{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T08:27:51.938Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"harassment","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"contextual","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":1,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":2,"mixedRelations":1,"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-us-yale-law-scholar-suspended-after-ai-empowered-news-site-article","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Last week, though, she was abruptly barred from Yale’s campus in New Haven, Conn., and placed on administrative leave.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Yale officials cited the reason as allegations that she was tied to entities subject to U.S. sanctions.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"on administrative leave last week and barred her from campus.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Yale placed the scholar on administrative leave and barred the scholar from campus in early March 2025, after allegations that the scholar was tied to entities subject to US sanctions.","causal_attribution":"The New York Times is the origin. Inside Higher Ed relays it. Yale's own statement to The National is a separate party statement (claim c8). The leave letter and the exact date were not inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The decision came three days after a news site, powered at least in part by artificial intelligence, published a story about","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The news site, Jewish Onliner, said that the scholar was connected to Samidoun","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"prompted by allegations on a lesser-known, largely AI-powered news site called Jewish Onliner","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Yale's decision came three days after a news site described as powered at least in part by artificial intelligence published a story on the scholar's connections to Samidoun. Inside Higher Ed and Middle East Eye identify the site as Jewish Onliner.","causal_attribution":"The New York Times states the sequence and does not name the site in the inspected extract. The article date and Yale's internal reasoning are not documented in the inspected sources."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"“The initial email from the general counsel had specifically linked to the Jewish Onliner article and said that was the trigger of the investigation, so there's no dispute about that,”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"I received the email notifying us from Yale's general counsel that she had been put on administrative leave and on the grounds that we had failed to cooperate with their investigation, which was ridiculous,”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The scholar's lawyer says Yale's general counsel wrote that the Jewish Onliner article was the trigger of the investigation, and that Yale later placed the scholar on leave on the ground that, in the lawyer's words, 'we' (the scholar and the lawyer) had failed to cooperate with its investigation.","causal_attribution":"Single account by the scholar's lawyer as relayed by Middle East Eye. The Yale email was not inspected."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Jewish Onliner describes itself as “your online hub for insights, investigations, data and exposes about issues impacting the Jewish community. Empowered by AI capabilities\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"While AI plays a significant role in enhancing and accelerating our work and content, we want to emphasise that it’s only a tool.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"each person handles every part of a project: conducting OSINT [open source intelligence] research, analyzing the findings, and writing the piece. AI tools also play a significant role in enhancing and accelerating the work","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"articles are ultimately done by the site's human fact-checking team.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"The organization told the Times that humans, not AI, make the final edits on stories.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The site describes itself as empowered by AI. A person affiliated with the site says AI tools play a significant role and that each team member does the research, analysis and writing. The site's email to The National and its statement to the Times, as relayed by Inside Higher Ed, say humans fact-check content and make the final edits.","causal_attribution":"These are the site operators' own statements (emails to The National and to JTA, and a statement to the New York Times). How AI was used in the article about the scholar is not documented, and the JTA statement describes human research and writing."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"“I am not a member of any organization that would constitute a violation of U.S. law.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"told the Times that she’s not part “of any organization that would constitute a violation of U.S. law.”","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The scholar told the New York Times of not being a member of any organization that would constitute a violation of US law.","causal_attribution":"The scholar's own statement as quoted by Gizmodo and as paraphrased by Inside Higher Ed, which attributes it to a Times interview. The Times interview text beyond the extract was not inspected."},{"id":"c6","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"said she is not a member of Samidoun","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"has yet to explicitly deny her membership in Samidoun.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The scholar's lawyer says the scholar is not a member of Samidoun, and the site says the scholar has yet to explicitly deny membership.","causal_attribution":"Both positions are party statements. The inspected sources do not verify membership either way, and the site's underlying evidence (appearances on panels at Samidoun-sponsored events per the New York Times) was not inspected."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"had been enduring online harassment ever since the Jewish Onliner published its article.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"and Yale were reportedly the subject of intense harassment after Jewish Onliner published the article","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The scholar was reportedly subjected to online harassment after the article was published.","causal_attribution":"Lawyer's account relayed by Middle East Eye and an unsourced 'reportedly' statement in Gizmodo. The harassment itself was not inspected."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"In response to allegations about potential unlawful conduct, the appropriate process is to place an employee on a temporary administrative leave while a review is conducted to understand the facts of the matter.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"short-term position as an associate research scholar with the LPE Project expires next month.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"A Yale Law School representative said placing an employee on temporary administrative leave while a review is conducted is the appropriate process after allegations of potential unlawful conduct, and that the scholar's short-term position was due to expire the month after the statement.","causal_attribution":"Yale Law School's own statement as quoted by The National. The statement date is not given, so the expiry month is not established, and the effect of the leave on the scholar's employment is not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"Administrative leave and campus ban after an AI-empowered news site article linked the scholar to a sanctioned group","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/yale-suspends-scholar-terrorism.html","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"nyt-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2025/03/13/ai-empowered-site-accuses-yale-scholar-terrorism-connection","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"nyt-report"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://gizmodo.com/yale-suspends-palestine-activist-after-ai-article-linked-her-to-terrorism-2000575148","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"nyt-report"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/muslim-scholar-international-law-barred-yale-university-after-ai-powered-terrorism-accusation","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"scholar-lawyer-account"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.thenationalnews.com/future/technology/2025/03/26/ai-powered-jewish-onliner-helyeh-doutaghi/","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"the-national-statements"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/all-news/article-848011","kind":"news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"site-own-statements"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","education","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The New York Times article was read only as a preview extract (a Wayback capture of about 3,000 characters ending at the paywall); passages beyond it were not seen.","The date the Jewish Onliner article was published and the exact date of Yale's leave decision are not stated in the inspected sources, so the incident date is given at month precision.","Which statements in the article, if any, were generated or drafted by AI, and whether any AI error contributed, is unknown.","The Jewish Onliner article itself was not inspected.","The National quotes a Yale Law School statement that the scholar's short-term position expires 'next month'. The statement date is not given, and the outcome of the investigation and any effect on the scholar's employment are not reported.","A person affiliated with the site says each team member does the research, analysis and writing, so the extent of AI use in the article about the scholar is unknown.","Whether the scholar was later reinstated, or how Yale's investigation concluded, is not covered by the inspected sources."],"geography":{"basis":"The New York Times places the barred campus in New Haven, Conn. The scholar's residence or nationality, the site operators' location and any court are not used.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Six public news reports were read. The New York Times original is cited from a preview extract only. Claims are attributed and left at reported or disputed status because the leave letter, the article and Yale's statements were not inspected beyond press quotations. The scholar is not named in any public field.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The New York Times describes the site as 'powered at least in part by artificial intelligence', the site describes itself as empowered by AI capabilities, and a person affiliated with the site says AI tools play a significant role in its work and humans fact-check. A person affiliated with the site also says each team member does the research, analysis and writing, and the inspected sources do not show that AI produced the article about the scholar.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Yale Law School scholar placed on leave and barred from campus after article on an AI-empowered news site linked the scholar to a sanctioned group","summary":"In March 2025 Yale placed a Yale Law School scholar, who was deputy director of a Yale Law School project, on administrative leave and barred the scholar from campus. The New York Times reports the decision came three days after a news site described as powered at least in part by artificial intelligence published a story on the scholar's connections to Samidoun, a group on a US sanctions list. Inside Higher Ed and Middle East Eye identify the site as Jewish Onliner. The scholar's lawyer says Yale's general counsel named the article as the trigger of the investigation. The scholar told the Times of not being a member of any organization that would violate US law, and the lawyer says the scholar is not a member of Samidoun. A Yale Law School representative told The National that placing an employee on temporary administrative leave while a review is conducted is the appropriate process and that the scholar's short-term position was due to expire the following month. The site says humans fact-check and that AI tools play a significant role in its work. The inspected sources do not show that AI produced the article.","incidentDate":"2025-03-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-03-12","aiSystem":"Jewish Onliner (Substack news site describing itself as empowered by AI capabilities; models and tools not identified in the inspected sources)","aiProduct":"Jewish Onliner (suspected)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The New York Times reports the scholar was barred from Yale's campus and placed on administrative leave, and the scholar's lawyer told Middle East Eye the article was named as the trigger of Yale's investigation, that the scholar suffered online harassment and that Yale should restore the scholar's reputation.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One scholar reported placed on leave and barred from campus. Yale, the site's other subjects and the harassers are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/us/yale-suspends-scholar-terrorism.html","primarySourceLabel":"The New York Times (12 Mar 2025), preview extract","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T13:28:55.093356+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:19.811349+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]},{"id":"2017-simsimi-ireland-cyberbullying","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Several schools have sent letters or text messages to parents in recent days asking them to discuss use of the SimSimi app with their children.'; 'SimSimi is the most downloaded app in Ireland on Apple's iTunes charts and the second most-downloaded app on the Google Play store.'; 'One Dublin secondary school told parents this weekend that the app allowed individuals to be targeted easily.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Where schools were aware of this use by some pupils, they alerted parents of potential dangers. General alerts were also issued by many teachers and schools through social media.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'said it was being downloaded \"in huge numbers\" across Ireland last week.'; 'we began to put out warnings through the media to parents and to schools'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"In late March 2017 schools in the Republic of Ireland sent letters or text messages asking parents to discuss the SimSimi app with their children, while the app topped Apple's download chart in Ireland.","causal_attribution":"School messages quoted by The Irish Times, a teachers' union statement to TheJournal.ie and a DCU anti-bullying centre director's BBC interview."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'allows users to view anonymous, and often insulting, messages left about them by typing in their name.'; 'When a user sends a message on their phone, the app responds by scanning for related conversations in its database and responds by spitting out a relevant response.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In practice, a small group could make a range of comments about a person and, without that person able to stop it, their name could be associated with negative and abusive content.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'IBTimes UK downloaded and tested the application. The exchange quickly turned weird.'; 'Time for another name. Typing Suzanne was met with: \"is gay\" and the name Emily brought up: \"Slut, who needs to improve her grades big time!!\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'It appears to be a computer generated chat room where you talk to a very abusive computer!'; 'The app is rated as 17+ but I am twice that age and was really shocked at some of the stuff that came back!'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The app answers typed text, including a person's name, with replies other users have taught it, so that a name can return insulting messages; journalists and police who tested it received abusive replies.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Times's description of the mechanism, IBTimes UK's own test and the PSNI Down Facebook post quoted by the BBC."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'One parent who said that she had seen \"vile comments\" about her daughter on the app told TheJournal.ie that the company had said it would take 15 days to deal with her request but offered three alternative methods whereby words could be deleted from the system if they had become associated with vile language.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'We did some searches for our kids names and there were some vile, vile comments on the names for each of our respective children'; 'went into her phone to see if she’d ever downloaded the app on the app store and luckily she hadn’t. It was a really stressful situation.'; 'The mother was told she’d have to wait 15 days for action to be taken when she complained about this to SimSimi.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A parent told TheJournal.ie that she and other parents searched their children's names on the app and found vile comments on each, that her daughter did not know of the comments; she said her daughter had not downloaded the app, that the company said it would take 15 days to deal with her request while offering ways to delete words, and that it was a really stressful situation.","causal_attribution":"The parent's own account to TheJournal.ie, carried in two articles; the company's reply is as she described it."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In primary school, students were getting messages when they put in their name and they couldn’t understand where that had come from'; 'students were being insulted about being too fat or too ugly and very personal things, things they might only know about each other.'; 'For one friend, at the beginning it was all fine and inside jokes, but within a couple of days every time he looked up his name, something mean was being said. It hurt him a lot and he became very down.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"A Dublin secondary teacher told the BBC that primary pupils typing in their names received messages insulting them about being too fat or too ugly and about personal things, and her 15-year-old son said that for one friend, within a couple of days, every time he looked up his name something mean was being said, which hurt him a lot and left him very down.","causal_attribution":"The teacher's and her son's accounts to the BBC; the son describes a friend's experience."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When you say my name on SimSimi, ‘autism’ comes up . . . people are so unfunny and cruel when hiding behind a phone screen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A student wrote on social media that \"autism\" comes up when their name is said on SimSimi.","causal_attribution":"A student's social media post quoted by The Irish Times."},{"id":"c6","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'any message sent to it is now responded to with the message: “I do not talk in Ireland for a while”.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'No matter what you asked it from Wednesday onwards, however, you got the same response: “I do not talk in Ireland for a while”.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'This afternoon, users were greeted with a message stating: \"I do not talk in Ireland for a while.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'has been suspended in the Republic of Ireland, but children in Northern Ireland can still download it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'was restricted in the Republic of Ireland (RoI) last week (Wednesday 29 March)'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"From Wednesday 29 March 2017 the app answered users in Ireland with \"I do not talk in Ireland for a while\", while it remained available in Northern Ireland.","causal_attribution":"TheJournal.ie's and The Irish Times's own observations of the app's reply, the BBC's report of the suspension, and IBTimes UK's report of the date; the date rests on TheJournal.ie's 'from Wednesday onwards' (29 March 2017), a Webwise tweet of 29 March embedded by TheJournal.ie and IBTimes UK's 'Wednesday 29 March'."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On its Facebook page, PSNI Down said it was unusual for police to highlight apps, but the SimSimi app gave them \"cause for concern\".'; 'We have reported it to the App Store and will include it in our Internet Safety talks'; 'It has asked parents to remove the app from their children'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'On the PSNI Down Facebook page, a warning said the app was a \"cause for concern\".'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The PSNI's County Down Facebook page posted that the app gave it cause for concern, describing abusive and explicit replies, and said it had reported the app to the App Store; a school in Northern Ireland asked parents to remove the app from their children's phones and another urged pupils to remove it.","causal_attribution":"A police Facebook post quoted by the BBC and IBTimes UK; no formal police action is reported."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'\"I think they have a duty of care of suspend the service for all young people,\" says Liam Hackett of anti-bullying campaign Ditch the Label.'; 'We got 5,000 signatures on a petition'; 'ISMaker, the South Korean company behind the app, have not responded to requests for comment.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'The South Korean company that developed SimSimi did not respond to requests for comment on Sunday.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Anti-bullying campaigners called for the service to be suspended for young people; a campaigner in Ireland said a petition had gathered 5,000 signatures; the developer, named as ISMaker, did not respond to requests for comment.","causal_attribution":"Campaigners' statements to BBC Newsbeat; the non-response is each outlet's own report."}],"effects":[{"label":"children's names returned insulting replies that other users had taught the app, and primary pupils received personal insults when they typed in their names","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a pupil was hurt and became very down after finding something mean every time he looked up his name","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a parent found vile comments attached to her daughter's name and was told her complaint would take 15 days to handle","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a student found that an insult came up when their name was said on the app","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/simsimi-app-linked-to-bullying-suspends-access-to-irish-users-1.3029753","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated Thu 30 March 2017, by the paper's education editor.","independence_group":"irish-times"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/schools-warn-of-bullying-linked-to-simsimi-app-1.3025437","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated Sun 26 March 2017; quotes school messages to parents and students' social media posts.","independence_group":"irish-times"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.thejournal.ie/simsimi-offline-ireland-3314458-Mar2017/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated 30 March 2017; includes a parent's account to TheJournal.ie and a CyberSafe Ireland interview given to Newstalk Breakfast.","independence_group":"thejournal"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.thejournal.ie/simsimi-explainer-3315369-Apr2017/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated 2 April 2017; expands the same parent's account and quotes a teachers' union spokesperson.","independence_group":"thejournal"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-39453542","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated 31 March 2017; BBC News Northern Ireland, with interviews of a Dublin teacher and her son, a DCU centre director and a Northern Ireland principal, and the PSNI Down Facebook post.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-39453778","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated 31 March 2017; BBC Newsbeat, with campaigners' statements.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/what-simsimi-look-chatbot-application-accused-enabling-cyberbullying-1615112","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-10-07 from the live page (HTTP 200), dated 3 April 2017; the reporter's own test of the app plus relays of the BBC and TheJournal.ie.","independence_group":"ibtimes"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use","own_use"],"contexts":["education","relationships","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether or when SimSimi restored access for users in Ireland, and whether it changed its moderation; the stored claim that the app was later restored with content moderation was not supported by any inspected source and has been removed.","Who taught the app the insults, and how many children were targeted; CyberSafe Ireland and the teachers' union describe use for bullying without a count.","Whether the student quoted by The Irish Times is the same person as either counted child.","Whether the pupil described to the BBC attended school in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland; the teacher interviewed teaches in Dublin.","Whether any formal police action followed the PSNI Down Facebook warning; the stored wording 'formal warnings' is not supported."],"geography":{"basis":"The Irish Times places the school warnings in the Republic of Ireland and quotes a Dublin school; the BBC's teacher interviewee teaches in Dublin and the parent spoke to an Irish outlet about Irish schools. The BBC also reports warnings by schools and police in Northern Ireland (GB), but no harmed person is described there, so GB is not recorded as an event or affected country. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IE"],"affected_person_countries":["IE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with and made_claim_about). The Irish Times, TheJournal.ie, the BBC and IBTimes UK describe the SimSimi app returning insulting, user-taught replies when children's names were typed in, in Irish schools in March 2017; a parent's account and a teacher's account describe two children harmed, and the developer suspended Irish access on 29 March 2017. The insults themselves were taught by other users, which the record states. No child, parent, teacher or campaigner is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-07"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The app's own output is the abuse. The Irish Times (26 and 30 March 2017) describes SimSimi as responding to a typed message by scanning related conversations in its database and returning a response, and as returning anonymous, often insulting, messages when a user types in a name. IBTimes UK's reporter typed ordinary first names and received abusive replies, and the PSNI's County Down page described the replies it received as abusive and explicit (BBC). A Dublin teacher told the BBC that primary pupils were getting insulting messages when they put in their names and that a pupil found something mean every time he looked up his name, which hurt him and left him very down; a parent told TheJournal.ie the app returned vile comments for her daughter's name. The insults were authored by other users who taught the app, and no source says the app composed novel abuse; the app's matching of a child's name to that taught content and its delivery to whoever typed the name is the described AI action connected to the harm.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","made_claim_about"]},"name":"Ireland, March 2017: SimSimi chatbot returned user-taught insults for schoolchildren's names; schools warned parents and the app suspended Irish access","summary":"In late March 2017 the SimSimi chatbot app, which answers typed text with replies other users have taught it, topped Irish download charts while schools in the Republic of Ireland sent letters and text messages warning parents that pupils' names were being linked to insulting replies (The Irish Times, 26 March 2017). A parent told TheJournal.ie that she and other parents had searched their children's names and found vile comments on each, and that the company said her request would take 15 days to handle. A Dublin secondary teacher told the BBC that primary pupils who typed in their names received personal insults, and that a friend of her 15-year-old son found something mean every time he looked up his name, which hurt him a lot and left him very down. Police in County Down posted a warning on Facebook. From 29 March 2017 the app answered users in Ireland with \"I do not talk in Ireland for a while\", while remaining available in Northern Ireland. The South Korean developer did not respond to the outlets' requests for comment, and no inspected source says whether access was later restored.","incidentDate":"2017-03-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2017-03-26","aiSystem":"SimSimi, an anonymous chatbot app developed in South Korea that answers typed text, including people's names, with replies other users have taught it","aiProduct":"SimSimi","aiCompany":"ISMaker","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Children whose names were typed into the app received insulting replies that other users had taught it. A parent told TheJournal.ie she found vile comments attached to her daughter's name, and a Dublin teacher told the BBC that a friend of her 15-year-old son was hurt and became very down after finding something mean every time he looked up his name. No clinical or physical outcome is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Participant user 1: a friend of a Dublin teacher's 15-year-old son, who looked up his own name on the app and found something mean each time, which the son said hurt him a lot and left him very down (BBC News, 31 March 2017). Other person 1: a parent's teenage daughter whose name returned vile comments; the parent said the daughter had not downloaded the app and did not know of the comments, so she is counted for the abuse attached to her name, not for distress (TheJournal.ie, 30 March and 2 April 2017). The two are distinct (a boy and a girl). A student who wrote that \"autism\" comes up when their name is said on the app (The Irish Times, 26 March 2017) may overlap with either and is not counted separately. Primary pupils who received insults (BBC) and the children the teachers' union and CyberSafe Ireland described are not counted. Partial: counted people plus further targeted children without a count.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"IE","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.irishtimes.com/news/education/simsimi-app-linked-to-bullying-suspends-access-to-irish-users-1.3029753","primarySourceLabel":"The Irish Times, 30 March 2017: SimSimi app linked to bullying suspends access to Irish users","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-12T00:34:12.606519+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-07T03:29:54.147244+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["simsimi","cyberbullying","minor","ireland","schools","harassment","trainable-ai","historical","communicated-with"]}]}