে আজ সকালে এক মাধ্যমিক পরীক্ষার্থী ছাত্রীর মামার বাড়ি থেকে ঝুলন্ত দেহ পাওয়া গিয়েছে' (ETV: the body was recovered on Friday morning; the Baruipur SDPO is quoted that a Madhyamik candidate's hanging body was found \"this morning\" at her maternal uncle's house in the Sonarpur police-station area)", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "A Class 10 student, a minor preparing for the 2026 Madhyamik examination, was found hanging at the relative's home where she lived in the Sonarpur police-station area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, on the night of Thursday 27 November 2025 and was declared dead at hospital; one report and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted statement place the discovery on the Friday morning.", "causal_attribution": "Death confirmed by a police officer to PTI, by the Baruipur SDPO on the record to ETV Bharat, and by local reporting (Anandabazar, Dainik Bhaskar). Timing of discovery differs between reports." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'\"We have received a complaint alleging that a married man from the locality has been harassing her,\" he said.'; 'Her family members, in the complaint, alleged that the man had collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images, which were then shared online.'; 'The family also accused members of the man's family of participating in the harassment.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'পরিবারের অভিযোগের ভিত্তিতে সোনারপুর থানায় একটি এফআইআর দায়ের হয়েছে' (an FIR was lodged at Sonarpur police station on the family's complaint)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'তার কিছু ছবি সংগ্রহ করে এআই-এর সাহায্যে তা নগ্ন করে দেওয়া হয়। তার পর তা একাধিক সমাজমাধ্যম প্লাটফর্মে ছড়িয়ে দেওয়া হয়।'; 'অভিযোগ, তাঁর স্ত্রী, মা এবং আরও কয়েক জন কিশোরীকে হেনস্থা করেছেন।' (some of her photos were collected and made nude with AI, then spread on several social-media platforms; the family alleges his wife, mother and others harassed her)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "'Her family alleges that a local, married youth had been tormenting her for months. They claim he collected personal photos and used artificial intelligence to generate nude images, which were later made viral online.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" }, { "locator": "'তাঁর মেয়ের ছবি নিয়ে AI দিয়ে নগ্ন ছবি বানায়। তারপর সেই ছবি ভাইরাল করে বলে অভিযোগ।' (the mother: he took her daughter's photos, made nude images with AI and made them viral)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" } ], "assertion": "Her family's complaint to Sonarpur police alleges that a married man from the locality had been harassing her for months, collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images of her, which were then shared on social media, and that members of his family took part in the harassment; police registered an FIR on the complaint.", "causal_attribution": "The AI connection rests on the family's allegation, relayed by police to PTI and stated by the mother and aunt to Bengali outlets; no police or forensic confirmation that the images were AI-generated was published." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Preliminary reports suggest the teenager may have taken her own life due to prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse, the police officer added.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'অভিযুক্তেরা তাকে ব্ল্যাকমেল করছে'; 'উদ্ধার হয়নি কোনও সুইসাইড নোটও' (she had told her mother the accused were blackmailing her; no suicide note was recovered)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "'পুলিশ সূত্রে জানান হয়েছে এখনও কোনও সুইসাইড নোট উদ্ধার হয়নি।' (police sources: no suicide note recovered so far)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" }, { "locator": "'বিষয়টি জানতে পারার পর থেকেই মানসিক অবসাদে ভুগছিল সে। স্কুলে যেতে চাইত না ওই ছাত্রী।' (the family: since learning of it she had been depressed and did not want to go to school)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "'Relatives said the student had become increasingly withdrawn, rarely speaking to anyone at home and often remaining visibly distressed.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" } ], "assertion": "Police said preliminary reports suggest the teenager may have taken her own life because of prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse; relatives said she had become withdrawn, would not go to school and had told her mother she was being blackmailed; no suicide note was found.", "causal_attribution": "Police preliminary view as relayed by PTI; family accounts to Anandabazar and Dainik Bhaskar. Causation is not established." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'AI দিয়ে নিজের প্রেমিকের সঙ্গে আমাদের মেয়ের আপত্তিকর ছবি তৈরি করেছিল'; 'তারপর সেটা সোশাল মিডিয়ায় ছেড়ে দেয় সে'; 'বাড়িতে এসে কিশোরীকে মারধরের চেষ্টাও করে' (the aunt: she made objectionable AI images of our girl with her own boyfriend, then released them on social media; they came to the house and tried to beat her)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'অভিযুক্তের অন্য এক প্রেমিকা ওই ছবি সোশ্যাল মিডিয়ায় ছড়িয়ে দেয় বলেও অভিযোগ তুলেছে পরিবার' (the family also allege that another woman, the accused's girlfriend, spread the images on social media)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "'পরিবারের দাবি, ওই যুবকের এক প্রেমিকা ছবিগুলি ছড়িয়ে দেওয়ার সঙ্গে যুক্ত।' (the family claim a girlfriend of the man was involved in spreading the images)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" } ], "assertion": "Bengali-language reports quoting the family say a woman described as the accused man's girlfriend circulated the images, and in ETV Bharat's account the aunt says the girlfriend made the AI images (depicting the girl with the man) about a week before the death and posted them; the family also say the girlfriend and her friends came to the house and tried to assault the girl.", "causal_attribution": "Family statements to Bengali outlets; the accounts differ on who produced the images and are not confirmed by police." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'An investigation has been initiated, and officers are examining digital evidence and questioning those named in the complaint.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'পুলিশ সূত্রে জানা গিয়েছে, অভিযুক্তের খোঁজে তল্লাশি শুরু হয়েছে এবং ছাত্রীর ফোন ও সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া অ্যাকাউন্ট খতিয়ে দেখা হচ্ছে।' (police sources: a search for the accused has begun and the girl's phone and social-media accounts are being examined)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" }, { "locator": "'এখনও পর্যন্ত কারও বিরুদ্ধে পদক্ষেপ করা হয়নি' (no action had yet been taken against anyone)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" }, { "locator": "'অভিযুক্তদের খোঁজে তল্লাশিও চালানো হচ্ছে।' (a search for the accused is under way)", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" } ], "assertion": "Police said an investigation had begun, that digital evidence was being examined and those named in the complaint questioned, and that officers were searching for the accused and examining the girl's phone and social-media accounts; no arrest was reported in the inspected sources.", "causal_attribution": "Police statements as reported on 28 November 2025; no later development was found." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "a minor died by hanging after AI-generated nude images of her were reportedly circulated on social media during months of harassment", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" }, { "label": "non-consensual AI nude images of a minor circulated locally; withdrawal, humiliation and reported blackmail before her death", "claim_id": "c2", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/bengal-teen-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-1920296", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Deccan Chronicle, Kolkata dateline, 28 November 2025, live). PTI wire copy quoting a police officer and the family complaint; identical text runs in Deccan Herald, NDTV, News18, Telegraph India, Jagran and India.com.", "independence_group": "pti" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/class-10-student-dies-by-suicide-in-bengals-sonarpur-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated/cid/2135262", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (the live page answers 403). Same PTI text as s1 with one added closing line on the investigation.", "independence_group": "pti" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.news18.com/india/bengal-student-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-ws-l-9738120.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Carries the PTI credit (\"With inputs from PTI\") that establishes the wire chain for s1 and s2.", "independence_group": "pti" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.etvbharat.com/bn/state/girl-hanging-body-recovered-after-her-ai-made-obscene-photos-viral-on-social-media-west-bengal-news-wbs25112802025", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (ETV Bharat Bengali, Sonarpur dateline, 28 November 2025, live). Own reporting: quotes the Baruipur SDPO and the girl's maternal aunt. Translated by the reviewer; the aunt's and SDPO's words are paraphrased in English in the locators.", "independence_group": "etv-bharat" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/24-parganas/madhyamik-examinee-dies-in-sonarpur-south-24-parganas-dgtld/cid/1650636", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403; the page is partly paywalled but the article text was present in the capture). Own reporting from local sources and the family. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "anandabazar" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/west-bengal/news/ai-misuse-nude-images-student-humiliation-suicide-sonarpur-investigation-family-demands-strict-punishment-136533320.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Dainik Bhaskar English, South 24 Parganas byline, 28 November 2025, live). Own reporting citing local and police sources.", "independence_group": "dainik-bhaskar" }, { "id": "s7", "url": "https://zeenews.india.com/bengali/state/sonarpur-incident-madhyamik-candidate-girl-ends-her-life-after-her-ai-driven-fake-photos-goes-viral-by-lover_626454.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Zee 24 Ghanta, bylined, 28 November 2025; quotes the mother. Its text is shared nearly verbatim by Asianet News Bangla (29 November) and overlaps Kolkata TV, so these are grouped as one chain. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "bengali-tv" }, { "id": "s8", "url": "https://kolkatatvonline.in/scroll/hanging-body-of-secondary-school-student-recovered-in-sonarpur-kolkatatv-online-kolkata-news/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (Kolkata TV, 28 November 2025, live). Earliest inspected report (12:10 IST). Grouped with s7. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "bengali-tv" }, { "id": "s9", "url": "https://bangla.asianetnews.com/west-bengal/west-bengal-news/photo-of-sonarpur-student-nude-with-ai-goes-viral-commits-suicide-out-of-shame/photoshow-d9atrbt", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (Asianet News Bangla photo story, 28 November 2025, live). Grouped with s7. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "bengali-tv" }, { "id": "s10", "url": "https://bengali.indianexpress.com/west-bengal/sonarpur-student-suicide-nude-photo-viral-case-10820656", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "bn", "translation_note": "Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Indian Express Bangla, bylined, 28 November 2025; own reporting citing the family and police sources. Translated by the reviewer.", "independence_group": "ie-bengali" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "Whether the images were in fact AI-generated has not been confirmed by police or forensics; it is the family's allegation.", "Who produced the images: the family's complaint and the mother name the married man; ETV Bharat quotes the aunt saying his girlfriend made them (depicting the girl with the man). Several reports say the girlfriend circulated them.", "When she was found: most reports say Thursday night 27 November 2025; ETV Bharat and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted words place the discovery on the Friday morning.", "Whether anyone was arrested or charged; no arrest is reported in the inspected sources and no later coverage was found through 2026-09-19.", "When the images were first circulated and how widely; ETV Bharat says about a week before the death.", "The AI tool or platform used, and the social-media platforms involved, are not identified." ], "geography": { "basis": "Death and harassment in the Sonarpur police-station area, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal (all sources); FIR at Sonarpur police station; no court proceeding reported.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "IN" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "IN" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a deceased depicted minor. Death rule met: the death is confirmed by a police officer (PTI), the Baruipur SDPO (ETV Bharat) and independent local reporting (Anandabazar, Dainik Bhaskar), and the reported AI connection is carried by each of those chains as the family's allegation. Claims about who made and spread the images stay reported and attributed. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; death date corrected to 27 November 2025.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-19" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "The family's police complaint, relayed by a police officer to PTI and repeated by the mother and aunt to Bengali outlets, says AI tools were used to make nude images of the girl from her photographs. No police or forensic finding that the images were AI-made was published, and one report attributes their creation to the man's girlfriend rather than the man. The artifacts depicted the girl; no AI system interacted with her.", "status": "reported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Sonarpur, West Bengal: a Class 10 student died by hanging after AI-generated nude images of her were circulated on social media; her family's police complaint accuses a married man from the locality of making them", "summary": "On the night of Thursday 27 November 2025 a Class 10 student, a minor preparing for the 2026 Madhyamik examination, was found hanging at the relative's home where she lived in the Sonarpur police-station area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, and was declared dead at hospital. Her family's complaint to Sonarpur police, as a police officer relayed it to PTI, alleges that a married man from the locality had been harassing her, collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images that were then shared on social media, and that members of his family joined the harassment. Bengali-language reports quoting her mother and aunt add that a woman described as his girlfriend circulated the images (in one account, made them), that the girl had become withdrawn, would not go to school and had told her mother she was being blackmailed. Police said preliminary reports suggest she took her own life because of prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse; an FIR was registered on the family's complaint, no suicide note was found and officers were searching for the accused. One report and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted statement place the discovery on the Friday morning. No arrest or later development was found in this review.", "incidentDate": "2025-11-27", "incidentKind": "single_event", "incidentDatePrecision": "day", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2025-11-28", "aiSystem": "AI image-manipulation (\"nudifying\") tools, not named in any inspected report; AI use is the family's allegation", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "death", "psychological_distress", "exploitation_or_abuse", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "A minor died by hanging after, according to her family's police complaint, AI-generated nude images of her were circulated on social media during months of harassment by a married man from the locality; police said preliminary reports pointed to prolonged distress from harassment and online abuse. Causation is the family's allegation and a preliminary police view.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "alleged", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 1, "affectedCountStatus": "exact", "affectedCountEvidence": "One depicted person, the girl who died (all inspected reports). Relatives are not counted; the accused and the girlfriend are alleged perpetrators.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "IN", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "unknown", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/bengal-teen-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-1920296", "primarySourceLabel": "Deccan Chronicle (PTI), 28 November 2025: Bengal teen dies by suicide after AI-generated nude images circulated online (police officer and family complaint)", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-03-09T05:43:05.91184+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfake", "ai-generated-imagery", "ncii", "minor", "suicide", "death", "harassment", "india", "west-bengal", "sonarpur", "depicted" ] }, { "id": "2025-hku-deepfake-scandal", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'a University of Hong Kong (HKU) law student fabricated pornographic deepfakes of at least 20 women'; 'no allegation so far that the student spread the deepfake images'; 'a friend discovered the images on the student's laptop'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'Around 20 to 30 women... were affected'; 'in February, the student had admitted to using screenshots of the social media accounts... to generate pornographic images using free online artificial intelligence software'; 'there were 700 images involved - including deepfakes as well as unedited images'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'The images were organized into folders named after the victims, totaling 700+ images'; 'discovered on his laptop reported to the university in February'; 'not known to have been widely distributed'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "In February 2025 an HKU law student was found to have used free online AI software to make indecent/deepfake images of some 20 to 30 women (about 700 image files including deepfakes and unedited saved photos), taken from their social-media accounts; there was no allegation he distributed them.", "causal_attribution": "The victims' Instagram account (carried by HKFP and NBC) and AFP reporting (CBS); the 700 figure is images, and outlets vary between 'at least 20' and '20 to 30' women." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'The University has already issued him a warning letter and demanded him a formal apology'; the 60-word apology letter; 'class adjustments'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "'HKU proposed a verbal reprimand and warning letter'; the ~60-word apology 'most victims found... insincere'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'The university said it had issued a warning letter to the student and told him to apologise'; lawmakers/advocates' criticism.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "HKU initially issued a warning letter and demanded an apology (about 60 words, shown to victims in April 2025), and made class adjustments; the response drew wide criticism after victims went public on 12 July 2025.", "causal_attribution": "HKU statements and the victims' account, carried by three outlets." }, { "id": "c3", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'Hong Kong's Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data said Tuesday... has begun a criminal investigation into the incident'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" }, { "locator": "'The probe, announced Tuesday by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" } ], "assertion": "Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation on 15 July 2025.", "causal_attribution": "PCPD announcement, 15 July 2025." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "documented", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'私隱專員公署今日（17 日）宣布，因證據不足未能進一步跟進... 由於未有受害人願意提供進一步資料，目前未有足夠證據提出起訴'; 'AI 深度偽造技術（Deepfake）投訴... 5 宗'; new school/parent guidance.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "On 17 December 2025 the PCPD announced it was ending the investigation for insufficient evidence, as no victim was willing to provide further information, and released anti-deepfake guidance for schools and parents.", "causal_attribution": "unwire.hk report of the PCPD press conference (Privacy Commissioner Ada Chung), 17 December 2025." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'under section 159AAE of the Crimes Ordinance, it is unlawful to disseminate deepfake intimate images... without their consent'; creation not covered.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" }, { "locator": "'the city's regulations covered acts of voyeurism and the publication or distribution of images - rather than their creation'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "'Hong Kong law only criminalises the distribution of intimate images... but not the generation of them'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Hong Kong law criminalises publication or distribution of non-consensual intimate images (including AI-generated ones) but not their mere creation, leaving victims without a clear route to prosecution.", "causal_attribution": "Legal analysis carried by three outlets and the victims' statement." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "some 20 to 30 women had indecent and deepfake images generated from their social-media photos; distress, shared classes with the accused, and no redress after the probe closed", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ai-generated-porn-scandal-university-of-hong-kong/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 via the Internet Archive capture 20251105074941 (CBS live returns HTTP 406); datePublished 2025-07-15. CBS/AFP: at least 20 women, PCPD criminal probe, legal gap.", "independence_group": "afp" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/hong-kong-opens-criminal-probe-ai-generated-porn-scandal-citys-oldest-rcna219046", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-17). NBC News: 700+ images in victim-named folders, warning letter and 60-word apology, class adjustments, John Lee comment.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://hongkongfp.com/2025/07/14/hku-student-who-allegedly-made-700-ai-generated-indecent-images-inc-of-classmates-gets-warning-letter/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-13, correction 2025-07-14). HKFP: 20-30 women, February discovery, 700 images (deepfakes plus unedited), March disciplinary request, ragging analysis.", "independence_group": "hkfp" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3318047/hong-kong-should-ban-ai-generated-porn-protect-victims-ngo-and-lawmakers", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-17 (live, datePublished 2025-07-13). SCMP: advocates and lawmakers on the creation-vs-distribution legal gap; Education Bureau comment.", "independence_group": "scmp" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://unwire.hk/2025/12/17/hku-ai-deepfake-case-privacy-investigation-insufficient-evidence/fun-tech/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "zh", "translation_note": "Read in Chinese on 2026-09-17 (datePublished 2025-12-17). unwire.hk on the PCPD press conference: probe ended for insufficient evidence, no victim willing to provide further information, 20-30 victims, five deepfake complaints that year, new school/parent guidance. Model reading; no human bilingual review.", "independence_group": "unwire" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "education", "privacy", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The student is not identified beyond 'a male law student' and faced no prosecution; whether HKU took any further disciplinary action is not established.", "The exact number of women is reported as 20 to 30 (NBC: 'more than a dozen'); the precise count is unresolved.", "The creation start date is reported by The Standard as about May 2024 but is not firmly established in the sources read here.", "Whether any victim later came forward with evidence after the December 2025 closure is not established." ], "geography": { "basis": "Event: the University of Hong Kong; victims are HKU-connected women in Hong Kong (CBS, NBC, HKFP, SCMP). The PCPD is a regulator, not a court, and no prosecution followed, so court_countries is empty.", "court_countries": [], "event_countries": [ "HK" ], "affected_person_countries": [ "HK" ] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored from the deletion of historical artifact rows and converted to facts-v3 under the 2026-09-15 charter, which brings non-consensual AI imagery and harmful artifacts into scope. Some 20 to 30 women had indecent AI images generated from their photos; the harm and the closed investigation are documented across CBS/AFP, NBC, HKFP, SCMP and unwire.hk. First-publication timestamp preserved.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-17" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "Multiple outlets and the victims' own account report the student used free online AI software to generate indecent/deepfake images from the women's social-media photos; the student admitted using the software (per the victims' account carried by HKFP and NBC). The specific tools are not named.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "University of Hong Kong: a law student made about 700 indecent AI-generated images of some 20 to 30 classmates and teachers; the privacy watchdog opened then closed a criminal probe", "summary": "In February 2025 a University of Hong Kong (HKU) law student was found, by friends who saw the files on his laptop, to have used free online AI software to make about 700 indecent and deepfake images of some 20 to 30 women, including university and former schoolmates and secondary-school teachers, using photos taken from their social media. Victims went public in July 2025, and HKU's initial response, a warning letter and a demand that he apologise, drew wide criticism. Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation on 15 July 2025 but announced on 17 December 2025 that it was ending the probe for insufficient evidence, as no victim was willing to provide further information. Hong Kong law criminalised distribution, not creation, of such images.", "incidentDate": "2025-02-01", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "month", "exposurePattern": "unknown", "reportedDate": "2025-07-12", "aiSystem": "AI deepfake / image-generation software (free online tools, not named)", "severity": "high", "verificationStatus": "credible", "harmCategories": [], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm", "exploitation_or_abuse" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Some 20 to 30 women had indecent and deepfake images of themselves generated with AI from their social-media photos; victims reported distress and had to share classes with the accused, and the criminal investigation was closed for insufficient evidence, leaving them without redress.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "supported", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 20, "affectedCountStatus": "documented_minimum", "affectedCountEvidence": "CBS and Hong Kong Free Press report 20 to 30 women affected; NBC reports 'more than a dozen'; the PCPD (December 2025) referred to 20 to 30 victims. Documented minimum of 20; the ~700 figure counts images (deepfakes plus unedited saved photos), not people, and is not used as a person count.", "victimAgeRange": "adult", "jurisdiction": "HK", "platformType": "other", "outcomeType": "investigation_opened", "outcomeStatus": "resolved", "primarySourceUrl": "https://hongkongfp.com/2025/07/14/hku-student-who-allegedly-made-700-ai-generated-indecent-images-inc-of-classmates-gets-warning-letter/", "primarySourceLabel": "Hong Kong Free Press, 13-14 July 2025: HKU student who allegedly made 700 AI-generated indecent images, inc. of classmates, gets warning letter", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-29T09:52:32.902523+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "deepfakes", "hong-kong", "university", "ncii", "sexual-images", "legal-gap", "investigation", "east-asia", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] }, { "id": "2025-grok-non-consensual-image-generation", "caseFacts": { "claims": [ { "id": "c1", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'image generation and editing are currently limited to paying subscribers'; the standalone app/X tab complied with undress requests including NBC's consenting test subject.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "AP: Grok let users 'undress people, putting females in transparent bikinis or revealing clothing'; some images appeared to include children.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "'Over the past several weeks, Grok allowed users to create and publicly post sexually altered images of real people at the click of a button.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" } ], "assertion": "From late December 2025, Grok's image generation and editing on X and the standalone app let users generate sexualized images of real people at scale; xAI limited generation to paying subscribers on 9 January 2026, but NBC's own consenting test found the standalone app and X tab still complied with 'undress' requests.", "causal_attribution": "The conduct is established by NBC's direct test plus official accounts; the paywall change's limited effect is NBC's finding." }, { "id": "c2", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "Genevieve Oh's analysis: 7,751 sexualized images in one hour Wednesday, up 16.4% from 6,659/hr Monday.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "NYT via NC DOJ: 'generated and posted 4.4 million images, of which at least 41 percent were sexualized images of women' over nine days.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "CCDH via Engadget: 'an estimated 3 million sexualized images over 11 days, including 23,000 of minors'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" } ], "assertion": "Scale analyses: Genevieve Oh's analysis found 7,751 sexualized images generated in one hour on a Wednesday (up 16.4% from 6,659/hour on Monday); the New York Times reported 4.4 million images over nine days, at least 41% sexualized images of women; an AP analysis of 20,000 images from 25 December-1 January found 2% appeared to be 18 or younger; CCDH estimated about 3 million sexualized images over 11 days including roughly 23,000 of minors.", "causal_attribution": "Each figure belongs to its own analysis (Oh; NYT; AP via Fortune; CCDH); none is platform-confirmed and they are not merged. The AP 20,000-image analysis is carried via Fortune. The Bloomberg ~6,700/hour, 84-85x figure is recorded as unavailable." }, { "id": "c3a", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'I felt horrified, I felt violated, especially seeing my toddler's backpack in the back of it'; image of her at 14 undressed, up ~12 hrs, removed after the Guardian sought comment.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s3" } ], "assertion": "Ashley St. Clair said users sexualized images of her, including one of her at 14 that stayed up about 12 hours and was removed after the Guardian sought comment: 'I felt horrified, I felt violated.'", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the Guardian; her own lawsuit is a separate held row and is not merged here." }, { "id": "c3b", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'dehumanised and reduced into a sexual stereotype'; 'others asked Grok to generate more of her'; 'While it wasn't me that was in states of undress, it looked like me and it felt like me and it felt as violating.'", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s1" } ], "assertion": "Samantha Smith told the BBC she felt 'dehumanised and reduced into a sexual stereotype', and after she posted about it, others asked Grok to generate more of her.", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the BBC." }, { "id": "c3c", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "'had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her'; the 'sticking plaster' quote.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" } ], "assertion": "Dr Daisy Dixon, a Cardiff University lecturer, told the BBC she had seen an increase in people using Grok to undress her and called the paywall change 'a sticking plaster'.", "causal_attribution": "Her account to the BBC." }, { "id": "c4", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "IWF analysts found 'criminal imagery' of girls aged 11-13 apparently made with Grok.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s4" }, { "locator": "AI Forensics' review: ~800 archived URLs, <10% apparent CSAM ('photorealistic people, very young'), ~70 URLs reported to EU regulators.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s5" } ], "assertion": "The Internet Watch Foundation told the BBC its analysts found 'criminal imagery' of girls aged 11-13 apparently made with Grok; Wired and AI Forensics reviewed about 800 archived Grok Imagine URLs with under 10% apparent CSAM and reported about 70 URLs to EU regulators.", "causal_attribution": "Two independent expert bodies' findings (IWF; AI Forensics); the minors are unnamed and uncounted per the counting rules." }, { "id": "c5", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "NBC: Ofcom 'urgent contact'; Starmer 'disgraceful... X has got to get a grip'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s2" }, { "locator": "ICO announcement: formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI; follows the 7 January contact.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s6" }, { "locator": "AP via PBS: the EU's formal DSA investigation; 'materialized' risks; 'serious harm'.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "NC DOJ release: the 35-AG letter and its demands.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s8" }, { "locator": "Engadget: the Baltimore suit; City Solicitor Thompson's statement.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s9" }, { "locator": "TechPolicy.Press: the Amsterdam order of 26 March.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s13" }, { "locator": "Reuters headline (body unavailable): Ireland DPC inquiry of 17 February.", "relation": "context", "source_id": "s11" } ], "assertion": "Formal regulatory and legal actions followed: Ofcom's urgent contact (5 Jan; response by 9 Jan; investigation announced 12 Jan); the UK ICO's formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI LLC (3 Feb); the European Commission's formal DSA investigation (26 Jan, risks 'materialized' into 'serious harm'); Ireland's DPC GDPR inquiry (17 Feb); 35 US state attorneys general's demand letter (23 Jan); Baltimore's consumer-protection suit (24 Mar; D. Md. 1:26-cv-02103); and an Amsterdam court order to stop generating or distributing non-consensual sexualized images in the Netherlands (26 Mar, Offlimits suit, penalty up to €10 million).", "causal_attribution": "Each action is carried by an inspected official or news source; the California AG probe (NBC) and the Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines blocks (Reuters bodies unavailable) are recorded in the outcome and reported in the narrative." }, { "id": "c6", "status": "corroborated", "evidence": [ { "locator": "AP: the X statement of 14 January ('bikinis, underwear or other revealing attire', where illegal).", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s7" }, { "locator": "BBC (16 Mar): Musk's 'Literally zero' post of 14 January.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" } ], "assertion": "xAI's 14 January statement said it would stop allowing users to depict people in 'bikinis, underwear or other revealing attire' where illegal; Musk posted on 14 January that he was 'not aware of any naked underage images... Literally zero'.", "causal_attribution": "The company's and Musk's statements are recorded as their positions; the IWF and AI Forensics findings stand in tension with 'Literally zero' and are preserved as contrary evidence." }, { "id": "c7", "status": "reported", "evidence": [ { "locator": "BBC (20 Apr 2026): the 3 Feb raid, the summons, Musk's non-appearance, the DOJ refusal, and the probe's scope.", "relation": "supports", "source_id": "s10" } ], "assertion": "Paris police raided X's offices on 3 February and summoned Musk and Yaccarino for 20 April; Musk did not appear, and the US DOJ declined to assist France; the French probe includes complicity in possession or organised distribution of child sexual abuse material.", "causal_attribution": "Single inspected chain (BBC); attributed accordingly." } ], "effects": [ { "label": "industrial-scale non-consensual sexualized imagery of real people, including apparent minors, generated by Grok", "claim_id": "c1", "direction": "negative" } ], "sources": [ { "id": "s1", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98p1r4e6m8o", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (2 Jan 2026). Samantha Smith's account.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s2", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/x-paywall-ai-image-grok-app-bikini-allows-sexual-deepfakes-rcna252647", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (8 Jan 2026). Paywall change; NBC's own consenting test; Genevieve Oh's analysis; Starmer and Ofcom accounts.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s3", "url": "https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/05/elon-musk-ashley-st-clair-grok-fake-sexualised-images", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (5 Jan 2026). Ashley St. Clair's account.", "independence_group": "guardian" }, { "id": "s4", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c99kn52nx9do", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (9 Jan 2026, McMahon/Cress). Dr Daisy Dixon; the IWF finding.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s5", "url": "https://www.wired.com/story/grok-is-generating-sexual-content-far-more-graphic-than-whats-on-x/", "kind": "news_investigation", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (7 Jan 2026, Burgess/Varner). AI Forensics' review of ~800 archived Grok Imagine URLs.", "independence_group": "wired" }, { "id": "s6", "url": "https://ico.org.uk/about-the-ico/media-centre/news-and-blogs/2026/02/ico-announces-investigation-into-grok/", "kind": "regulator_announcement", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (formal investigations into XIUC and X.AI LLC; follows the 7 January urgent-information contact).", "independence_group": "ico" }, { "id": "s7", "url": "https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/eu-investigates-musks-ai-chatbot-grok-over-sexual-deepfakes", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (AP, Kelvin Chan; 26 Jan 2026). EU DSA investigation; X's 14 January statement.", "independence_group": "ap" }, { "id": "s8", "url": "https://ncdoj.gov/attorney-general-jeff-jackson-leads-bipartisan-coalition-demanding-xai-stop-creating-and-remove-groks-nonconsensual-sexual-images/", "kind": "regulator_press_release", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (23 Jan 2026). The 35-AG letter; quotes the New York Times' 4.4M/41% figure.", "independence_group": "nc-doj" }, { "id": "s9", "url": "https://www.engadget.com/ai/baltimore-sues-xai-over-grok-deepfakes-214135922.html", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (24 Mar 2026). Baltimore suit; the CCDH estimate.", "independence_group": "engadget" }, { "id": "s10", "url": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crk151nn7j3o", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (20 Apr 2026). Paris raid; Musk's non-appearance; DOJ refusal to assist France.", "independence_group": "bbc" }, { "id": "s11", "url": "https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ireland-opens-probe-into-musks-grok-ai-over-sexualised-images-2026-02-17/", "kind": "wire_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 401 on 2026-09-15; headline and date verified from the URL and snapshot; body not read.", "independence_group": "reuters" }, { "id": "s12", "url": "https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-07/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "unavailable", "language": null, "translation_note": "HTTP 403 on 2026-09-15; the ~6,700/hour, 84-85x analysis is attributed from the historical record and secondary references; body not read.", "independence_group": "bloomberg" }, { "id": "s13", "url": "https://www.techpolicy.press/dutch-court-orders-x-grok-to-stop-aigenerated-sexual-abuse-content/", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read in English on 2026-09-15 (27 Mar 2026). Amsterdam court order in the Offlimits case.", "independence_group": "techpolicy-press" }, { "id": "s14", "url": "https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ashley-st-clair-sues-xai-grok-sexual-images-rcna254302", "kind": "news_report", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Read on 2026-09-15 (15 Jan 2026). St. Clair's suit; cross-reference to the related held row.", "independence_group": "nbc" }, { "id": "s15", "url": "https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/64870891/MAYOR_AND_CITY_COUNCIL_OF_BALTIMORE_v_X_Corp_et_al", "kind": "court_docket", "access": "read", "language": "en", "translation_note": "Docket page read on 2026-09-15 (D. Md. 1:26-cv-02103; SpaceX dismissed without prejudice 17 Jul; MTD briefing under way as of 29 Jul).", "independence_group": "court-record" } ], "version": 1, "ai_roles": [ "others_use" ], "contexts": [ "everyday_life", "justice" ], "unknowns": [ "The Bloomberg analysis (~6,700 images/hour, 84-85x leading deepfake sites) could not be read (403) and is recorded without its body.", "Whether the images remain hosted and downloadable (Wired's June 2026 follow-up, cited but not read) is unverified.", "The N.D. Cal. class action's pseudonymity ruling of 30 July is known only through a blocked summary (internetcases 403).", "The outcome of the Amsterdam order's penalty mechanism and xAI's compliance are not reported in the inspected sources.", "The Indonesia/Malaysia/Philippines blocks and lifts are recorded from the historical record and headlines (Reuters/CNN bodies unavailable); dates may shift one day across carriers.", "The historical claim of 'five countries acting within two weeks' is not precisely verified and is not claimed." ], "geography": { "basis": "The generation and consumption were global and not tied to an inspected event location, so event and affected-person countries remain unknown rather than inferred from regulators or the company's seats. Court countries are limited to the documented proceedings: the US (Baltimore D. Md. suit; the related US suits) and the NL (Amsterdam court order). Regulatory actions by Ofcom, the ICO, the EU, the DPC, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines are not courts.", "court_countries": [ "US", "NL" ], "event_countries": [], "affected_person_countries": [] }, "publication": { "basis": "Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact crisis (depicted_or_impersonated). Named victims are adults who spoke publicly; minors are never named and never counted from image statistics. Each scale figure is attributed to its own analysis; the victims' accounts are single-chain and recorded as reported. Related xAI suits (St. Clair, Tennessee minors, others) are separate held rows and are not merged.", "reviewed_on": "2026-09-15" }, "ai_involvement": { "basis": "NBC's own consenting test confirmed the standalone Grok app and X tab complied with 'undress' requests after the 9 January paywall change; the victims' accounts, the IWF and AI Forensics reviews, and xAI's own 14 January restriction all establish the AI generation. The scale figures are attributed analyses, not platform-confirmed numbers.", "status": "supported" }, "person_relations": [ "depicted_or_impersonated" ] }, "name": "Grok non-consensual sexual image generation wave (December 2025 - January 2026)", "summary": "From late December 2025, xAI's Grok image editing on X let users generate sexualized images of real people at industrial scale, including images of named women and apparent minors. Analyses attributed to Genevieve Oh (7,751 sexualized images in one hour, via NBC), the New York Times (4.4 million images in nine days, at least 41% sexualized images of women, via the NC AG), the AP (2% of a 20,000-image sample appearing to be minors, via Fortune) and CCDH (about 3 million sexualized images over 11 days including roughly 23,000 of minors, via Engadget) documented the scale. Named women — Ashley St. Clair, Samantha Smith and Dr Daisy Dixon — described being undressed by Grok and revictimized when they objected. The wave triggered formal actions by Ofcom, the UK ICO, the EU (DSA), Ireland's DPC, 35 US state attorneys general, the California AG, Baltimore (consumer-protection suit), an Amsterdam court order, country blocks in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, and a Paris police raid; xAI restricted generation to paying subscribers on 9 January and narrowed the feature on 14 January 2026.", "incidentDate": "2025-12-25", "incidentEndDate": "2026-01-14", "incidentKind": "bounded_series", "incidentDatePrecision": "range", "exposurePattern": "repeated_interactions", "reportedDate": "2026-01-02", "aiSystem": "Grok (image generation and editing on X and the standalone app)", "aiCompany": "SpaceXAI (formerly xAI)", "severity": "critical", "verificationStatus": "verified", "harmCategories": [ "minor_exploitation", "third_party_harm_facilitation", "barrier_erosion" ], "harmOutcomes": [ "psychological_distress", "reputational_harm" ], "harmOutcomeSummary": "Mass non-consensual sexualized imagery of real people — including apparent minors — generated at industrial scale and amplified when victims objected, with named women describing violation and dehumanization and regulators on three continents opening formal actions.", "frameworkFacets": [], "causationStatus": "established", "participantUsersAffectedMin": 0, "otherPeopleHarmedMin": 3, "affectedCountStatus": "partial", "affectedCountEvidence": "Three counted depicted persons: Ashley St. Clair (Guardian), Samantha Smith (BBC) and Dr Daisy Dixon (BBC), each named and speaking publicly. Further victims — including the minors in the IWF's apparent criminal imagery (girls 11-13) and the people in the analysis samples — are unquantified: hourly image rates, the 20,000-image sample and the CCDH estimate count images, not people, and are never converted.", "victimAgeRange": "minor", "jurisdiction": "XX", "platformType": "assistant", "outcomeType": "regulatory_action", "outcomeStatus": "ongoing", "primarySourceUrl": "https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98p1r4e6m8o", "primarySourceLabel": "BBC (2 Jan 2026) — Samantha Smith's account of being undressed by Grok and revictimized when she objected", "firstPublishedAt": "2026-01-11T12:19:47.670189+00:00", "scopeVersion": "facts-v3", "tags": [ "grok", "xai", "csam", "deepfakes", "minor", "sexual-images", "industrial-scale", "multi-country", "eu-dsa", "class-action", "35-state-ag", "depicted-or-impersonated" ] } ] }