{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-22T10:17:01.191Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"fake-audio-recording","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-baltimore-county-maryland-police-say-athletic-director-framed-high-school-principal-with-ai-cloned-voice-recording","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'police say a principal was framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice' and 'The fake recording contained racist and antisemitic comments, police said. The sound file appeared in an email in some teachers’ inboxes before spreading on social media.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police said a high school principal in Baltimore County, Maryland, was framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice containing racist and antisemitic comments, which appeared in some teachers' email inboxes before spreading on social media.","causal_attribution":"Attributed to police; the fake recording is the reported cause of the harm."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Detectives asked outside experts to analyze the recording. One said it “contained traces of AI-generated content with human editing after the fact,” court records stated.' and 'A second opinion from Farid, the Berkeley professor, found that “multiple recordings were spliced together,” according to the records.' and 'he has not confirmed that it was fully AI-generated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to court records cited by AP, an outside expert consulted by detectives said the recording contained traces of AI-generated content with human editing after the fact; a second expert found multiple recordings were spliced together and told AP he had not confirmed it was fully AI-generated.","causal_attribution":"Expert analysis supports AI involvement with human editing; the extent of AI generation is not established."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'to go on leave, while police guarded his house, authorities said. Angry phone calls inundated the school, while hate-filled messages accumulated on social media.' and 'The bogus audio contained racist remarks and caused the administrator to go on leave.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The recording forced the principal to go on leave while police guarded his house; angry phone calls inundated the school and hate-filled messages accumulated on social media.","causal_attribution":"Authorities attribute the leave and the police protection to the fake recording."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'athletic director accused of using artificial intelligence to impersonate his principal' and 'he was under investigation for using artificial intelligence to create a racist and antisemitic recording to retaliate against his former principal' and 'was sentenced to four months behind bars for disturbing school operations in connection with a racist and antisemitic recording mimicking the voice of his former principal' and 'entered an Alford plea, where he maintained his innocence while admitting prosecutors had enough evidence for a conviction'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The school's athletic director was investigated for using artificial intelligence to create the recording to retaliate against the principal and was sentenced in 2025 to four months behind bars for disturbing school operations in connection with the recording, after an Alford plea in which he maintained his innocence while admitting prosecutors had enough evidence for a conviction.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome as reported; the conviction is for disturbing school operations, not an offence defined by AI use."}],"effects":[{"label":"principal framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice, went on leave under police protection","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://apnews.com/article/ai-maryland-principal-voice-recording-663d5bc0714a3af221392cc6f1af985e","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-22 through an Internet Archive capture of the AP page (direct request HTTP 403). Published 29 April 2024.","independence_group":"ap-baltimore-county-police-and-court-records-apr-2024"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/former-pikesville-high-school-athletic-director-charged-creating-racist-rant-ai-charged-child-exploitation/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-22 through an Internet Archive capture (direct request HTTP 406). Published 4 August 2026; mainly about an unrelated federal plea.","independence_group":"cbs-baltimore-court-report-aug-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","education","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how much of the recording was AI-generated rather than spliced from real recordings.","The date the recording first circulated; the sources read date only the April 2024 police announcement.","The exact charge and sentencing date in the state case; the Alford plea and four-month sentence were read only through CBS Baltimore.","Whether the principal returned to his post."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: a high school in Baltimore County, Maryland, investigated by Baltimore County police (AP). The 2025 sentence was imposed in Maryland according to CBS Baltimore's account of the state case, so court_countries is US.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): police said a principal was framed by a fake recording of his voice, an expert consulted by detectives found traces of AI-generated content with human editing, and the athletic director was later sentenced for disturbing school operations over the recording. A second expert's caution about full AI generation is recorded. The principal, the athletic director and the school are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Investigating police said the recording was a fake of the principal's voice, and court records cited by AP say an expert asked by detectives to analyse it found traces of AI-generated content with human editing after the fact; prosecutors' account as reported by CBS Baltimore is that the athletic director used artificial intelligence to create it. The imitation of the principal's voice (depicted_or_impersonated) is what framed him. A second expert found splicing and has not confirmed the clip was fully AI-generated, so the share of AI generation is unestablished; no tool is identified in the sources read.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Baltimore County, Maryland: police say a high school's athletic director framed the principal as racist with an AI-cloned voice recording","summary":"Police in Baltimore County, Maryland, said in April 2024 that a high school principal had been framed as racist by a fake recording of his voice containing racist and antisemitic comments, which appeared in teachers' email inboxes and spread on social media. Court records cited by the Associated Press say an expert consulted by detectives found traces of AI-generated content with human editing; a second expert found spliced recordings and told AP he had not confirmed the clip was fully AI-generated. The principal went on leave while police guarded his house. The school's athletic director, investigated for using AI to make the recording in retaliation, entered an Alford plea, maintaining his innocence, and was sentenced in 2025 to four months for disturbing school operations, CBS Baltimore reports.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2024-04-29","aiSystem":"Voice-cloning AI used to imitate the principal's voice in a fake audio recording, according to police and an expert cited in court records (tool not identified in the sources read)","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm","professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to police and AP, a fake recording imitating a high school principal's voice with racist and antisemitic remarks spread online; he went on leave while police guarded his house, and the school received angry calls and hate-filled messages.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the principal whose voice the recording imitated and who went on leave (AP). School staff who received calls are not counted because no individual harm to them is reported.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://apnews.com/article/ai-maryland-principal-voice-recording-663d5bc0714a3af221392cc6f1af985e","primarySourceLabel":"AP News, 29 April 2024: Deepfake of principal's voice is the latest case of AI being used for harm","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-22T03:13:34.453235+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:13:34.453235+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-clone","fake-audio-recording","school","police-statement","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}