{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-07T02:11:23.294Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"generative-ai","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2024","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":3,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-wyoming-newspaper-reporter-resigned-after-editor-found-ai-generated-quotes-attributed-to-six-people-including-governor","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'came in a June 26 article about the comedian Larry the Cable Guy being chosen as the grand marshal of a local parade. It concluded with an explanation of the inverted pyramid'; 'This structure ensures that the most critical information is presented first, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'came in a 26 June article about the comedian Larry the Cable Guy being chosen as the grand marshal of the Cody Stampede parade.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A 26 June 2024 Cody Enterprise story about the Cody Stampede parade's grand marshal ended with a sentence explaining the inverted-pyramid structure of a news story, which a Powell Tribune reporter took as a sign of generative AI.","causal_attribution":"The Powell Tribune reporter's reading of the text, relayed by the AP."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the Enterprise discovered seven stories that included AI-generated quotes from six people'; 'but that they had never actually talked to'; 'One quote was entirely fabricated and another was partially fabricated'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'They have discovered seven stories that included AI-generated quotes from six people'; 'included a quote from the Governor that was entirely fabricated'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Enterprise's editor says a review found seven of the reporter's stories carried AI-generated quotes from six people, and that people he spoke to in the review said they had never talked to the reporter; the governor's spokesperson says one quote attributed to the governor was entirely fabricated and another partly fabricated.","causal_attribution":"The newspaper's own review and the governor's office, relayed in one AP report; the review itself was not published."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'admitted that he had used AI in his stories before he resigned from the Enterprise'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'admitted that he had used AI in his stories.'; 'resigned from the paper.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the Powell Tribune reporter, the Enterprise reporter admitted using AI in his stories, and he resigned.","causal_attribution":"The admission is the Powell Tribune reporter's account; the reporter did not respond to the AP."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'apologized that “AI was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories.”'; 'The Enterprise didn’t have an AI policy'; 'the newspaper now has a system in place to recognize AI-generated stories'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The editor apologised that AI was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories, said the paper had no AI policy and would adopt one; the publisher said the paper now has a system to recognise AI-generated stories.","causal_attribution":"The newspaper's own statements in editorials and to the AP."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Obviously I’ve never intentionally tried to misquote anybody'; 'did not respond to an AP phone message'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The reporter told the Powell Tribune he had never intentionally tried to misquote anybody and promised corrections and apologies; he did not respond to the AP.","causal_attribution":"His own words as quoted by the Powell Tribune reporter, recorded as counterevidence on intent."}],"effects":[{"label":"Reporter resigned after the AI-generated quotes were exposed","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Quotes never spoken were printed under the names of six people, including the governor","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-reporter-resigns-journalism-ed076e2f276d9811f3b9ba051a03b7ae","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-11-01 through an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 403). AP report by its Wyoming correspondent, quoting the Enterprise editor, the Powell Tribune reporter and the governor's spokesperson.","independence_group":"ap-2024-08-14"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/aug/14/wyoming-reporter-ai-cody-enterprise","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-11-01 (HTTP 200). The Guardian's version of the AP report; same reporting chain, not independent. It carries the governor's spokesperson's emailed statement in fuller form.","independence_group":"ap-2024-08-14"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["work"],"unknowns":["Which AI program the reporter used and what he asked it: no source names the tool or describes the prompts.","The exact date of the resignation: the AP reports only that he resigned before its 14 August 2024 report.","Whether the newspaper asked him to resign or he left on his own initiative.","Whether the six people given fabricated quotes suffered any consequence beyond the misattribution."],"geography":{"basis":"The newspaper and the stories are in Cody, Wyoming (AP). No residence is used.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because the newspaper's editor says its review found AI-generated quotes from six people in seven of the reporter's stories, a published story carried generic AI-style text, the reporter reportedly admitted using AI, and he resigned. The AI tool is not identified and the admission is relayed by a competing reporter.","reviewed_on":"2026-11-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Enterprise's editor told the AP that a review found seven of the reporter's stories carried AI-generated quotes from six people who had never spoken to him, and wrote that AI was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories. The Powell Tribune reporter says the Enterprise reporter admitted using AI in his stories. One published story ended with a generic explanation of news-story structure. The reporter filed the AI-generated text and resigned after it was exposed. The AI program and his prompts are not identified.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Wyoming newspaper editor says a new reporter's stories carried AI-generated quotes from six people, including the governor; the reporter resigned","summary":"In summer 2024 a reporter who had joined the Cody Enterprise, a small newspaper in Cody, Wyoming, about two months earlier wrote stories with the help of generative AI. A reporter at the competing Powell Tribune noticed robotic phrasing and quotes that seemed off, including a 26 June story about a local parade that ended with an explanation of how to structure a news story. According to the Powell Tribune reporter, the Enterprise reporter admitted using AI in his stories, and he then resigned. The Enterprise's editor told the Associated Press that a review had found seven stories with AI-generated quotes from six people, and that people he spoke to in the review said they had never talked to the reporter. A spokesperson for Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said one quote attributed to the governor was entirely fabricated and another partly fabricated. The editor and publisher apologised in editorials, and the editor said the paper would adopt an AI policy. The reporter did not respond to the AP. The AI tool used is not identified.","incidentDate":"2024-06-26","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2024-08-14","aiSystem":"Generative AI that the reporter used to help write news stories; the sources do not name the program","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI writing tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Powell Tribune reporter, the Enterprise reporter admitted using AI in his stories and then resigned; the newspaper says AI-generated quotes were attributed to six people who never spoke to him.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the reporter who used generative AI and resigned (AP). The six people given AI-generated quotes are not counted because no consequence for them beyond the misattribution is reported; readers are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-reporter-resigns-journalism-ed076e2f276d9811f3b9ba051a03b7ae","primarySourceLabel":"AP News, 14 Aug 2024: Wyoming reporter caught using artificial intelligence to create fake quotes and stories","firstPublishedAt":"2026-11-01T03:04:56.183986+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-11-01T03:04:56.183986+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["work","journalism","resignation","fabricated-quotes","generative-ai"]},{"id":"2024-seoige-ai-deepfake-sexual-image-galway-west-election","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige has said that sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology have left her deeply traumatised.'; 'Ms Seoige was alerted by people close to her of the circulation of such images while she was standing as a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 general election.'; '\"I’ve had to deal with the shame and humiliation of this for almost a year and a half,\" she said. \"It has been deeply traumatising.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'During the campaign, explicit deepfake images of her were created using AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'she recalls how she became the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI while canvassing for election in 2024.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"Gráinne Seoige says that while she was a candidate in Galway West in the 2024 general election she was alerted to the circulation of sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology, that the experience was the most shocking of her life and deeply traumatising, and that she has dealt with shame and humiliation for almost a year and a half.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in successive interviews and statements (one account-holder, so not independent corroboration). The creator and tool are unknown."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ms Seoige said the image of her was disseminated through WhatsApp, owned by Meta, and that when gardaí became aware people were in possession of the image, they sought information about its origin.'; 'Rather than cooperate, she said, some recipients refused to share that information.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Ms Seoige will say that her case “hit a dead end” and “even though the AI-generated pornographic image of me was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times across WhatsApp'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She says the AI-generated image was disseminated through WhatsApp, by her account shared hundreds if not thousands of times, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so her case hit a dead end.","causal_attribution":"Her own account; the sharing figure is her estimate. No Garda statement was read."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne Seoige has told of experiencing nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake images of her circulated online.'; 'The Galway native often had night terrors of \"faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.\"'; '\"I went through a period where I just wore a long puffer coat everywhere I went.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Since then she has had nightmares in which faceless men attack her.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"In a September 2026 interview she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and a period when she wore a long puffer coat everywhere so that nobody could see her body.","causal_attribution":"Her own account, relayed by RSVP from a Sunday Independent interview that was not itself read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'What we know after Gráinne Seoige appears before Oireachtas committee urging action on sexualised AI deepfakes'; 'Gráinne Seoige has urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The creation and dissemination of deepfake explicit images will be the “abuse scandal of the 21st century if we do not act now”, television presenter Gráinne Seoige is set to tell TDs and senators.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In January 2026 she appeared before an Oireachtas committee and urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Independent report of her appearance (headline and opening read); the Examiner item is a preview of her prepared statement."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I found it deeply humiliating. It was such an attack on my dignity. It made me feel incredibly vulnerable, distrusting of people, it made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. I have terrible nightmares of faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'It made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. It was such an attack on my dignity.'; 'It made me feel incredibly vulnerable. Distrusting of people. I have terrible nightmares.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"In passages from her documentary quoted on 4 October 2026, she says she found the image deeply humiliating and an attack on her dignity, that it made her feel incredibly vulnerable and distrusting of people and not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home, and that she has terrible nightmares of faceless men.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I was shown this image in September or October 2024, and I haven’t seen it since.'; 'weeps on camera as she sees the horrendous image'; 'right now I feel like I could vomit, looking at it again'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says in the documentary that she was shown the image in September or October 2024 and had not looked at it since; the Irish Sun reports that she weeps on camera on seeing it again and says she felt she could vomit.","causal_attribution":"Her own account and the Irish Sun's description of the documentary, which was not viewed."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’ve had to have therapy to deal with all this'; 'People make fun of it.'; 'previously told how she wore a face mask at the shops after the image was circulated online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says she has had therapy to deal with the experience and that people make fun of it; the Irish Sun also reports that she previously said she wore a face mask at the shops after the image circulated.","causal_attribution":"Her own account as quoted by the Irish Sun; no clinical record is cited."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I spent the rest of that day knocking on doors in Connemara'; 'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother.'; 'It completely destabilises your sense of safety in the world.'; 'hyper vigilant the whole time, which is exhausting'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says that on the day she was told about the image she spent the rest of the day knocking on doors in Connemara wondering whether each man who answered had seen it, that she had to tell her father and mother, and that the experience destabilised her sense of safety and left her hypervigilant.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'This was done for a very specific reason. It was politically motivated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'she says helped to scupper her election chances'; 'meant she wouldn’t recommend a woman to run for public office'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'because it surfaced at a time when she was standing for election for Fianna Fáil in Galway West'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"She says the image was made for a very specific reason and was politically motivated; the Irish Sun reports that she says it helped to scupper her election chances and that she told an Oireachtas committee she would not recommend that a woman run for public office.","causal_attribution":"Her own belief about motive and effect; the maker is unidentified and no finding on motive or on the election result is reported."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne contacted Gardai and also went to'; 'parent company, and the media regulator, Coimisiun na Mean, as she fought to get justice'; 'no one was ever prosecuted for creating the fake image'; 'nothing could be done to find where the picture originated from given WhatsApp’s encryption'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The Irish Sun reports that she contacted gardaí, Meta and the media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, that no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image, and that she spoke of powerlessness because the origin of the picture could not be found given WhatsApp's encryption.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Sun's summary; no Garda, Meta or regulator statement was read."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'airs Monday, 5 October at 9 pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media One'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'which airs on Virgin Media One at 9pm tomorrow'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, Monday, Virgin Media One, 9pm'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The documentary, Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, was scheduled to air on Virgin Media One at 9pm on Monday 5 October 2026, and The Irish Times reviewed it that day.","causal_attribution":"Broadcast listing as reported on 4 and 5 October 2026; the review is dated 5 October."},{"id":"c12","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'of Dublin-based technology company Ceartas, where she discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software. This is news to Seoige, who is understandably appalled.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The Irish Times review reports that in the documentary she meets a representative of a Dublin-based technology company, Ceartas, and discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software, which was news to her.","causal_attribution":"The reviewer's description of the film; how many images were found, when they were made and whether they circulated are not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation, after a sexualised deepfake image of her circulated during her election campaign","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"recurring nightmares of being attacked and a period of hiding her body under a long coat","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"did not want to go outside and moved away from her home, by her account","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"learned during filming that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software","claim_id":"c12","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rte.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28 and again on 2026-10-05; read in full through the Internet Archive id_ capture (re-read 2026-10-05 from the capture of 6 May 2026). Report of her Prime Time interview (13 January 2026 edition).","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41779358.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-28 and re-read live on 2026-10-05 (20 January 2026). Reports her prepared statement to the Oireachtas media committee; the committee transcript was not read.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-experienced-nightmares-being-37707633","kind":"news_relay","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rsvplive.ie returned 202 with an empty body; the same article (RSVP, Michelle Townsend, 27 September 2026) was read in full through the MSN content API. It relays her interview with the Sunday Independent, which was not readable (independent.ie 403, Archive 404). Re-read through the MSN content API on 2026-10-05.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/what-we-know-after-grainne-seoige-appears-before-oireachtas-committee-urging-action-on-sexualised-ai-deepfakes/a/125585403.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"independent.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28; the headline and opening paragraph (Maeve McTaggart, 21 January 2026) were read through a reader relay by the second researcher (bodies/verify-seoige-indo-oireachtas.txt); the remainder is paywalled and was not read. Separate group: the paper's own report of her committee appearance, used only for that fact. independent.ie returned 403 again on 2026-10-05; not re-read, the 2026-09-28 extract is relied on.","independence_group":"independent-ie-oireachtas"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-said-deepfake-images-37725097","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 through the MSN content API, which carries the RSVP article (reporter byline, timestamp 3 October 2026 23:01 UTC, 4 October Irish time) and names this address as its source. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.thesun.ie/tv/17711501/grainne-seoige-deepfake-ireland-ai-abuse-tears-nightmares/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 from the publisher's own REST endpoint for this post (the article page returned a device-verification screen). The Irish Sun, 4 October 2026 08:00. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast and adds the paper's own summary of the Garda outcome. Same account-holder as the other sources, so the same group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2026/10/05/deepfake-ireland-on-virgin-media-grainne-seoiges-distress-in-this-grim-film-is-palpable/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-06 from irishtimes.com (HTTP 200). A television review published on 5 October 2026, the broadcast date, describing the documentary's content; it relays her statements in the film, so it shares her account's group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["Who made the image and with which tool.","The exact dates of creation and circulation within the 2024 campaign; she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024.","Whether any Garda investigation remains open; no arrest or charge is reported, and the Irish Sun says no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image.","Whether she has received a clinical diagnosis: none is stated in the sources read.","Where she moved from and to, and when; she says only that she moved away from her home.","What Meta and Coimisiún na Meán did in response to her approaches.","Whether the broadcast matched the version reviewed: the film was not viewed for this record, and its content comes from two preview reports of 4 October and The Irish Times review of 5 October 2026.","How many further manipulated images were found during filming, who made them, when, and whether they circulated."],"geography":{"basis":"The image circulated while she was a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 Irish general election and she reported it to An Garda Síochána (RTÉ; Irish Examiner). RSVP calls her a Galway native. No court proceedings are reported. She describes canvassing in Connemara on the day she was told (RSVP Live, 4 October 2026).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IE"],"affected_person_countries":["IE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): an AI-generated sexualised image depicting Ms Seoige, a public figure, circulated during her 2024 election campaign, and she has described its effects on the record in interviews, to an Oireachtas committee and in a documentary. The account is hers and the creator is unidentified. No sexual imagery is described beyond its nature. Updated on 2026-10-06 from The Irish Times review of the documentary, which reports that she learned during filming of further deepfake manipulations of images from her Instagram account; the added claim is reported and attributed to the review.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-06"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"RTÉ reports sexualised images of her 'made with deepfake technology', and the Irish Examiner reports her statement that 'the AI-generated pornographic image of me' was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times on WhatsApp. The Irish Times review describes her as the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI and reports that further images from her Instagram account were manipulated by deepfake software. The generated image depicts her and its circulation is the source of the shame, nightmares and withdrawal she describes. The tool and maker are unknown and no forensic finding is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexual deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp during her 2024 election campaign","summary":"Gráinne Seoige, a broadcaster who stood for Fianna Fáil in Galway West in Ireland's 2024 general election, told RTÉ's Prime Time in January 2026 that people close to her alerted her during the campaign to sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology. She says the AI-generated pornographic image was disseminated through WhatsApp, shared hundreds if not thousands of times by her account, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so the investigation hit a dead end. She kept silent during the campaign and has described the experience as deeply traumatising, with shame and humiliation lasting almost a year and a half. In a September 2026 interview relayed by RSVP Live from the Sunday Independent she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and wearing a long puffer coat everywhere so her body could not be seen. She has since appeared before the Oireachtas media committee (Irish Independent, 21 January 2026), and made a Virgin Media documentary on deepfake abuse, scheduled for broadcast on 5 October 2026. In passages from it quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024, that it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy; she also says she believes the image was politically motivated. The Irish Times, reviewing the documentary on 5 October 2026, reports that in it she learns from a Dublin technology company that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated with deepfake software, which was news to her. The tool used to make the image and the person who made it are not identified.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-14","aiSystem":"An unidentified generative-AI or deepfake tool used to make a sexualised image of a real person (described as 'made with deepfake technology' by RTÉ and as an 'AI-generated pornographic image' in her Oireachtas statement reported by the Irish Examiner); the tool and its maker are not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Ms Seoige says the circulation of an AI-generated sexualised image of her during her 2024 election campaign left her deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation and recurring nightmares of being attacked, and that the Garda investigation could not identify those responsible (her accounts to RTÉ Prime Time, the Oireachtas committee via the Irish Examiner, and the Sunday Independent via RSVP Live). In passages from her documentary quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy. The Irish Times review of the documentary (5 October 2026) reports that during filming she learned that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, Gráinne Seoige, who describes her own experience (RTÉ; Irish Examiner; RSVP Live). The other victims she says she has spoken to are separate experiences and are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","primarySourceLabel":"RTÉ News, 14 January 2026: Gráinne Seoige: Sexualised deepfake images left me traumatised","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:40.162359+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T03:05:33.997291+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","non-consensual-intimate-imagery","ireland","galway","election","whatsapp","public-figure","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-tsuda-v-tiktok-ai-voice-imitation-tokyo","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'生成AI（人工知能）によって自身の声を無断で模倣した動画が公開されているとして、人気声優の津田健次郎さんが、TikTok（ティックトック）の運営会社に動画の削除を求めて東京地裁に提訴していたことが23日分かった。'; '2024年7月〜25年9月、津田さんの声質を模したナレーションを付け、都市伝説やオカルト、雑学をテーマとした動画を188本投稿したとされる。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'訴状などによると、２０２４年７月～２５年９月、都市伝説や陰謀論を扱う画像に津田さんの声質を模したナレーションを付けた動画１８８件が投稿された。'; '動画には「ツダケンの声がする」「声が似ている」などのコメントが相次いだ。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'訴状によると、問題の動画アカウントは2024年7月以降、津田さんの声を模したナレーションで都市伝説や心霊現象を語る内容で、少なくとも188件投稿した。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to Mr Tsuda's complaint, an account run by an unidentified person posted at least 188 videos between July 2024 and September 2025 narrated by a generative-AI imitation of his voice, without his permission, and viewers commented that the voice sounded like him.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiff's allegations as reported from the complaint and his lawyer (one chain); the court has not ruled."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'ティックトックには再生回数に応じて金銭が支払われる仕組みがあり、月50万〜75万円の収益を上げたとしている。'; '提訴は25年11月。この時点で投稿者は21万人以上のフォロワーを有し、動画の平均再生回数は147万回に上るという。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'動画の再生数に応じて投稿者は月50万～75万円の収益を上げていた、と津田さん側は主張している。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"His side says the account had about 210,000 followers when he sued in November 2025, videos averaged 1.47 million views, and the poster earned 500,000 to 750,000 yen a month from TikTok's view-based payments.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiff's figures; not independently verified."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'これに対して運営会社側は「投稿者は『友人の声を生成ＡＩに学習させた』と述べており、普遍的な男性の声にすぎない」などと反論。提訴後に動画データがアカウントごと削除されたとし、「訴えの利益はない」として請求却下も求めている。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'一方、ティックトック側は答弁書で、問題の音声が「津田さんと『同一の声』かどうかは客観的に明らかではない」などと反論。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'25年8月、東京地裁がティックトック側に投稿者の情報の開示を命じたが、開示された情報が古く、投稿者の特定に至らなかったという。'","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"TikTok's operator disputes the claim, saying it is not objectively clear the voice is the same as his and that it is a generic male voice, that the poster said they had trained AI on a friend's voice, and that the account and videos were deleted after the suit was filed; it asks for the claim to be dismissed.","causal_attribution":"Defendant's position as reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'高橋裁判長は判決理由で、一般論として人の声は「肖像と同様に個人の人格の象徴と言える」と指摘。実演家の声を無断で使用する行為は、もっぱらその声がもつ顧客吸引力の利用が目的と認められる場合にはパブリシティー権の侵害に当たるとの考え方を示した。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'判決は、人の声は容姿と同じように「個人の人格の象徴といえる」と指摘。'; '人の声が法的な保護の対象になると認めた司法判断は初めて。'; '声優らの声を無断で使う行為について、その声に商品の販売などを促す顧客吸引力があり、もっぱらその声の顧客吸引力を利用する目的で使っている場合は「パブリシティー権の侵害にあたると解するのが相当だ」と述べた。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'30日の判決で東京地裁は「人の声は肖像と同様に個人の人格の象徴」と指摘しました。'; 'そのうえで実演家の声を無断で使用することについて、顧客吸引力の利用する目的があれば「パブリシティー権」の侵害に当たるとする初めての判断を示しました。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'模倣された声が入った動画の削除を求めた訴訟の判決が３０日、東京地裁で言い渡される。生成ＡＩによる声の権利侵害を巡る初の訴訟で'","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'ベテラン声優らは「声の権利を認めてほしい」と訴え、津田健次郎さんが起こした訴訟の判決を見守っている。'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"On 30 September 2026 the Tokyo District Court held, as a general principle, that a person's voice is a symbol of individual personality like a likeness, and that using a performer's voice without permission solely to exploit its power to attract customers infringes the right of publicity; it was described as the first such judicial finding in Japan.","causal_attribution":"Court's general holding as reported by three outlets that each reported the judgment; the judgment text itself was not read."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'ただ今回の動画はすでに運営会社のサーバーからも削除されているとし、これ以上削除する義務を負っておらず原告の請求は理由がないと結論付けた。問題の動画がパブリシティー権を侵害しているかは判断を示さなかった。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'一方で判決は、今回の裁判で津田さん側が問題とした動画は削除済みだと認定。津田さんの声の権利が侵害されたかについては判断しなかった。'; 'ただ、今回の事例では動画がすでに消えており、ティックトックの運営会社に削除義務はないと判断。津田さん側の請求は退けた。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'一方で、動画の削除についてはアカウントがすでに削除されているため、削除義務がないとし、津田さん側の請求を退けました。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The court dismissed Mr Tsuda's claim because the videos had already been deleted, so TikTok's operator had no duty to delete them, and it did not decide whether the videos infringed his publicity right.","causal_attribution":"Court's disposition as reported; no finding that the videos imitate or infringe his voice."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'原告側は津田さんの声と混同させて月50万〜75万円の収益を得ていたなどとして、不正競争防止法違反にも当たると主張したが、この点については判決は言及しなかった。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"According to Nikkei, the judgment did not address his separate argument that the videos breached the Unfair Competition Prevention Act by passing them off as his voice.","causal_attribution":"Single report (Nikkei)."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'今年5月には投稿者がアカウントを削除した。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'提訴後の今年5月、投稿者がアカウントを削除し、問題の動画は表示されなくなっていた。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The poster deleted the account in May 2026, after the suit was filed.","causal_attribution":"Reported by Nikkei and the Asahi Shimbun from the proceedings."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'判決後、津田さんの代理人弁護士は控訴しない方針を示した。'; 'ティックトックの運営会社は「今後も、テクノロジーの発展と権利保護のバランスのとれた在り方について、誠実に取り組んでいく」とコメントした。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"After the judgment his lawyer said they did not plan to appeal, and TikTok's operator said it would keep working on a balance between technological development and rights protection.","causal_attribution":"Statements reported by the Asahi Shimbun."}],"effects":[{"label":"voice allegedly imitated by generative AI without permission in at least 188 monetised TikTok videos that viewers associated with him","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026092600287&g=soc","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-09-28; summarised in English by the researcher (no human translation). Reports the complaint and TikTok's filings. Re-read on 2026-10-01.","independence_group":"tsuda-complaint"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD231K30T20C26A5000000/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-09-28 (23 May 2026); sourced to the plaintiff's lawyer and the complaint. Researcher translation. Re-read on 2026-10-01.","independence_group":"tsuda-complaint"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV5T2J1LV5TUTIL00FM.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-09-28 (May 2026); the visible article text was read and quotes the complaint and TikTok's answer. Researcher translation. Re-read on 2026-10-01.","independence_group":"tsuda-complaint"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.jiji.com/jc/article?k=2026092600297&g=soc","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-09-28 (26 September 2026). Industry context; does not add facts about the Tsuda videos. Researcher translation. Re-read on 2026-10-01.","independence_group":"jiji-industry-feature"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD262B00W6A920C2000000/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-10-01 (30 September 2026 judgment report by Nikkei; photo credited to Kyodo). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"nikkei-judgment-report"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV9Z11V1V9ZUTIL02SM.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-10-01; the visible text before the paywall was read (about 1,000 characters remain unread). Bylined by the Asahi Tokyo city news court reporter. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"asahi-judgment-report"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://news.tv-asahi.co.jp/news_society/articles/900200797.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ja","translation_note":"Read live in Japanese on 2026-10-01 (TV Asahi running summary of the 30 September 2026 judgment). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"tv-asahi-judgment-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["Who ran the account and which AI tool produced the voice (a court-ordered disclosure in August 2025 did not identify the poster, according to the Asahi Shimbun).","Whether the voice was modelled on Mr Tsuda's voice and whether the videos infringed his publicity right; the court dismissed the claim because the videos had already been deleted, without deciding either.","Mr Tsuda's own account of personal or financial effects; no statement from him was read.","The full judgment text; it was not read, and the court's reasoning is taken from news reports."],"geography":{"basis":"Mr Tsuda is a Japanese voice actor working in Japan and the suit is in the Tokyo District Court (Nikkei; Jiji). The poster is unidentified and the place where the videos were made is not reported, so no event country is recorded.","court_countries":["JP"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["JP"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case (a generative-AI voice alleged to impersonate a real, named performer in monetised videos). Updated after the 30 September 2026 judgment: the facts of the videos come from his complaint as reported by Nikkei, the Asahi Shimbun and Jiji Press, with TikTok's rebuttal; the ruling is taken from Nikkei, Asahi and TV Asahi reports. Imitation and infringement remain undecided because the court dismissed the claim on the ground that the videos had already been deleted. Mr Tsuda is a public figure suing in his own name; the poster is unidentified.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint alleges generative-AI imitation of his voice (Nikkei; Asahi; Jiji). TikTok's side and the poster reportedly say the voice was generated by AI trained on a friend's voice, so AI generation is asserted by both sides; whether it imitates Tsuda was not decided by the court, which dismissed the claim because the videos had been deleted.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Tokyo: voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda sued TikTok's operator over at least 188 monetised videos he says were narrated by a generative-AI imitation of his voice; on 30 September 2026 the Tokyo District Court held that a voice can be protected by publicity rights but dismissed his deletion claim because the videos had already been deleted","summary":"Kenjiro Tsuda, a Japanese voice actor known for roles in Jujutsu Kaisen, sued the operator of TikTok in the Tokyo District Court in November 2025, seeking removal of videos he says use a generative-AI imitation of his voice without permission. According to his complaint, as reported by Jiji Press, Nikkei and the Asahi Shimbun, an account run by an unidentified person posted at least 188 short videos on urban legends, the occult and trivia between July 2024 and September 2025, narrated in a voice modelled on his; the account had about 210,000 followers, videos averaged 1.47 million views, and his side says the poster earned 500,000 to 750,000 yen a month from TikTok's view-based payments. TikTok's operator said the voice was a generic male voice that the poster said came from AI trained on a friend's voice. The poster deleted the account in May 2026. On 30 September 2026 the court held, as a general principle, that a person's voice is a symbol of personality like a likeness and that using a performer's voice without permission solely to exploit its power to attract customers infringes the right of publicity, the first such ruling in Japan. It dismissed the claim because the videos were already gone and TikTok's operator had no remaining duty to delete them, and it did not decide whether these videos infringed his rights (Nikkei; Asahi Shimbun; TV Asahi). His lawyer said they did not plan to appeal.","incidentDate":"2024-07-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-09-30","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-05-23","aiSystem":"An unidentified generative-AI voice tool used by an anonymous TikTok account to produce narration (the plaintiff alleges the voice imitates his; the poster reportedly said the model was trained on a friend's voice); videos distributed on TikTok","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Mr Tsuda alleges that an anonymous poster used a generative-AI imitation of his voice, without permission, to narrate at least 188 monetised TikTok videos that viewers took to be his, infringing his rights over his voice; TikTok disputes that the voice is his, and the court dismissed his deletion claim without deciding infringement because the videos had been deleted (Nikkei, Asahi and Jiji Press).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"disputed","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the plaintiff Kenjiro Tsuda, whose voice is alleged to have been imitated (Nikkei; Asahi; Jiji Press). Followers and viewers are not counted. Other voice actors described in the Jiji industry feature are separate accounts and are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"JP","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_dismissed","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD262B00W6A920C2000000/","primarySourceLabel":"Nikkei, 30 September 2026: 声にもパブリシティー権、初の司法判断　津田健次郎さんの請求は棄却","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:37.82387+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-10T03:20:05.706932+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice-cloning","voice-actor","publicity-rights","tiktok","japan","tokyo-district-court","lawsuit","depicted-or-impersonated","court-ruling"]}]}