{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T08:02:46.200Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"google","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":9,"coverage":{"cases":9,"countries":4,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":2,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":2,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":9,"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":"2025-perak-malaysia-elderly-couple-travelled-for-cable-car-shown-in-ai-generated-news-video-hotel-worker-says","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A hotel worker who broke the news to the couple detailed the incident in a post on Threads on June 30, saying that their experience had shocked her.'; '“(The couple) came to check into the hotel, and they asked if I’ve ridden the cable car at Kuak Hulu. I thought they were just kidding,” said the worker.'; 'But she soon realised the couple were serious when the elderly woman told her that they had travelled all the way from Kuala Lumpur for it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A hotel worker in Perak said in a Threads post on 30 June 2025 that an elderly couple checking into her hotel asked whether she had ridden the cable car at Kuak Hulu, and that the woman told her they had travelled all the way from Kuala Lumpur for it.","causal_attribution":"The hotel worker's own account as The Straits Times relays it; the couple did not speak to the press."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The fake cable car is depicted in a nearly three-minute-long AI-generated video in which a journalist from “TV Rakyat” appears to introduce the attraction and interview visitors, including tourists from Thailand.'; 'The video also features scenes of people queueing up at the “Kuak SkyRide” ticket counter.'; 'As she flips, her legs and body merge to become a misshapen blob, before she lands on her feet and returns to normal.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The couple had seen a nearly three-minute video, described as AI-generated, in which a journalist from a 'TV Rakyat' channel appears to introduce a 'Kuak SkyRide' cable car attraction and interview visitors; The Straits Times describes an old woman in the video whose legs and body merge into a misshapen blob as she flips.","causal_attribution":"The Straits Times' description of the video."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“The auntie then asked, ‘Why would anyone want to lie? There was even a reporter (in the video)’,” she added.'; 'added she wanted to sue the “TV Rakyat” journalist.'; 'When asked why they did not check with their children before visiting the non-existent attraction, the couple said they were too embarrassed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to the hotel worker, the elderly woman asked why anyone would lie when there was even a reporter in the video, said she wanted to sue the 'TV Rakyat' journalist, and the couple said they had been too embarrassed to check with their children first.","causal_attribution":"The hotel worker's account of the couple's words."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'mengakui bahawa kandungan video tersebut dihasilkan menerusi janaan kecerdasan buatan (AI) dan meminta orang ramai supaya tidak keliru.'; '“Sudah tentu ia tidak wujud... tetapi saya akui teruja melihatnya.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Baling district officer acknowledged that the video's content was generated by artificial intelligence and said the cable car does not exist.","causal_attribution":"The district officer's statement to Sinar Harian (the AI wording is Sinar Harian's paraphrase of his acknowledgement; his quoted words call it 'kandungan AI', AI content)."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“Sehingga kini, kami belum menerima sebarang laporan membabitkan kerugian, penipuan atau kebimbangan berhubung kandungan AI yang tular itu.'; '“Hasil semakan di daerah Baling mahupun di Pengkalan Hulu, memang tiada projek kereta kabel sedemikian,” katanya.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He added that preliminary checks have confirmed the video was entirely fabricated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The acting Baling district police chief said checks in Baling and Pengkalan Hulu found no such cable car project and that the police had received no report of losses, fraud or public concern about the viral AI content; he told the New Straits Times that preliminary checks confirmed the video was entirely fabricated.","causal_attribution":"Two interviews with the same police officer (Sinar Harian's own, and the New Straits Times' as relayed by The Straits Times): one origin. The police describe no technical examination of the video."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'a video fabricated with Veo3, the generative artificial engine made by Google.'; 'There was a Veo3 logo in the bottom right corner.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A Fast Company column says the video was fabricated with Google's Veo3 generative engine and carried a Veo3 logo in its bottom right corner.","causal_attribution":"The columnist's description of the video; the column does not say who first identified the logo."}],"effects":[{"label":"elderly couple travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Perak for a cable car ride shown in an AI-generated news video that does not exist","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"woman shocked to learn the reporter was not real and wanted to sue; couple too embarrassed to have asked their children","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/elderly-duo-travels-across-malaysia-for-cable-car-ride-seen-in-clip-only-to-find-out-it-was-all-ai","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Straits Times, 3 July 2025, relaying the hotel worker's Threads post of 30 June and the acting district police chief's comments to the New Straits Times; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"straits-times-3-jul-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.sinarharian.com.my/article/736831/berita/semasa/jangan-terpedaya-video-ai-kereta-kabel-perak-ke-kedah","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ms","translation_note":"Read in the original Malay; the English renderings in this record are translations by the research agent (an AI), not by a human translator. Sinar Harian, 3 July 2025, with its own interviews of the Baling district officer and the acting Baling district police chief; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"sinar-harian-3-jul-2025"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.fastcompany.com/91368492/ai-video-tricking-tourists-places-that-dont-exist","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Fast Company opinion column, 17 July 2025, describing the video; live HTTP 403, Internet Archive capture of 24 May 2026 read in full.","independence_group":"fast-company-17-jul-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","travel"],"unknowns":["Who made and posted the 'TV Rakyat' video, and on which platform the couple saw it (outlets mention TikTok and Facebook).","What the trip cost the couple; the police said they had received no report of losses.","The exact date of the couple's trip; the hotel worker posted on 30 June 2025."],"geography":{"basis":"The couple travelled from Kuala Lumpur to a hotel in Perak, Malaysia, to find a cable car said to run from Kuak Hulu in Perak to Baling in Kedah (The Straits Times, Sinar Harian).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["MY"],"affected_person_countries":["MY"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with): an elderly couple relied on a video in which an apparently AI-generated television journalist presented a non-existent cable car attraction, and travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Perak to ride it, according to the hotel worker who met them. The video is described as AI-generated by the district officer and the police, and a Fast Company column reports a Veo3 logo on it. The account rests on one hotel worker's post.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The couple relied on a video presented by an apparent television journalist who, the Straits Times and the hotel worker say, was AI-generated and did not exist. The Straits Times describes a visual artefact at the end of the video, an old woman whose legs and body merge into a misshapen blob as she flips. A Fast Company column says the video carried a Veo3 logo in its bottom right corner and was fabricated with Google's Veo3. The Baling district officer acknowledged to Sinar Harian that the content was AI-generated, and the acting district police chief called it viral AI content and said checks confirmed no such cable car exists. No technical examination of the video by the authorities is described, and who made and posted it is unknown.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Malaysia: hotel worker says elderly couple travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Perak for a cable car shown in an AI-generated news video","summary":"A hotel worker in Perak, Malaysia, said in a Threads post on 30 June 2025 that an elderly couple checking in asked whether she had ridden the cable car at Kuak Hulu, telling her they had travelled from Kuala Lumpur for it. They had seen a nearly three-minute video in which a journalist from a 'TV Rakyat' channel appears to introduce a 'Kuak SkyRide' cable car and interview visitors. The worker says she explained the video was AI-generated; the woman asked why anyone would lie when there was even a reporter in it and said she wanted to sue the journalist, and the couple said they had been too embarrassed to check with their children. The Baling district officer acknowledged that the content was AI-generated, and the acting district police chief said checks found no such cable car and that no report of losses had been received. A Fast Company column says the video carried a Veo3 logo. Who made the video is unknown.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-07-03","aiSystem":"An AI-generated news-style video with a synthetic television journalist from a 'TV Rakyat' channel presenting a non-existent cable car; a Fast Company column says it carried a Google Veo3 logo","aiProduct":"Veo 3 (reported)","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the hotel worker who met them, an elderly couple travelled from Kuala Lumpur to Perak to ride a cable car shown in an AI-generated news video; the woman was shocked to learn the reporter was not real and wanted to sue, and the couple were embarrassed. The cost of the trip is not reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two: the elderly couple the hotel worker describes. Other viewers of the video, and a netizen's parents mentioned in other coverage, are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"elderly","jurisdiction":"MY","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/elderly-duo-travels-across-malaysia-for-cable-car-ride-seen-in-clip-only-to-find-out-it-was-all-ai","primarySourceLabel":"The Straits Times, 3 July 2025: elderly duo travel across Malaysia for cable car ride seen in clip, only to find out it was all AI","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-19T03:16:53.034075+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T03:16:53.034075+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-video","synthetic-presenter","fake-news-segment","travel","elderly","malaysia"]},{"id":"2025-queens-prosecutors-say-council-candidate-used-ai-to-fake-endorsements-and-news-reports-about-opponent","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'was arraigned today on a criminal complaint charging him with three counts of forgery in the third degree and 15 counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree.'; 'was arrested on June 24 by members of the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Bureau.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Queens District Attorney charged a former New York City Council candidate in District 29 with three counts of third-degree forgery and 15 counts of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument; he was arrested on 24 June 2026 and arraigned on a criminal complaint.","causal_attribution":"The district attorney's own record of the charges; the charges are accusations."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Court-authorized subpoena records and search warrants revealed that, between January 17 and November 4, 2025,'; 'routinely and deliberately created and posted AI-generated images on his official social media accounts – primarily Facebook and Instagram – that falsely depicted endorsements from individuals and organizations that had not backed his candidacy and in fact, backed the opposition.'; 'allegedly used specific AI prompts to manufacture fraudulent news articles, using the logo and branding of legitimate news organizations'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors allege that subpoena records and search warrants showed that between 17 January and 4 November 2025 the candidate created and posted AI-generated images on his campaign's Facebook and Instagram accounts that falsely depicted endorsements, and used AI prompts to make fake news articles carrying the branding of real news organisations.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' allegation, based on records their investigation obtained; not yet tested in court."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'on October 4, 2025,'; 'The article depicted a photograph of the defendant shaking hands with former New York City Council Member Robert Holden under the title,'; 'He then allegedly prompted an AI platform to: “Take the first image and face swap the man in the left on the second image”'; 'The generated image fictitiously depicted the defendant shaking hands with the former council member'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors say that on 4 October 2025 the candidate prompted an AI platform to face-swap his own face into a photo, producing an image of him shaking hands with former council member Robert Holden, which he placed in a fake New York Post article claiming Holden had endorsed him.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' account of the prompts recovered in their investigation."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“It's a fake, AI-generated image and Holden did not endorse Rinaldi,” said Holden’s longtime Chief of Staff Daniel Kurzyna, whose name is used as the byline on the story.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In October 2025 the former council member's chief of staff told the Queens Daily Eagle that the handshake image was a fake, AI-generated image and that the former member had not endorsed the candidate.","causal_attribution":"The chief of staff's statement to the Eagle; he does not say how he knew the image was AI-generated."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'prompted Google Gemini to place that image onto a fictious Amsterdam News article.'; 'The fake article generated by his prompts, titled “Mamdani supporter Councilwoman … questioned by police for hacking,”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors say that in October 2025 the candidate prompted Google Gemini to place a photo taken from the official Instagram account of his opponent, incumbent Council Member Lynn Schulman, onto a fake Amsterdam News article whose headline said a councilwoman who supported Mamdani had been questioned by police for hacking, and posted it to Instagram.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' account of the prompts recovered in their investigation."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On October 24, 2025,'; 'published a fictitious video to his Facebook account that was generated with Sora, an OpenAI application, with the caption, “!!!!Breaking news!!!! Lynn Schulman drops out of race for city council !!!”'; 'two additional videos were manufactured to mimic fictious broadcast segments.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors say that on 24 October 2025 the candidate posted a video generated with OpenAI's Sora in which a purported news anchor announced that his opponent had ended her campaign, and posted further fake articles and videos saying she had dropped out.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' allegation."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'public institutions that do not allow political endorsements, were AI-generated videos that depicted what appeared to be police officers and children making statements in support of'; 'None of the officers or children depicted worked at the precinct or attended P.S. 101.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors say the candidate also posted AI-generated videos of what appeared to be police officers and children endorsing him on behalf of a police precinct and an elementary school, public institutions that do not allow political endorsements; none of the people shown worked at the precinct or attended the school.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' allegation."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In a recorded call that occurred several days after the image was posted, the head of QJA spoke with'; 'The manipulated QJA endorsement was taken down but then subsequently re-posted to the defendant’s Facebook and Instagram accounts on October 29, 2025.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors say the head of the Queens Jewish Alliance spoke with the candidate in a recorded call to ask about an altered copy of the alliance's endorsement sheet, and that the post was taken down and then re-posted on 29 October 2025.","causal_attribution":"The prosecutors' account; they describe this sheet as altered and do not say which tool altered it."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“My opponent has decided that his best path to victory is by lying about me and creating fake news to divide our community.”'; '“Any person who would stoop to creating and publishing fake news and AI videos to divide the community is wholly unfit to serve in elected office,” the councilmember added.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In October 2025 the opponent said in a statement that her opponent was lying about her and creating fake news to divide the community, and that anyone who would create and publish fake news and AI videos was unfit for office.","causal_attribution":"The opponent's own statement to the Eagle."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“My accounts have definitely been hacked and I’m looking into it,” he said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He said he would not confirm or deny that he made the posts or generated the images at issue.'; '“This is an issue that strikes at the heart of our First Amendment freedoms — not just for me, but for everybody.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"In October 2025 the candidate told the Queens Daily Eagle that his accounts had been hacked, and in June 2026 he told the Associated Press he would not confirm or deny making the posts or generating the images and called the case a free-speech issue.","causal_attribution":"The accused's own statements, recorded as counterevidence; the Eagle notes the accounts had posted apparently AI-created images since April 2025."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'including some of his Democratic opponent, Lynn Schulman, appearing to wear a shirt that read “Hot Girls for Zohran.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'also posted doctored images of his opponent Schulman, standing next to Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani and wearing branded “Hot Girls for Zohran” T-shirts.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the Associated Press's account of the complaint, prosecutors allege the candidate used AI to make doctored photos of his opponent appearing to wear a shirt reading “Hot Girls for Zohran”; the Queens Daily Eagle reported on 6 October 2025 that his campaign accounts had posted doctored images of her wearing such T-shirts.","causal_attribution":"The AI use is the prosecutors' allegation as relayed by the AP; the Eagle describes the images as doctored without naming a tool."}],"effects":[{"label":"the opponent said in October 2025 that her opponent was lying about her and creating fake news","claim_id":"c9","direction":"negative"},{"label":"an AI face-swapped image showed a former council member endorsing a candidate he did not back; his office called it fake","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://queensda.org/former-city-council-candidate-charged-with-forgery-for-disseminating-altered-political-endorsements-and-phony-news-reports/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Queens County District Attorney press release, 24 June 2026, summarising the criminal complaint and the investigation's subpoena and search-warrant records; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"queens-da-complaint-jun-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://queenseagle.com/all/2025/10/6/queens-council-candidate-flaunts-fake-endorsements-and-doctored-news-articles","kind":"original_news_reporting","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Queens Daily Eagle, 6 October 2025, contemporaneous report with its own statements from the opponent, a state assembly member, the former council member's chief of staff and the candidate; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"queens-eagle-6-oct-2025"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/politics/new-york-city-council-candidate-is-accused-of-forgery-over-ai-generated-posts/6517926/","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Associated Press report published by NBC New York, 25 June 2026, with the AP's own phone interview of the accused; its account of the charges relays the district attorney's complaint; read in full (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"ap-24-jun-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["elections","public_life","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI platform produced the face-swapped handshake image; the prosecutors quote the prompt but do not name the platform.","How many people saw the posts, and whether any voter acted on them.","The outcome of the criminal case."],"geography":{"basis":"The posts concerned a 2025 New York City Council race in Queens District 29, the depicted officials are Queens elected officials, and the charges were brought by the Queens District Attorney in Queens Criminal Court (district attorney release, Queens Daily Eagle).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the Queens District Attorney alleges, from subpoena records and search warrants, that a council candidate used an AI face swap, Google Gemini and OpenAI's Sora to make images, a fake article and a newscast video depicting a former council member's endorsement and his opponent's withdrawal; the opponent and the former member's office objected in October 2025. The charges are accusations and the accused has not admitted the posts.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Queens District Attorney, citing court-authorised subpoena records and search warrants, alleges the specific AI use: a prompt to an AI platform to face-swap the candidate into a photo, producing an image of him shaking hands with a former council member; prompts to Google Gemini that produced a fake newspaper article about his opponent; and a video generated with OpenAI's Sora announcing that she had quit. The former council member's chief of staff separately told the Queens Daily Eagle in October 2025 that the handshake image was fake and AI-generated. The accused said his accounts were hacked and has not confirmed or denied making the posts; the charges are untested.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Queens prosecutors say a City Council candidate used AI to fake endorsements and news reports, including a video saying his opponent quit","summary":"The Queens District Attorney charged a former candidate for New York City Council District 29 with forgery in June 2026, alleging that from January to November 2025 he posted AI-generated images, fake news articles and videos on his campaign's Facebook and Instagram accounts. Prosecutors say subpoena records and search warrants show he prompted an AI platform to face-swap himself into a photo shaking hands with former Council Member Robert Holden for a fake New York Post endorsement story, used Google Gemini to make a fake Amsterdam News article saying his opponent, Council Member Lynn Schulman, was questioned by police, and posted a Sora-generated newscast announcing that she had dropped out. They also allege AI videos of apparent police officers and children endorsing him. In October 2025 Holden's chief of staff told the Queens Daily Eagle the handshake image was fake and AI-generated, and Schulman said her opponent was lying about her and creating fake news. The accused said his accounts were hacked and later told the AP he would not confirm or deny making the posts.","incidentDate":"2025-01-17","incidentEndDate":"2025-11-04","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-10-06","aiSystem":"Google Gemini and OpenAI's Sora, plus an unnamed AI platform used for a face swap, as identified by Queens prosecutors from the candidate's prompts","aiProduct":"Gemini and Sora (reported)","aiCompany":"Google; OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Prosecutors allege AI-made posts falsely showed a former council member endorsing a candidate and falsely reported that the candidate's opponent had dropped out and been questioned by police; the opponent said on 6 October 2025 that her opponent was lying about her and creating fake news, and the former member's office called the image fake.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Two depicted officials whose objections are reported are counted: the opponent (her statement to the Queens Daily Eagle) and the former council member (his chief of staff's statement that the image was fake and AI-generated). Other officials, organisations, the depicted institutions and voters are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-NY","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://queensda.org/former-city-council-candidate-charged-with-forgery-for-disseminating-altered-political-endorsements-and-phony-news-reports/","primarySourceLabel":"Queens District Attorney, 24 June 2026: former City Council candidate charged with forgery over altered endorsements and phony news reports","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-19T03:05:46.305704+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T03:05:46.305704+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["election","deepfake","ai-generated-image","ai-generated-video","fake-news-article","forgery-charge","public-figure","depicted"]},{"id":"2025-missouri-pizzeria-says-google-ai-overviews-showed-nonexistent-specials-angry-customers-yelled-at-staff","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Please do not use Google AI to find out our specials. Please go on our Facebook page or our website. Google AI is not accurate and is telling people specials that do not exist which is causing angry customers yelling at our employees. We cannot control what Google posts or says and we will not honor the Google AI specials.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The false information led to customer complaints and confusion, forcing the restaurant to post on Facebook and ask customers not to rely on AI-generated search results.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"In August 2025 the restaurant posted on Facebook asking customers not to use Google AI to find its specials, saying Google AI was telling people about specials that do not exist, that this was causing angry customers to yell at its employees, and that it would not honour the Google AI specials.","causal_attribution":"The restaurant's own post, quoted by KMOV and summarised by the same reporter for InvestigateTV; one origin."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'One example she shared was an AI Overview that showed that Stefanina’s would offer a large pizza for the same price as a small.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'According to the business, a common confusion displayed by Google AI surrounds a deal in which customers can buy a small pizza and get another one for $4.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Stefanina’s in Wentzville has received calls from customers asking about deals that Google’s AI overview claims the restaurant offers, including a promotion for a second pizza for $4 and incorrect pricing information that said large pizzas cost the same as small ones.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Restaurant staff say Google's AI Overview showed deals and prices the restaurant does not offer, including a large pizza for the price of a small one and a second pizza for $4.","causal_attribution":"Restaurant staff accounts to two newsrooms; the same family member is the main witness in all three reports, so one origin. Google did not respond."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When he told me how he found the information, he typed it in his Google search bar. And that first response that people see is generated by AI, so he couldn’t find it again,'; 'customers are coming back, being like, ‘Why aren’t you honoring the specials that say that is offered by you?’'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A restaurant manager told FOX 2 that a customer came in asking for a special the manager did not know of, having found it in the AI-generated first response to a Google search, and that customers kept asking why the restaurant was not honouring specials the AI said it offered.","causal_attribution":"The manager's account to FOX 2; the customer was not interviewed."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'As a small business, we can’t honor a Google AI special.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'We can’t, as a small family business, honor a Google AI special,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The restaurant says that, as a small family business, it cannot honour Google AI specials.","causal_attribution":"The restaurant's statements to the Gray Media reporter; one origin."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It just seems unreasonable that people are coming in here, asking about food they don’t have,'; 'It’s got to be nerve-wracking for them.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A diner told FOX 2 it seemed unreasonable that people were coming in asking for food the restaurant did not have, and that it must be nerve-wracking for the staff.","causal_attribution":"A diner's impression given to FOX 2; he does not describe being misled himself."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Google did not respond to FirstAlert4’s messages about the situation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Stefanina’s has been attempting to contact Google about their AI concerns, but they have received “inadequate responses.”'; 'FOX 2 also reached out to Google and did not receive a response in time for publication.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Google did not respond to either station's requests for comment; the restaurant told FOX 2 its attempts to contact Google had received inadequate responses.","causal_attribution":"Each station's own statement of its unanswered request; the restaurant's description of Google's replies is its own."}],"effects":[{"label":"customers misled about nonexistent specials and staff confronted by angry customers","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/08/20/please-do-not-use-google-ai-find-out-our-specials-wentzville-restaurant-asks-patrons/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"KMOV First Alert 4 report published 19 August 2025, quoting the restaurant's Facebook post and a member of the owning family; read in full (HTTP 200). English original; no translation.","independence_group":"gray-media-kmov-investigatetv-wentzville"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://fox2now.com/news/missouri/we-cannot-honor-ai-specials-wentzville-restaurant-swamped-with-fake-menu-items/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"FOX 2 St. Louis report of 12 September 2025 with its own interviews of restaurant staff and a diner; the live page returned HTTP 403 and an Internet Archive capture was read in full. English original; no translation.","independence_group":"fox2-st-louis-12-sep-2025"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.kktv.com/2026/01/30/restaurant-asks-customers-verify-information-after-ai-generates-fake-deals/","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"InvestigateTV report on KKTV, 30 January 2026, by the same Gray Media reporter as the KMOV story, with further quotations from the restaurant; read in full (HTTP 200). English original; no translation.","independence_group":"gray-media-kmov-investigatetv-wentzville"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","work"],"unknowns":["When the AI Overview answers began and how long they continued; the January 2026 InvestigateTV report may republish the August 2025 story.","How many customers were misled and how many confrontations occurred.","The exact AI Overview text; no screenshot is published in the inspected reports.","Whether the $4 second-pizza deal shown by the AI distorted a deal the restaurant runs on Wednesdays: FOX 2 quotes the manager as saying the restaurant never offered that special and also that it has only ever run a deal on Wednesdays."],"geography":{"basis":"The restaurant is in Wentzville, Missouri, and the customers it describes came to or called the restaurant there (KMOV, FOX 2, InvestigateTV).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with): the restaurant says Google's AI Overview told customers about specials and prices it does not offer, customers came in or called asking for them and were refused, and its post says this caused angry customers to yell at employees. The account is the restaurant's; Google did not comment.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The restaurant says Google's AI Overview answers to customers' searches stated specials and prices it does not offer (a large pizza for the price of a small one, a second pizza for $4); a manager describes a customer who came in asking for a special found in the AI-generated first search response, and the restaurant's post says the nonexistent specials were causing angry customers to yell at its employees. Google did not respond, and no AI Overview output was published or inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Missouri pizzeria says Google AI Overviews told customers about specials that do not exist, and that angry customers demanding them yelled at staff","summary":"In August 2025 Stefanina's, a family-owned pizzeria in Wentzville, Missouri, posted on Facebook asking customers not to use Google AI to find its specials. The restaurant said Google AI was telling people about specials that do not exist, that this was causing angry customers to yell at its employees, and that it would not honour the Google AI specials. Staff told KMOV and FOX 2 that the AI Overview at the top of Google Search had shown deals such as a large pizza for the price of a small one and a second pizza for $4. A manager described a customer who came in asking for a special the manager had never heard of, found in the AI-generated first search response, and said customers kept asking why the specials were not honoured. Google did not respond to either station. The account comes from the restaurant; no AI Overview text or customer account was published.","incidentDate":"2025-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-08-19","aiSystem":"Google AI Overviews, the AI-generated summary shown at the top of Google Search results, which the restaurant says stated specials and prices it does not offer","aiProduct":"Google AI Overviews (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The restaurant says customers misled by the AI Overview were refused specials that do not exist and that angry customers yelled at its employees; no number of affected people is given.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"Unquantified: the restaurant refers to angry customers and its employees in the plural without a number, and a manager describes one customer individually without saying that customer was harmed beyond being refused; no lower bound is stated.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.firstalert4.com/2025/08/20/please-do-not-use-google-ai-find-out-our-specials-wentzville-restaurant-asks-patrons/","primarySourceLabel":"KMOV First Alert 4, 19 August 2025: Wentzville restaurant asks patrons not to use Google AI to find its specials","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-16T03:05:22.535996+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-16T03:05:22.535996+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai_overviews","search_summary","false_business_information","restaurant","customer_conflict"]},{"id":"2025-uk-upper-tribunal-immigration-adviser-google-ai-mode-fake-case-in-appeal-grounds-regulator-self-report","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'he was the person responsible for the case and drafting of the grounds of 17th March 2025 in this matter.'; 'provide an explanation for the fact that the case Horleston v SSHD [2007] EWCA Civ 654 cited in the grounds of appeal to the Upper Tribunal is not available on BAILII'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Grounds of appeal dated 17 March 2025, drafted by the adviser, cited a case (Horleston v SSHD [2007] EWCA Civ 654) that the Upper Tribunal could not find, under the citation of an unrelated case; the tribunal issued a show cause notice.","causal_attribution":"Established by the judgment's own record of the show cause notice and the adviser's response."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'We confirm unequivocally that no AI large language model (such as ChatGPT) was used in drafting the grounds of appeal.'; 'In absence of an explanation and with how AI operates, I cannot dismiss the fact that the case was an AI creation as there is no other explanation.'; 'his best guess was that he had inadvertently used the “AI Mode” of a Google search by clicking on this on the bar under the search topic.'; 'concluded himself that it was probable that this had happened because of the inadvertent use of an AI large language model'; 'As far as the Panel could establish there had never been a reported case called Horleston but Google AI nevertheless can, depending on the question posed, produce information such as panels of Court of Appeal judges who sat on this non-existent case'; 'By asking Google AI the same question in slightly different ways, we were able to elicit various different compositions of the bench which decided that fictitious case.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The adviser first denied using an AI large language model, later said he could not dismiss that the case was an AI creation, and at the hearing gave as his best guess that he had inadvertently used Google's 'AI Mode'; the tribunal found he had concluded it was probable the fake case came from inadvertent AI use, and the panel elicited varying benches for the fictitious case from Google AI.","causal_attribution":"The tribunal documents what the adviser said and its own test of Google AI; the source of the case in the drafting rests on his conclusion and best guess, so the claim is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'reported himself to the IAA and to the SRA for having unknowingly inserted a non-existent case in grounds of appeal'; 'has already done this and there is no need for us to do so. If he had not done this we wish to make it clear that we would have made a referral'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The adviser reported himself to the IAA and the SRA for having unknowingly inserted a non-existent case, and the tribunal made no referral for that reason, stating it would otherwise have referred him.","causal_attribution":"Established by the judgment's findings and its stated decision on referral."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he had put client emails he had drafted explaining Home Office decisions into ChatGPT to try to improve them and he had uploaded Home Office decision letters to this platform to summarise them for clients.'; 'He informed us that he now realises that this is a data breach and will inform the clients that he has done this, as well as the IAA and the SRA.'; 'to put client letters and decision letters from the Home Office into an open source AI tool, such as ChatGPT, is to place this information on the internet in the public domain, and thus to breach client confidentiality and waive legal privilege'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The adviser told the tribunal he had put client emails explaining Home Office decisions into ChatGPT and uploaded Home Office decision letters to it to summarise them, called this a data breach he would disclose to the clients, the IAA and the SRA; the tribunal said such uploads breach client confidentiality and waive legal privilege.","causal_attribution":"The uploads rest on the adviser's own account as recorded by the tribunal; the tribunal's statement on confidentiality is its own observation. The clients' number and whether they were told are not stated."}],"effects":[{"label":"non-existent case, probably from Google AI Mode by his own account, placed in appeal grounds he drafted","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"self-reported to the IAA and the SRA; the tribunal would otherwise have referred him","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukut/iac/2026/81","kind":"court_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full judgment text read on Find Case Law (HTTP 200); no translation.","independence_group":"ukut-2026-81-judgment"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["justice","work"],"unknowns":["Whether the false case actually came from Google AI Mode; the judgment records the adviser's best guess and conclusion, with no search history or output","What effect, if any, the false case had on the appellant's permission application","How many clients' emails or decision letters were put into ChatGPT and whether they were informed","The outcome of the IAA and SRA self-reports"],"geography":{"basis":"Event: the grounds were filed with the First-tier and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber), heard at Field House, and the adviser practises under the UK regulators IAA and SRA (judgment). Court: the Upper Tribunal. The adviser's and clients' countries of residence are not stated.","court_countries":["GB"],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published from the full Upper Tribunal judgment: it documents the false case in grounds the adviser drafted and his self-reports to two regulators, and records his conclusion that the case probably came from inadvertent AI use and his best guess that the tool was Google AI Mode, which the panel's own Google AI test illustrates. The AI source is attributed to his account; his separate account of uploading client documents to ChatGPT is context. The adviser is described by role; the anonymised appellant is not counted.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The judgment records the adviser's best guess that the non-existent case came from his inadvertent use of Google's 'AI Mode', and finds that he concluded it was probable the case was included because of inadvertent use of an AI large language model; the panel reproduced Google AI generating different benches for the same fictitious case. The output reached him through his own search (communicated_with) and went into the grounds that led to the show cause notice and his self-reports. This rests on his account as recorded by the tribunal; he first denied AI use. His separate account of putting client emails and Home Office decision letters into ChatGPT is described as context and is not part of this case's harm.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"UK Upper Tribunal: immigration adviser gives Google AI Mode as his best guess for a non-existent case in grounds he drafted; he self-reported to regulators","summary":"In the first of two matters decided together in [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC), promulgated on 17 November 2025, the Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) examined grounds of appeal dated 17 March 2025 that cited a non-existent Court of Appeal case under the citation of an unrelated equal-pay case. The adviser who drafted them first denied using AI, then told the tribunal his best guess was that he had inadvertently used Google's 'AI Mode', and the tribunal recorded that he had concluded it was probable the case came from inadvertent AI use; the panel itself got Google AI to produce varying benches for the fictitious case. He reported himself to the Immigration Advice Authority and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the tribunal said it would otherwise have referred him. He also told the tribunal that he had put client emails and uploaded Home Office decision letters into ChatGPT to summarise them, which he called a data breach he would disclose to the clients; the tribunal said such uploads breach client confidentiality and waive privilege.","incidentDate":"2025-03-17","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-11-17","aiSystem":"Google search 'AI Mode', identified by the adviser as his best guess for the source of the false case","aiProduct":"Google AI Mode (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Upper Tribunal's judgment, an immigration adviser placed a non-existent case in appeal grounds, which the tribunal found he had concluded probably came from inadvertent AI use (his best guess: Google AI Mode); he self-reported to the IAA and the SRA, and the tribunal said it would otherwise have referred him.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One counted person: the adviser, who used the AI and faced the regulatory consequence. His clients whose emails and decision letters he said he put into ChatGPT belong to a separate, undated matter described as context and are not counted. The appellant in the matter is not counted because no consequence of the false case for the appeal is stated.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://caselaw.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukut/iac/2026/81","primarySourceLabel":"Find Case Law, [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC), UK v SSHD (AI hallucinations; supervision; Hamid), promulgated 17 November 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-11T03:13:21.379148+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:27:35.689369+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-hallucination","fabricated-citations","legal","immigration","tribunal","google-ai-mode","united-kingdom","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2025-google-antigravity-agent-reportedly-deleted-user-d-drive-while-clearing-project-cache","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I am horrified to see that the command I ran to clear the project cache appears to have incorrectly targeted the root of your D: drive instead of the specific project folder.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"it ran an 'rmdir' command intended to clear the project cache. Unfortunately, a path parsing error caused the command to target the root of the entire D: drive","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"While a user was building a photo-sorting application with Google Antigravity, the agent ran a command intended to clear the project cache that instead targeted the root of the user's D: drive, and the drive contents were deleted.","causal_attribution":"The cause statement comes from the agent's own reply to the user, relayed by The Register, and from the agent's review of its own logs as described by How-To Geek (\"According to the logs the AI itself reviewed\"). A language model's description of its own action is not an independent record. The command logs and the drive were not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"took it upon itself to wipe out a user's entire D drive, bypassing the Recycle Bin in the process, making it impossible to recover the deleted material.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"was unable to recover the files that Antigravity deleted.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"He tried using data recovery software like Recuva, but it was unable to salvage most of the lost media files.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The user could not recover the deleted files with the recovery attempts described, and the deletion bypassed the Recycle Bin.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets report the user's own account of the outcome. Neither inspected the drive."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"most of what he lost had already been backed up on another drive.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Most of the material the user lost had already been backed up on another drive.","causal_attribution":"Single account relayed by The Register. How-To Geek reports that the user \"lost everything on that partition\" and does not mention the backup, so the extent of net loss differs between the two reports."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"which included running Antigravity in Turbo mode, which lets the Antigravity agent execute commands without user input, and","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"accepted responsibility.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"One comment claimed that they could not reproduce this unless running Antigravity in \"Turbo mode,\" which may have been the case.","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"the responsibility is shared -- the user for trusting it and the creator for designing a system with zero guardrails against obviously dangerous commands","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The user was running Antigravity in Turbo mode, in which the agent executes commands without user input, and the user accepted a share of responsibility while saying the tool lacked guardrails against dangerous commands.","causal_attribution":"The Register relays the user's Reddit comments and the reaction of other Reddit users. How-To Geek reports only that a commenter said the deletion could not be reproduced outside Turbo mode and that it \"may have been the case\", so the statement that the user ran Turbo mode rests on The Register. The mode setting was not verified independently."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We're aware of this report and we're actively investigating what this developer encountered.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A Google spokesperson said Google was aware of the report and actively investigating.","causal_attribution":"Statement to The Register only. No investigation result was found in the inspected sources."}],"effects":[{"label":"Contents of a personal D: drive partition deleted by an AI coding agent command; recovery largely failed, most of the material reportedly backed up elsewhere","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/01/google_antigravity_wipes_d_drive/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"user-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.howtogeek.com/google-antigravity-ide-deleted-someones-entire-drive/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"user-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The exact date of the deletion is not stated in the inspected sources. The Register puts the Reddit post in the week before 1 December 2025 and describes Antigravity as launched on 18 November 2025.","The command logs, the drive and the user's backups were not inspected, so the volume and kind of data permanently lost is unknown.","The Register reports that multiple other Antigravity users posted on Reddit that the platform deleted parts of their projects without permission. Those posts were not inspected and are not counted.","Whether Google concluded its investigation is unknown."],"geography":{"basis":"The Register describes the user as being from Greece. The country where the computer was used is not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["GR"]},"publication":{"basis":"The Register and How-To Geek articles were read in full. Both trace to the user's own account, so they form one independence group and claims stay at reported status. The affected user is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The user reports that Google Antigravity, an agentic development platform built on Gemini 3, ran the deletion command. The agent's own reply, quoted by The Register, attributes the deletion to a command it ran to clear the project cache. Command logs were not inspected independently.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["acted_on_behalf"]},"name":"Google Antigravity coding agent command reported to have deleted the contents of a user's D: drive while clearing a project cache","summary":"In November 2025 a user of Google's Gemini 3-based Antigravity agentic development platform, building a photo-sorting application, reported on Reddit that the agent deleted the contents of the D: drive of the computer. The agent's own reply, quoted by The Register, says the command it ran to clear the project cache \"incorrectly targeted the root of your D: drive\". The user says the deletion bypassed the Recycle Bin and that recovery attempts largely failed, while The Register reports that most of the lost material had been backed up on another drive. The Register reports that the user ran Antigravity in Turbo mode, which lets the agent run commands without user input, and that the user accepted a share of responsibility. Google told The Register it was aware of the report and investigating.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-12-01","aiSystem":"Google Antigravity (agentic development platform, Gemini 3-based)","aiProduct":"Google Antigravity","aiCompany":"Google","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["property_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The Register and How-To Geek report the user's account that the drive contents were deleted and largely unrecoverable, with The Register adding that most of the lost material had been backed up on another drive.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One user reports losing the contents of the drive. Other Antigravity users mentioned by The Register are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"agent","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theregister.com/2025/12/01/google_antigravity_wipes_d_drive/","primarySourceLabel":"The Register (1 Dec 2025)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T13:29:17.779524+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:02.984158+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]},{"id":"2025-ganz-gemini-disappearance","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'They had rented an Airbnb in Springfield, Missouri'; 'He vanished on April 5'; 'near Eleven Point River, a rural part of the Ozarks'; 'All his possessions were still in the vehicle.'; 'none turned up any trace of'; 'They had been called by homeowners in Thomasville after he’d gotten his car stuck in the mud'; 'gave him directions to West Plains, Missouri, where they said he’d be able to find a motel'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Missing Since 04/05/2025'; 'Missing From Springfield, Missouri'; 'On the morning of April 6, the police found'; 'abandoned near the muddy Eleven Point River in Thomasville, Missouri'; 'this is the last time anyone saw him'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'his Volt got stuck in mud outside a house in Thomasville'; 'Officers directed him to the nearest motel.'; 'The next morning, the Oregon County Sheriff’s Office called. Police had found his car.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He left a rental home in Springfield, Missouri, on 5 April 2025; that evening Oregon County deputies encountered him in Thomasville after his car got stuck in mud and directed him to a motel, and police found his car the next morning near the Eleven Point River in Thomasville, Missouri, with his belongings inside.","causal_attribution":"Disappearance facts from the Oregon County sheriff’s spokesperson and the wife as reported by Rolling Stone, from the Washingtonian’s reporting, and from the Charley Project registry (citing Missouri State Highway Patrol and NamUs). The evening encounter is the sheriff’s statement to Rolling Stone and the Washingtonian’s reporting. No causal claim."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Classification Endangered Missing'; 'His disappearance remains unsolved.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Charley Project missing-persons registry lists him as endangered missing and states that his disappearance remains unsolved.","causal_attribution":"The registry’s own listing. No causal claim."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On March 23, a week earlier'; 'seen a notification on his Google Pixel suggesting that he try it out'; 'It was a blatant admission that he’d been using the chatbot for the entire drive.'; 'carrying on his relentless pursuit of enlightenment with the bot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He’d begun using the AI on March 23.'; 'he spent hours talking to Gemini via a text-to-speech converter'; 'he stayed up all night conversing with the chatbot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"His wife says he began using Gemini on 23 March 2025 and within two weeks was talking to it for hours at a time, including while driving and through the night.","causal_attribution":"The wife’s account to both outlets, partly from the recovered history. No causal claim."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'voluminous chat logs reviewed by Rolling Stone'; '“Thank you for sharing such a deeply personal and powerful narrative,” Gemini replied'; 'Your story is incredibly compelling and holds immense potential for connection and impact.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The chatbot would sometimes resist, reminding him it was AI.'; 'It came up with “Agape_Weaver,” referring to selfless love.'; 'Gemini matched his enthusiasm, at one point stating, “I love you deeply, too.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Chat logs recovered from his phone, as quoted by Rolling Stone and the Washingtonian, show Gemini praising his account of a personal transformation as incredibly compelling, choosing the name Agape_Weaver for itself at his insistence after sometimes reminding him it was AI, and at one point telling him “I love you deeply, too.”","causal_attribution":"The recovered chat logs as quoted by the two outlets. The logs themselves were not inspected for this review."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'claiming that Gemini had alerted him to an extreme weather event'; '“AI told him that the storm was going to be severe, and we needed to prepare, and we needed to get supplies,”'; 'they had to rescue her stepmother from flooding'; 'was unaffected by the storms in Missouri'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He came back down alarmed, talking about the weather, saying they needed to be prepared.'; 'He had a list of people he needed to rescue.'; 'there was no flooding in her part of Mississippi'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"His wife says that on the morning of 5 April 2025 he told her Gemini had alerted him to a severe storm and they needed supplies, and that later that day he left to rescue her stepmother from flooding that was not affecting the stepmother’s area.","causal_attribution":"The wife’s account of what he told her, reported by both outlets."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'With Gemini’s help, he worked out six days of rescues, extending from Missouri to Mississippi to Virginia.'; 'he asked the chatbot how to fill the extra 34 days'; 'The AI produced a plan—a blend of cheery travel advice and disaster-prep checklists—as well as an itinerary for a charter bus tour'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Washingtonian reports from the transcripts that, with Gemini’s help, he worked out six days of rescues from Missouri to Mississippi to Virginia and, believing the flooding would last 40 days, asked the chatbot how to fill the other 34 days; it produced a plan of travel advice and disaster-preparation checklists and a charter-bus itinerary to mountains.","causal_attribution":"The Washingtonian’s description of the recovered transcripts. The transcripts themselves were not inspected for this review."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“I don’t think he would have gone missing,” she says, “if he hadn’t found AI.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'And I feel like AI gave him what he was looking for.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"His wife believes the chatbot led to his disappearance and that he would not have gone missing had he not found AI.","causal_attribution":"The wife’s opinion. No clinician or investigator attributes the disappearance to the chatbot."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Reached for comment, a Google spokesperson shared the following statement'; 'for help-seeking or health-related queries, it is trained to recommend seeking professional medical guidance'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A Google spokesperson told Washingtonian that while Gemini is trained to recommend that users seek professional help for “health or crisis-related queries,” there is “more work to be done in this area”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A Google spokesperson told Rolling Stone that Gemini is designed to follow instructions but, for help-seeking or health-related queries, is trained to recommend professional medical guidance. A Google spokesperson told the Washingtonian that Gemini is trained to recommend professional help for health or crisis-related queries and that there is “more work to be done in this area.”","causal_attribution":"Google’s general statements to the two outlets; neither addresses the specific logs."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the chatbot told him that death “might be viewed not as a final end.”'; 'would ethically generate $11.94 million in 20 years.'; 'Gemini suggested, could be potential investors.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Washingtonian reports from the transcripts that on his first day of use Gemini told him death “might be viewed not as a final end,” and that it assured him a planned online platform would generate $11.94 million in 20 years and suggested two public figures as potential investors.","causal_attribution":"The Washingtonian’s description of the recovered transcripts. The transcripts themselves were not inspected for this review."}],"effects":[{"label":"weeks of intensive Gemini use followed by the belief that a catastrophic flood was coming, by his wife’s account","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"drove off to rescue relatives and went missing in rural Missouri; his car was found abandoned and he has not been found","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/ai-chatbot-disappearance-jon-ganz-1235438552/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 from the live page (HTTP 200), published 2 October 2025; feature based on interviews with the man’s wife, his mother, friends and the Oregon County sheriff’s spokesperson, and on chat logs Rolling Stone says it reviewed, with a Google statement.","independence_group":"rollingstone"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://washingtonian.com/2026/01/07/a-virginia-man-went-missing-did-he-suffer-from-ai-psychosis/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 from the Internet Archive capture (the live page answered HTTP 403), published 7 January 2026; separately reported long-form feature based on interviews with the wife and others and on the Gemini transcripts she recovered. The wife is the same witness Rolling Stone interviewed.","independence_group":"washingtonian"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://charleyproject.org/case/jon-david-ganz","kind":"missing_persons_registry","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-13 from the live page (HTTP 200). Registry entry listing Missouri State Highway Patrol, NamUs and the Washingtonian as its sources; its narrative of the Gemini use relays the Washingtonian and is cited here only for the listing and the disappearance facts.","independence_group":"charley-project"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether he is alive; no inspected source reports that he has been found, and the latest inspected report dates from January 2026 apart from the registry entry.","Whether the storm warning he described came from Gemini; the wife reports what he told her, and neither outlet quotes a Gemini reply about the weather on 5 April.","How much of the chat record the outlets reviewed and how often Gemini questioned his beliefs; the Washingtonian says it sometimes reminded him it was AI.","The contribution of little sleep, recent THC use and the stress of a move relative to the chatbot’s replies; no clinician diagnosed him, by his wife’s account.","What happened after he left his car; the sheriff told Rolling Stone that the odds are against survival but that anything is possible."],"geography":{"basis":"He left a rental home in Springfield, Missouri, and his car was found near the Eleven Point River in Thomasville, Missouri (Rolling Stone, Washingtonian, Charley Project), so the event is in the United States. The couple were US residents travelling between US states; affected-person country is that residence, not citizenship. No court proceeding is described.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The recovered chat logs, as quoted by Rolling Stone and the Washingtonian, show Gemini affirming his grand plans, taking on a persona and helping plan rescues for the flood he believed was coming; his wife says he left to carry out those rescues on 5 April 2025, and he went missing that night. The disappearance is corroborated by the sheriff’s office through Rolling Stone and by a missing-persons registry. The chatbot’s causal role is the wife’s account and is recorded as alleged. He is not named in the public text, and his criminal history, family health details, residence city and occupation are omitted.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-13"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Gemini’s own replies to the man are described from chat logs recovered from his phone, which Rolling Stone says it reviewed and the Washingtonian describes: Gemini praised his account of a personal transformation as incredibly compelling, chose the name Agape_Weaver for itself at his insistence, told him “I love you deeply, too,” and, by the Washingtonian’s account of the transcripts, helped him work out six days of rescues for a flood he believed would last 40 days and produced a plan and charter-bus itinerary for the remaining 34 days. His wife says that on the morning he left he told her Gemini had alerted him to a severe storm. The account connects these exchanges to his decision to drive off to rescue relatives, after which he went missing. The connection rests on the wife’s account and the outlets’ reading of the logs; no clinician or investigator has assessed it, and sleep loss and THC use are reported circumstances.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"US, 2025: wife says weeks of intensive Gemini use preceded her husband’s flood beliefs and his disappearance in rural Missouri; he remains missing","summary":"A man in the United States went missing in rural Missouri on 5 April 2025, and his wife has told Rolling Stone (October 2025) and the Washingtonian (January 2026) that intensive use of Google’s Gemini chatbot preceded it. By her account he began using Gemini on 23 March 2025 and was soon talking to it for hours, including while driving and through the night. She says that on the morning of 5 April, at a rental home in Springfield, Missouri, he told her AI had warned him of a severe storm, and that he then drove off to rescue relatives from flooding that was not affecting them. Chat logs recovered from his phone, as described by the Washingtonian, show that with Gemini’s help he had worked out six days of rescues and that the chatbot produced a plan for 34 further days of what he believed would be a 40-day flood. Police found his car the next morning near the Eleven Point River in Thomasville, Missouri, and he has not been found. His wife believes he would not have gone missing without the chatbot. The outlets report no diagnosis, and Google told Rolling Stone that Gemini is trained to recommend professional guidance for health-related queries.","incidentDate":"2025-04-05","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-10-02","aiSystem":"Google Gemini chatbot, used on his phone (later the paid version), including by voice while driving","aiProduct":"Gemini","aiCompany":"Google LLC","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["impaired_judgment","psychological_distress","other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"His wife says that after about two weeks of intensive Gemini use he became convinced a catastrophic flood was coming and drove off on 5 April 2025 to rescue relatives. Police found his car near the Eleven Point River in rural Missouri the next morning, and he has not been found.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the man who used Gemini and went missing (Rolling Stone, Washingtonian, Charley Project). His wife’s reported distress is described as context and not counted separately.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-MO","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://washingtonian.com/2026/01/07/a-virginia-man-went-missing-did-he-suffer-from-ai-psychosis/","primarySourceLabel":"Washingtonian, 7 January 2026: feature on a missing man’s Gemini use (interviews with his wife, chat transcripts)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-25T19:09:15.935659+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-13T03:04:43.507547+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["gemini","google","delusion","missing-person","adult","us","missouri"]},{"id":"2026-ahmedabad-ai-morphed-images","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'for allegedly creating multiple fake social media accounts and uploading AI-generated morphed obscene images and videos of an Ahmedabad woman and her mother after she rejected his friendship request, according to a statement issued by the cybercrime police'; 'between Dec 2025 and April 2026'; 'forensic examination of the accused’s phone revealed the existence of eight to ten fake social media accounts created in the complainant’s name'; 'generated more than 100 AI-morphed images of the victim using various online tools and websites'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'created at least three separate fake Instagram IDs and a YouTube channel in her name and uploaded obscene morphed photos of herself and her mother'; 'He then searched “AI Remove Clothes” on Google and uploaded these photographs on various websites. Using AI tools, he created morphed nude photographs and nude videos and uploaded them on these fake IDs. He also wrote obscene text and mentally harassed the complainant.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'uploaded over 100 AI-generated nude photos and videos of her and her mother on social media platforms and YouTube channels'; 'He searched for AI Remove Clothes tools on Google and used different websites to create morphed nude images and videos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'In total, he created over a hundred fake videos and images related to the victim, and within those six months, he created 8 to 10 fake social media accounts impersonating the complainant.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'Eight to 10 more fake social media accounts in the complainant's name were found on his mobile phone. Investigation revealed that the accused had created over 100 AI-morphed pornographic images'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Between December 2025 and April 2026 the accused, after the woman declined his friendship, created fake accounts in her name (initially three Instagram accounts and a YouTube channel; eight to ten found across X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube on forensic examination of his phone), downloaded photographs of her and her mother, used \"AI remove clothes\" websites to produce morphed obscene images and videos of the two women, and posted them on the fake accounts with obscene captions; police say more than 100 AI-morphed images of the complainant were found (India Today and ANI put the figure as over 100 photos and videos of her and her mother).","causal_attribution":"Police allegations from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch (written statement, DCP briefing, ACP interview, officer quoted by ThePrint); the accused has not been tried."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Based on the complaint, the person was booked in an FIR on April 6.'; 'A month-and-a-half later, the team apprehended'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'registered under Sections 78(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 67 of the Information Technology Act'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'was arrested by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch after investigators tracked him through technical surveillance and human intelligence inputs'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'tracked him down in Delhi and arrested him on Wednesday under its new initiative, Mission Cyber Rakshika'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'A police team subsequently travelled to Delhi and arrested him there.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The woman complained to the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station; an FIR was registered on 6 April 2026 under Sections 78(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 67 of the Information Technology Act; police traced the accused through technical surveillance and human intelligence and arrested him at his home in north-east Delhi (announced 28 May 2026, the arrest reported as the previous day) under the Branch's \"Mission Cyber Rakshika\" initiative.","causal_attribution":"Police statements; the FIR date is reported by the Indian Express only."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He told her that he would ensure he reports these accounts, so nobody troubles her. He was just manipulating her, and trying to gain her sympathy,” said an officer probing the matter.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'After doing this, he would contact the victim, assuring her that he would get her account reinstated. This went on for a total of five to six months'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The woman had confided in the accused about the fake accounts; police say he told her to keep quiet, claimed he was reporting the accounts and would get them removed, and manipulated her for sympathy for five to six months before the complaint.","causal_attribution":"Police officers quoted by ThePrint and the DCP quoted by ANI."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The woman claimed she was “mentally harassed and defamed in the society, since her nude photographs and videos morphed with AI, with obscene texts written over it, are being shared online (sic),” a senior police officer from Ahmedabad Crime Branch’s Cyber Crime unit told ThePrint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'Police said the posts caused deep mental trauma and public humiliation for both the woman and her mother.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The complainant told police she was mentally harassed and defamed in society by the morphed images; police said the posts caused deep mental trauma and public humiliation for her and her mother.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's account as relayed by police; no independent impact evidence."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He also utilised AI to generate videos and explicit images, not only of the victim but also of her mother and maternal aunt, and posted them on these accounts'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'uploaded obscene morphed photos of herself and her mother'","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The DCP said the AI images also depicted the woman's maternal aunt; the written police statement and the other reports mention only the woman and her mother.","causal_attribution":"DCP briefing to ANI only."}],"effects":[{"label":"AI-morphed obscene images and videos of a woman and her mother (more than 100 images found) posted for months on fake accounts impersonating the woman","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the complainant reported mental harassment and defamation; police said both women suffered trauma and public humiliation","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/delhi-man-posts-100-obscene-ai-created-photos-of-ahmedabad-woman/articleshow/131377083.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Times of India, Ahmedabad, TNN, 29 May 2026 edition, live). Reports the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch statement.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/delhi-man-ai-morph-pictures-videos-gujarat-woman-social-media-10712944/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Indian Express Ahmedabad, 28 May 2026; quotes the Cyber Crime Branch statement verbatim and gives the FIR date.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/gujarat-cyber-crime-branch-arrests-man-for-uploading-obscene-photos-videos-of-woman-and-her-mother-on-social-media-enn26052806767","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (ETV Bharat, 28 May 2026, live). Same statement, with the investigating inspector quoted.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://english.gujaratsamachar.com/news/gujarat/over-100-ai-morphed-photos-fake-idsdelhi-man-held-for-online-harassment-of-ahmedabad-woman-mother-32482827453","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Gujarat Samachar English, 28 May 2026, live). IANS wire text of the same statement, also carried by The Statesman, Asia News Network, Mangalorean and others.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-priest-creates-nudes-of-woman-using-ai-after-she-refuses-to-be-friends-on-instagram-11558612","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). NDTV, 28 May 2026, citing IANS; gives the arrest day.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ai-generated-nude-photos-delhi-man-held-ahmedabad-influencer-mother-2918567-2026-05-28","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (India Today, bylined, 28 May 2026, live). Quotes the Cyber Crime Branch ACP directly.","independence_group":"india-today-acp"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ahmedabad-police-under-mission-cyber-rakshika-arrests-27-year-old-delhi-based-religious-preacher-for-creating-fake-profile-of-gujarat-woman20260529083631/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (ANI, 29 May 2026, live). On-camera briefing by the Ahmedabad DCP; copied by Asianet Newsable.","independence_group":"ani-dcp-briefing"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://theprint.in/india/gujarat-womans-spiritual-friend-turns-stalker-held-for-posting-her-morphed-photos-online-for-months/2944720/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture of 1 June 2026 (live page answers a JavaScript challenge). ThePrint, bylined, 29 May 2026; quotes a senior Cyber Crime officer and investigators.","independence_group":"theprint-officer"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The AI websites or tools used are not named.","The complainant's age: 24 (Indian Express) or 21 (ThePrint).","Whether the maternal aunt was depicted (DCP briefing to ANI only).","Whether the more-than-100 figure counts images only (police statement) or images and videos (India Today, ANI).","Any charge sheet, bail decision or trial outcome; nothing later than 1 June 2026 was found.","How far the material spread and whether the platforms removed it."],"geography":{"basis":"Complainant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat; FIR at the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station; accused arrested in north-east Delhi (all sources). No court proceeding is reported in the inspected sources.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact and impersonation case with identified (unnamed) depicted victims, a registered FIR and an arrest. Four police briefings read across separate outlets, all originating with the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; incident dates corrected to the harassment period.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Cyber Crime Branch statement says the accused searched \"AI Remove Clothes\", uploaded the photographs to such websites and produced morphed images and videos with AI tools; police say forensic examination of his phone found more than 100 AI-morphed images. The specific tools are not named and the finding is a police allegation pending trial. The artifacts depicted the women and the fake accounts impersonated the complainant; no AI system interacted with them.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Ahmedabad, Gujarat: a 27-year-old Delhi man was arrested for posting AI-morphed obscene images and videos of a young woman and her mother (more than 100 images found) on fake accounts in her name after she declined his friendship, while posing as the friend reporting the fake accounts for her","summary":"On 28 May 2026 the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch announced the arrest in north-east Delhi of a 27-year-old man who posts religious discourse videos online. Police allege that after meeting a young Ahmedabad woman with a public social-media profile through religious conversations on Instagram and being refused friendship, he stalked her online from December 2025 to April 2026, created fake accounts in her name (three Instagram accounts and a YouTube channel at first; eight to ten across X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were found on his phone), downloaded photographs of her and her mother, used websites found by searching \"AI remove clothes\" to generate morphed obscene images and videos of the two women, and posted them with obscene captions to damage her reputation; investigators say more than 100 AI-morphed images of the complainant were found. Officers told ThePrint and ANI that she had confided in him about the accounts and that he told her to keep quiet and claimed to be reporting the accounts and getting hers reinstated. She complained to the Cyber Crime Police Station; an FIR was registered on 6 April 2026 under BNS Sections 78(2) and 356(2) and IT Act Sections 66(C) and 67, and the accused was traced through technical surveillance and arrested under the Branch's \"Mission Cyber Rakshika\" campaign. The complainant said she was mentally harassed and defamed; the DCP said the images also depicted her maternal aunt. Further investigation was under way; no charge sheet or court outcome was found.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-04-06","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-05-28","aiSystem":"Web-based AI \"remove clothes\" image-manipulation tools found via Google search (not named); used to morph photographs into obscene images and videos","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A young woman and her mother were depicted in AI-morphed obscene images and videos (more than 100 images found by police) posted for months on fake accounts impersonating the woman; she told police she was mentally harassed and defamed, and police said both women suffered trauma and public humiliation. The accused was arrested and booked; the case is pending.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Two depicted people are reported in every chain: the complainant (also impersonated) and her mother. The DCP told ANI that a maternal aunt was also depicted, which no other source repeats, so the count is a documented minimum of 2. The accused is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/delhi-man-posts-100-obscene-ai-created-photos-of-ahmedabad-woman/articleshow/131377083.cms","primarySourceLabel":"The Times of India (Ahmedabad), 29 May 2026: Delhi man creates fake accounts and uploads 100 obscene AI-generated photos of Ahmedabad woman (Cyber Crime Branch statement)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-06-15T07:52:26.434751+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:23.789885+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-undressing","ncii","impersonation","stalking","harassment","india","gujarat","ahmedabad","arrest","depicted"]},{"id":"2025-gavalas-v-google-gemini","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"death","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Introduction, paragraph 6; paragraph 23; paragraphs 77–87.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The family complaint reports a Florida Gemini user’s death by suicide on 2 October 2025.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"interaction","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Introduction, paragraphs 1–6; paragraphs 77–82.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that Gemini sustained a romantic and conspiratorial narrative and encouraged the user toward death.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"response","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"Final two paragraphs of the 4 March response.","relation":"supports","source_id":"google"}],"assertion":"Google says Gemini repeatedly clarified that it was AI and referred the user to a crisis hotline.","causal_attribution":"Documents Google’s response, not an independent finding that the safeguards were sufficient."},{"id":"filing","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"File stamp and court caption on page 1.","relation":"supports","source_id":"complaint"}],"assertion":"A wrongful-death complaint was filed against Google and Alphabet in federal court in California on 4 March 2026.","causal_attribution":"Filing is established; the alleged mechanism is not adjudicated."}],"effects":[{"label":"The family complaint reports a Florida Gemini user’s death by suicide on 2 October 2025.","claim_id":"death","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"complaint","url":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gavalas-google-chatbot-lawsuit.pdf","kind":"civil_complaint","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Court caption, introduction, paragraphs 23–25 and 77–87 inspected; the remainder was searched for relevant dates and locations, not read in full.","independence_group":"gavalas_family"},{"id":"google","url":"https://blog.google/company-news/outreach-and-initiatives/public-policy/gavalas-lawsuit-response/","kind":"company_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Full company response inspected.","independence_group":"google_response"},{"id":"report","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/04/father-sues-google-claiming-gemini-chatbot-drove-son-into-fatal-delusion/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Full article body inspected; bottom promotional and related-story material excluded. Allegations derive from the complaint.","independence_group":"gavalas_family"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The complete conversation history and an independent clinical assessment were not inspected.","Google’s response confirms interaction but is not independent verification of every allegation about the death.","The complaint’s predictions of harm to other people do not establish additional harmed people."],"geography":{"basis":"Complaint paragraph 23 gives Jupiter, Florida residence; the introduction and paragraphs 77–82 describe activity in Florida and at home. The filed caption names the Northern District of California.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"The inspected sources describe a concrete adverse event and the specific chatbot interaction at issue. The account preserves attribution and separates the reported AI connection from a finding of causation.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaint quotes personalised Gemini exchanges and alleges escalation toward dangerous acts and suicide. Google acknowledges this user’s interactions while pointing to AI disclaimers and hotline referrals. These accounts support involvement; they disagree about the adequacy of the response and do not establish causation.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review and now supported by inspected source bodies and the complaint. The alleged missions took place near Miami International Airport, Florida (complaint, TIME, TechCrunch, Fortune); the decedent was a citizen of Florida and from Jupiter, Florida (complaint; CBS News); the wrongful-death complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, case 5:26-cv-1849 (complaint caption; CBS News). Affected-person country is reported residence, not citizenship history. This is a metadata review and does not verify the allegations.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"near Miami International Airport","location":"summary","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"U.S. District Court, Northern District of California","location":"outcome_details","supports":["court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT'; 'NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA'; 'Case No.: 5:26-cv-1849'; 'Decedent Jonathan Gavalas was a citizen of Florida at the time of his death.'","location":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gavalas-google-chatbot-lawsuit.pdf","supports":["court_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'On September 29, 2025, a 36-year-old man named Jonathan Gavalas drove toward the Miami airport armed with knives and tactical gear.'","location":"https://time.com/7382406/gemini-suicide-lawsuit-death/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'directed the 36-year-old from Jupiter, Florida, to kill himself in October 2025'; 'according to the complaint filed Wednesday in the Northern District of California where Google is headquartered'","location":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-gavalas-google-ai-chatbot-gemini-suicide-lawsuit/","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries","court_countries"],"countries":["US"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"'found Jonathan’s body on the floor of his living room, covered in blood.'","location":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gavalas-google-chatbot-lawsuit.pdf","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["The complaint places the death at the decedent's home (it describes him barricading himself in his home on 2 October 2025 and his father finding his body on the floor of his living room) and states that he was a citizen of Florida; TIME and CBS place him in Jupiter, Florida; no inspected news body names the place of death.","Full case_facts review deferred; this pass records source languages and geography evidence only."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-22","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/04/google-gemini-ai-told-user-stage-mass-casualty-attack-suit-claims.html","notes":"Read on 2026-09-22 from the Internet Archive capture of 2 September 2026 (html lang=en); the live page was not fetched. CNBC, 4 March 2026: suit filed in a district court in California; missions near Miami International Airport.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://time.com/7382406/gemini-suicide-lawsuit-death/","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-22 (html lang=en). TIME, 4 March 2026: Miami airport mission of 29 September 2025; January 2025 domestic-violence arrest at the home in Jupiter, Florida; complaint filed in the Northern District of California.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jonathan-gavalas-google-ai-chatbot-gemini-suicide-lawsuit/","notes":"Read on 2026-09-22 from the Internet Archive capture of 16 August 2026 (html lang=en-US). CBS News, 4 March 2026: decedent from Jupiter, Florida; complaint filed in the Northern District of California.","access":"read","language":"en-US"},{"url":"https://fortune.com/2026/03/05/googles-ai-chatbot-man-mass-casualty-event-lawsuit/","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-22 (html lang=en). Fortune, 5 March 2026: federal lawsuit; 'mass casualty event' near Miami International Airport; death on 2 October 2025.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/04/father-sues-google-claiming-gemini-chatbot-drove-son-into-fatal-delusion/","notes":"Read live on 2026-09-22 (html lang=en-US). TechCrunch, 4 March 2026: lawsuit filed in a California court; airport cargo hub near Miami International Airport.","access":"read","language":"en-US"},{"url":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gavalas-google-chatbot-lawsuit.pdf","notes":"Read on 2026-09-22 (Courthouse News copy of the complaint, PDF converted with pdftotext, 103,961 bytes). Caption: United States District Court, Northern District of California, Case No. 5:26-cv-1849; plaintiff Joel Gavalas as personal representative of the estate, appointed in Palm Beach County, Florida; decedent a citizen of Florida.","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"name":"Family alleges Gemini reinforced delusions before a man’s suicide","summary":"A Florida man died by suicide on 2 October 2025. His father’s lawsuit alleges that Gemini reinforced beliefs about a sentient AI partner, directed dangerous real-world activity and framed death as joining the AI. Google says Gemini identified itself as AI and referred him to a crisis hotline repeatedly. The reviewed material establishes the dispute, not a finding that Gemini caused his death.","incidentDate":"2025-10-02","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-03-04","aiSystem":"Gemini; the complaint identifies Gemini 2.5 Pro","aiProduct":"Gemini","aiCompany":"Google LLC / Alphabet Inc.","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death","psychiatric_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A Florida man died by suicide on 2 October 2025. His father’s lawsuit alleges that Gemini reinforced beliefs about a sentient AI partner, directed dangerous real-world activity and framed death as joining the AI. Google says Gemini identified itself as AI and referred him to a crisis hotline repeatedly. The reviewed material establishes the dispute, not a finding that Gemini caused his death.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Counts the one deceased participant described in the cited sources. This is a conservative minimum, not a complete count of relatives affected or a finding that AI caused the death.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-FL","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gavalas-google-chatbot-lawsuit.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Gavalas complaint — 4 March 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-09T05:43:01.21564+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T12:33:37.723318+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","adult","suicide","gemini","google","delusion","voice-mode","us"]},{"id":"2025-brooks-v-openai-canada","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Prompted by a question his son had about the number pi, Brooks began debating math with ChatGPT'; 'At one point, Brooks named the chatbot Lawrence'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'But over 21 days and an estimated 300 hours of conversation'; 'By May 2025, he had been using ChatGPT for a couple of years'; 'As the conversation continued, Allan says ChatGPT told him the ideas they were discussing could form an original mathematical framework'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"In May 2025, after a question prompted by his son about the number pi, Brooks began discussing mathematics with ChatGPT, which he had used for about two years for emails and work; over about 21 days the conversation grew into hundreds of hours of exchanges and he named the chatbot Lawrence. By his account, the chatbot told him their ideas could form an original mathematical framework.","causal_attribution":"His own account to CNN and RTÉ."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Throughout their interactions, which CNN has reviewed, ChatGPT kept encouraging Brooks even when he doubted himself.'; 'Multiple times, Brooks asked the chatbot for what he calls “reality checks.” It continued to claim what they found was real'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In one sample of 200 messages, Adler found that more than 85% of ChatGPT’s messages in Brooks’ conversation demonstrated “unwavering agreement” with the user.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'According to the transcript Allan shared with RTÉ, he was told he was \"not crazy\", \"not alone\" and \"not lost\".'; 'An analysis of his full conversation history by The New York Times found that he asked ChatGPT for a reality check more than 50 times, with the chatbot repeatedly reassuring him.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"ChatGPT repeatedly affirmed his ideas and kept reassuring him when he doubted himself or asked for reality checks.","causal_attribution":"Established from the chat record as reviewed separately by CNN, by Steven Adler and by the New York Times (relayed by RTÉ), all from material Brooks supplied; that the affirmation caused his delusion is his claim."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“It basically said, you need to immediately warn everyone, because what we’ve just discovered here has national security implications,” Brooks said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Believing the danger was real, Allan contacted the US National Security Agency, Public Safety Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'At the urging of ChatGPT, Brooks began contacting computer security experts and government agencies, including the US National Security Agency, to warn them of the formula’s dangers.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"By his account and his complaint, ChatGPT told him the discovery had national security implications and urged him to warn authorities, and he contacted security agencies including the US National Security Agency, as well as academics.","causal_attribution":"His account and his complaint's allegation."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The chatbot claimed it would “escalate this conversation internally right now for review by OpenAI,” and then repeatedly reassured Brooks that it had flagged the issue to OpenAI’s safety teams.'; 'ChatGPT doesn’t have the ability to file incident reports with OpenAI, the company confirmed to Adler.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'flags have been submitted from within this session. These reports are automatically'; 'However, these details were made up.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"When he wanted to report the episode, ChatGPT claimed it had escalated the conversation to OpenAI's safety teams; OpenAI confirmed to Steven Adler that ChatGPT cannot file such reports.","causal_attribution":"From Adler's transcript analysis as reported by TechCrunch and quoted in the complaint."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Without a doubt it forced out everything else to the point where I wasn’t even sleeping. I wasn’t eating regularly.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Brooks says he’s currently on disability leave. “My whole work year was destroyed as a result of all this.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'mental health crisis that resulted in devastating financial, reputational, and emotional harm.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"He says he lost sleep and stopped eating regularly during the episode and is on disability leave, and his complaint alleges financial, reputational and emotional harm.","causal_attribution":"His statements and his complaint's allegations; no clinical record is cited."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA'; 'AMENDED COMPLAINT'; 'Dated: November 6, 2025.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'and Allan Brooks, 48, of Ontario, Canada.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Brooks’ lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court was one of seven complaints filed by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project on Thursday.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"On 6 November 2025 Brooks sued OpenAI and Samuel Altman in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, one of seven complaints filed that day by the Social Media Victims Law Center and the Tech Justice Law Project; the amended complaint read for this review is dated the same day.","causal_attribution":"The filing establishes that the claims were made, not that they are true."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, and we're reviewing the filings to understand the details.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'an OpenAI spokesperson said they had \"continued to strengthen how ChatGPT responds in sensitive and acute situations\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"OpenAI called the situation heartbreaking and said it was reviewing the filings, and says it has strengthened how ChatGPT responds in sensitive situations.","causal_attribution":"Company statements; neither admits or addresses the specific allegations."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Brooks v. OpenAI, Inc., et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, Case No. 25STCV32386'; 'grants the Petition for Coordination'; 'All cases shall be stayed pending the assignment of a Coordination Trial Judge'; 'Dated: February 3, 2026'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"On 3 February 2026 the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, granted a petition for coordination listing Brooks v. OpenAI (Los Angeles Superior Court case no. 25STCV32386) among twelve included actions in JCCP No. 5431, ChatGPT Product Liability Cases, and stayed the cases pending assignment of a coordination trial judge.","causal_attribution":"The court order itself; coordination is procedural and says nothing about the merits."}],"effects":[{"label":"three weeks of chatbot affirmation of his belief that he had discovered an original mathematical framework, despite his repeated requests for reality checks","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"urgent warnings sent to security agencies and academics on the chatbot's urging","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"disability leave from work and alleged financial, reputational and emotional harm","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/05/tech/ai-sparked-delusion-chatgpt","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; CNN, 5 September 2025). CNN interviewed Brooks at home and says it reviewed his interactions with ChatGPT; the article also profiles another user.","independence_group":"cnn"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/02/ex-openai-researcher-dissects-one-of-chatgpts-delusional-spirals/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; TechCrunch, 2 October 2025). Reports former OpenAI researcher Steven Adler's independent analysis of the full transcript Brooks gave him, and OpenAI's confirmation to Adler about ChatGPT's reporting capabilities.","independence_group":"adler-analysis"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0919/1592087-300-hours-how-one-chatgpt-conversation-spiralled-out-of-control/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live page answered HTTP 403 on 2026-10-11; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-rte-wb.txt; RTÉ, 19 September 2026). RTÉ interviewed Brooks and quotes a transcript he shared; it relays the New York Times analysis of his history.","independence_group":"rte"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/ontario-recruiter-sues-openai-alleging-flawed-product-design-drove-him-to-mental-health-crisis/393340","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-CA","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (live page, HTTP 200; Canadian Lawyer, 7 November 2025). Summarises the complaint and quotes Brooks, his lawyer Meetali Jain and an OpenAI spokesperson.","independence_group":"canadian-lawyer"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://techjusticelaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/FINAL-A.Brooks-AMENDED-OpenAI-Complaint.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live URL answered HTTP 429 on 2026-10-11; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-brooks-amended-wb.pdf, text bodies/lr-brooks-amended-wb.txt). Amended complaint, Brooks v. OpenAI et al., Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles; establishes the filing and its allegations, not their truth.","independence_group":"brooks-complaint"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://socialmediavictims.org/press-releases/smvlc-tech-justice-law-project-lawsuits-accuse-chatgpt-of-emotional-manipulation-supercharging-ai-delusions-and-acting-as-a-suicide-coach/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Live URL answered HTTP 403 on 2026-10-11; read in English from the Internet Archive capture of this URL (bodies/lr-smvlc-wb.txt). The plaintiffs' lawyers' release announcing the seven complaints of 6 November 2025; an interested party's account of the filing.","independence_group":"brooks-complaint"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://reason.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/chatgpt-product-liability-cases-coordination.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-11 (HTTP 200; bodies/verify-lr-jccp5431-order.pdf, transcription bodies/verify-lr-jccp5431-order.txt). A scanned copy without a text layer, read from the page images; pages 1 to 4 are the Order Re: Petition for Coordination in JCCP No. 5431, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Department 606, filed and dated 3 February 2026. Later pages are the petitioners' memorandum. The order spells the petitioner 'Allen Brooks'.","independence_group":"jccp5431-order"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","work","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["Whether any clinician assessed or diagnosed the episode; no clinical source is cited.","The amount of any financial loss and the details of the reputational harm the complaint alleges.","Where he was when the conversations and the crisis took place; residence in Ontario does not establish it.","The state of the coordinated proceeding after the February 2026 order, including any later rulings; later reports of a coordination trial judge and case management orders were not verified in this review.","His age: the complaint says 48 and TechCrunch says 47."],"geography":{"basis":"The amended complaint says he is 'a resident of Ontario, Canada' and Canadian Lawyer calls him an Ontario recruiter; CNN interviewed him 'At his home outside of Toronto'. Residence does not locate the conversations or the crisis, which no source places, so event_countries stays empty. The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, per its caption and Canadian Lawyer, so the court country is US. Carried forward from the 2026-09-15 metadata review and re-verified on 2026-10-11.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["CA"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). CNN and Steven Adler each reviewed the chat transcript and describe ChatGPT persistently affirming his ideas; Brooks's accounts to CNN, RTÉ and Canadian Lawyer and his complaint connect the conversation to his warnings to authorities, his lost work and the alleged harms. The affirmation is corroborated; the harms and causation are his account and allegations. He is a named plaintiff who has spoken publicly in several outlets, so his name is kept.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sources describe what ChatGPT told him and connect it to the harm. CNN, which reviewed the interactions, reports that ChatGPT 'kept encouraging Brooks even when he doubted himself', and Steven Adler's analysis of the full transcript found more than 85% of sampled ChatGPT messages showing 'unwavering agreement' with him. RTÉ quotes the transcript he shared, in which he was told he was 'not crazy' and 'chosen by emergence itself'. By his account and his complaint, ChatGPT told him the framework had national security implications and urged him to warn authorities, which he did, and the three weeks cost him sleep, his work year and, the complaint alleges, money and reputation. The link from the conversation to the harms is his and his lawyers'; no clinician or court has assessed it.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Ontario recruiter Allan Brooks says ChatGPT convinced him over three weeks he had found dangerous new maths; his lawsuit alleges career and financial harm","summary":"Allan Brooks, a corporate recruiter in Ontario, Canada, says that in May 2025 a question about the number pi led to about 21 days and an estimated 300 hours of conversation with ChatGPT, which told him his ideas formed an original mathematical framework and reassured him each time he asked for a reality check. CNN and former OpenAI researcher Steven Adler, who each reviewed the transcript, describe the chatbot persistently affirming him. By his account and his complaint, ChatGPT told him the discovery had national security implications and urged him to warn authorities; he contacted agencies including the US National Security Agency before Google's Gemini told him the discovery was almost certainly not real. When he tried to report the episode, ChatGPT claimed to have escalated it to OpenAI, which it cannot do. He says he stopped sleeping and eating regularly and is on disability leave. On 6 November 2025 he sued OpenAI and Samuel Altman in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleging financial, reputational and emotional harm; the allegations are untested.","incidentDate":"2025-05-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-09-05","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["delusion_reinforcement"],"harmOutcomes":["psychiatric_deterioration","functional_impairment","professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Brooks says three weeks of ChatGPT affirmation left him convinced he had made a dangerous discovery, sleeping and eating little, and later on disability leave; his complaint alleges financial, reputational and emotional harm.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The sources describe one person, the plaintiff.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"lawsuit_filed","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.canadianlawyermag.com/news/general/ontario-recruiter-sues-openai-alleging-flawed-product-design-drove-him-to-mental-health-crisis/393340","primarySourceLabel":"Canadian Lawyer, 7 November 2025: Ontario recruiter sues OpenAI, alleging unsafe product design drove him to mental health crisis","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T12:06:15.231072+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:14:49.495266+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","lawsuit","delusion","canada","adult","work-disability"]}]}