{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-22T11:13:07.888Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"reputation","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2024","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":10,"coverage":{"cases":10,"countries":7,"languages":7,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":3,"minors":3,"coreRelations":10,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2024-italy-tv-satire-show-ai-deepfakes-of-journalist-mentana-privacy-regulator-warns-broadcaster","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'per alcuni servizi di Striscia la Notizia, nei quali l’immagine e la voce di Enrico Mentana erano state manipolate mediante l’impiego di sistemi di intelligenza artificiale.'; 'Nei filmati venivano attribuite al noto giornalista dichiarazioni mai pronunciate, mentre la sua immagine era collocata virtualmente nello studio televisivo dell’emittente per la quale lavora.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'servizi costruiti prendendo come spunto fatti che hanno coinvolto diversi personaggi pubblici e accompagnandoli con commenti di vario genere pronunciati dal deepfake del reclamante doppiato con sistemi di intelligenza artificiale'; 'è stata utilizzata l’immagine reale del reclamante, ripresa peraltro all’interno dello studio televisivo da cui il medesimo dirige un telegiornale di fascia serale, alterandone la genuinità attraverso un doppiaggio effettuato con strumenti tali da non rendere chiaramente percepibile l’esistenza della predetta alterazione'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Striscia la Notizia aired segments in which the image and voice of journalist Enrico Mentana were manipulated with AI systems, attributing to him statements he never made while placing his image in the studio of the channel he works for.","causal_attribution":"The regulator's findings in its decision and press release; R.T.I. itself describes computer-generated dubbing."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'nella puntata di venerdì 8 novembre manderà in onda un servizio che vedrà protagonista Enrico Mentana, ma in versione deepfake, ovvero con voce e immagini generati dall’intelligenza artificiale.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A preview published on 8 November 2024 describes a Striscia la Notizia segment airing that evening in which a deepfake Mentana, with voice and images generated by AI, commented on a game show.","causal_attribution":"A press preview of the programme; it establishes that such segments aired from at least November 2024, not which segments the complaint listed (the decision redacts their dates)."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'moltissime persone hanno creduto che i video, prodotti da Striscia la Notizia e divulgati sul mezzo televisivo e sui social, fossero reali'; 'rivelano come molte persone siano convinte che le dichiarazioni siano autentiche, determinando con ciò una gravissima lesione dell’onore, della reputazione e della propria professionalità'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Mentana complained to the Garante that many people believed the videos were real and that users' insulting comments showed serious harm to his honour, reputation and professionalism.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's submissions as recorded in the decision."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'il realismo delle immagini, la scarsa percepibilità dell’alterazione e la plausibilità delle dichiarazioni avrebbero potuto indurre il pubblico a ritenere autentici i contenuti. Anche le avvertenze sulla natura artificiale dei video non sono state ritenute sufficientemente chiare'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'amplificando altresì il rischio di farne veicolo di disinformazione per il pubblico, come confermato dai numerosi messaggi di scherno e/o di offesa ricevuti via social dal reclamante'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Garante found that the content could lead the public to consider it authentic, that the warnings were not sufficiently clear, and that the real studio setting amplified the risk of disinformation, as confirmed by the numerous mocking or offensive messages Mentana received on social media.","causal_attribution":"The regulator's findings; the regulator's reference to the messages rests on material in the complaint."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Il Garante ha quindi accertato la violazione dell’articolo 5 del GDPR'; 'ha adottato nei confronti di R.T.I. Spa un provvedimento di ammonimento e ha vietato l’ulteriore utilizzo dei dati di Enrico Mentana con le modalità contestate'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'dispone il divieto di ulteriore trattamento dei dati del reclamante con le modalità sopra descritte, eccettuata la mera conservazione degli stessi ai fini di un loro eventuale utilizzo in sede giudiziaria'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The Garante found breaches of GDPR Articles 5 and 25, warned R.T.I. and prohibited further processing of Mentana's data in the contested way, except retention for judicial use.","causal_attribution":"The dispositive part of the decision."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'l’unica attività realizzata da R.T.I. è stata quella di disporre, con riguardo ai predetti filmati, il doppiaggio del dott. Mentana, con voce diversa dalla sua, attraverso appositi sistemi informativi'; 'la finalità dei servizi oggetto di reclamo è quella di esercitare il diritto di satira ricorrendo all’imitazione del reclamante'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"R.T.I. argued that its only intervention was dubbing licensed footage with a different, computer-generated voice, that the segments were satire, and that disclaimers made clear it was not the real Mentana speaking.","causal_attribution":"The broadcaster's submissions as recorded in the decision; the Garante did not accept them."}],"effects":[{"label":"AI deepfake segments attributing invented statements to a journalist","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"mocking or offensive messages and risk to reputation found by the regulator","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10281135","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Garante press release of 7 August 2026; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"garante-privacy"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10281021","kind":"official_record","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Garante decision of 23 July 2026 (doc. web 10281021), read in full; dates and names of counsel are redacted as XX; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"garante-privacy"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://dilei.it/spettacolo/striscia-la-notizia-enrico-mentana-svela-il-vero-volto-stefano-de-martino/1587080/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-17 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. DiLei entertainment preview, 8 November 2024; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"dilei-8-nov-2024"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["work","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Which segments the complaint covered and when they aired; the decision redacts the dates.","Which AI tools were used.","Whether R.T.I. challenged the decision in court and what measures it reported to the Garante."],"geography":{"basis":"The segments were aired by R.T.I. (Reti Televisive Italiane) on Striscia la Notizia and investigated by Italy's data protection authority; the depicted person is the director of La7's news bulletin. His country of residence is not stated. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IT"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): Italy's data protection authority found that a broadcaster's AI deepfakes of a journalist could be taken as authentic, noted the offensive messages he received, warned the broadcaster and barred further use. The journalist is a public figure who brought the complaint and is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-17"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Italy's data protection authority, after an investigation of the complaint, states that the journalist's image and voice were manipulated with AI systems in the segments and that statements he never made were attributed to him; the broadcaster told the authority it dubbed the footage with a computer-generated voice. The authority found the content could be taken as authentic and cited the mocking or offensive messages he received, which is the reported harm.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Italy's privacy regulator warns broadcaster R.T.I. and bars further use of AI deepfakes of journalist Enrico Mentana in Striscia la Notizia segments","summary":"The satirical television programme Striscia la Notizia, published by R.T.I., aired segments in which the image and voice of the journalist Enrico Mentana, director of La7's news bulletin, were, according to the Garante, manipulated with AI systems so that he appeared in his own studio making statements he never made (its decision describes real footage from his studio altered by AI dubbing); a November 2024 preview describes one such segment. After Mentana complained, Italy's data protection authority (Garante) found on 23 July 2026 that the realism of the images, the low perceptibility of the alteration and the plausibility of the statements could lead the public to think the content authentic, and that the disclaimers were not clear enough. It found breaches of GDPR Articles 5 and 25, issued a warning to R.T.I. and prohibited further processing of his data in that way. The Garante noted the numerous mocking or offensive messages he received on social media. R.T.I. argued that the segments were satire, that it only dubbed licensed footage with a computer-generated voice, and that its disclaimers made the deepfake evident. No fine was imposed.","incidentDate":"2024-11-08","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-08-07","aiSystem":"AI systems used by the programme to manipulate the journalist's image and voice (the Garante); R.T.I. describes computer-generated dubbing of licensed footage. No product is named.","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Italy's data protection authority found that AI deepfakes of a journalist on a satirical TV programme could be taken as authentic and noted the numerous mocking or offensive messages he received; it warned the broadcaster and barred further use.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the journalist depicted in the deepfakes, whose complaint the Garante upheld (decision 10281021). Viewers are an audience and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IT","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.garanteprivacy.it/home/docweb/-/docweb-display/docweb/10281135","primarySourceLabel":"Garante per la protezione dei dati personali, press release, 7 August 2026: stop to satirical deepfakes of Enrico Mentana","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-17T03:08:22.075012+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-17T03:08:22.075012+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","voice_synthesis","television","satire","data_protection_authority","gdpr"]},{"id":"2024-florida-judicial-candidate-shared-likely-ai-fake-call-of-justices-suspended","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'She referenced a former court employee’s book — which she hadn’t read — and sent the paper a link to the author’s website with a deepfake recording of a conversation between Florida Supreme Court justices and the Ninth Judicial Circuit chief judge.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'referenced the book when trying to obtain an endorsement from the South Florida Sun Sentinel during her 2024 judicial election campaign, according to a May 9 notice of ethics charges' and 'She supplied the fake recording, purportedly of a conversation involving two Florida Supreme Court justices, when the newspaper’s editorial board questioned the book’s claims.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"During her 2024 judicial campaign, while seeking the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board's endorsement, the candidate supplied a recording purportedly of a conversation between Florida Supreme Court justices and the Ninth Judicial Circuit's chief judge when the board questioned her claims.","causal_attribution":"Bloomberg Law's account of the case and the ABA Journal's report of the commission's notice both derive from the record of the same disciplinary proceeding, so the claim is recorded as reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'“The recording is fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative-AI,” the notice of charges says. “While the voices resemble those of the purported participants, the manner of speech, tone, and much of the content are objectively unrealistic.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'“The recording is fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative-AI. While the voices resemble those of the purported participants, the manner of speech, tone, and much of the content are objectively unrealistic,” the notice said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Judicial Qualifications Commission's notice of charges said the recording was fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative AI, and that while the voices resemble those of the purported participants, the manner of speech, tone and much of the content are objectively unrealistic.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets quote the same notice, so this is one origin. The commission states AI generation as likely, alongside computer manipulation; no forensic analysis or creator is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she provided a link to a “fabricated phone call” between two justices — Chief Justice Carlos Muniz and Justice Renatha Francis — and the 9th Circuit’s chief judge, Lisa Munyon, Friday’s notice said' and 'your actions eroded public confidence by perpetuating a false perception of illegal, unethical, or immoral conduct by justices of the Florida Supreme Court, a chief judge, and others working within the judicial branch,” the notice said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The notice named Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, Justice Renatha Francis and Chief Judge Lisa Munyon as the purported participants and said the candidate's actions perpetuated a false perception of illegal, unethical or immoral conduct by justices of the Florida Supreme Court, a chief judge and others in the judicial branch.","causal_attribution":"The notice's own characterisation of the harm to the depicted judges, reported by one outlet."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Peffer admitted to listening to a portion of the recording and sharing it publicly “despite clear evidence of its inauthenticity,” according to the notice.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'testifies during her ethics violation hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Dec. 16, 2025' and '\"I cannot justify or explain why now listening to it I thought it was a valid piece of content at the time, but I did,\" she said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Peffer gave this statement to Law.com:' and 'my reference to content created by a third party—to whom I have absolutely no ties—was a violation of the Judicial Canons' and 'I take responsibility for my actions and apologize for the unfortunate effects the reference may have caused my fellow judiciary members.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the notice, the candidate listened to only a portion of the recording and shared it publicly despite clear evidence of its inauthenticity. In a statement reported in May 2025 she apologised and said the content was created by a third party with whom she had no ties, and at the December 2025 hearing she testified that she could not explain why she had thought it was valid content.","causal_attribution":"The notice's findings and the candidate's own statements; each part rests on a single report of its origin."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A Florida trial judge has been suspended for 30 days and fined $10,000' and 'her conduct undermined public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary by promoting false accusations against the judiciary of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and by implicating sitting Florida Supreme Court justices,” the opinion said.' and 'Justices Carlos G. Muñiz and Renatha S. Francis, who had their voices spoofed in the call, recused from the decision.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Florida Supreme Court, in an unauthored opinion issued on 9 October 2026, suspended the judge for 30 days and fined her $10,000, saying her conduct undermined public confidence in the judiciary by implicating sitting Florida Supreme Court justices; Justices Muñiz and Francis, whose voices were spoofed in the call, recused.","causal_attribution":"Reported by Bloomberg Law from the opinion, which was not inspected; the sanction concerns the candidate's own conduct in sharing the recording."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Florida's courts watchdog agency has recommended a 30-day suspension, a public reprimand and a $10,000 fine' and 'perpetuated a false and undignified perception of the judiciary that ensnared not only those justices and judges who were specifically named in the Book and the Recording'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The commission's hearing panel recommended a 30-day suspension, a public reprimand and a $10,000 fine, writing that the judge had perpetuated a false and undignified perception of the judiciary that ensnared the justices and judges named in the book and the recording.","causal_attribution":"The hearing panel's filing as reported in one outlet."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Francis, Muñiz, and Munyon all said the recording was fake.' and 'The Sentinel reported last year that it and several other alleged fakes were referred to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office for a criminal investigation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Florida Politics reported that Chief Justice Muñiz, Justice Francis and Chief Judge Munyon all said the recording was fake, and that the Sun Sentinel had reported the previous year that it and several other alleged fakes were referred to the Orange County Sheriff's Office for a criminal investigation.","causal_attribution":"The depicted judges' statements as reported by one outlet; who made the criminal referral and its outcome are not reported."},{"id":"c8","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Disposition (SC) - Suspended/Public Reprimand (JQC - Before FSC)' and '2026-10-09T14:35:48.780Z' and 'the Court hereby approves the hearing panel's findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendations to this Court.' and 'Respondent, Lauren Nichole Peffer, is hereby fined $10,000.00 and is suspended for 30 days from her duties as a judge of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit.' and 'We order Respondent to pay the costs of these proceedings' and 'Respondent shall also receive a public reprimand, which will be accomplished by publication of this order.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On 9 October 2026 the Florida Supreme Court approved the hearing panel's findings of fact, conclusions of law and recommendations, fined the judge $10,000, suspended her for 30 days, ordered her to pay the costs of the proceedings and imposed a public reprimand to be accomplished by publication of the order.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court's docket entry for the disposition; the sanction concerns the judge's own conduct in sharing the recording."}],"effects":[{"label":"a fabricated recording imitating the voices of two Supreme Court justices and a chief judge was presented to a newspaper editorial board in a judicial campaign","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the judicial watchdog said it perpetuated a false perception of misconduct by the judges it depicted","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the candidate who shared it was later suspended for 30 days and fined","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/florida-judge-suspended-over-deepfake-call-mimicking-justices","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 on news.bloomberglaw.com (HTTP 200). The page shows the article text through the case citation and then a login prompt; any later text was not inspected. No translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"bloomberg-law-peffer"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abajournal.com/news/article/florida-judge-is-accused-of-sharing-objectively-unrealistic-fake-recording-with-editorial-board","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 on abajournal.com (HTTP 200). No translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"aba-journal-peffer"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://flaglerlive.com/lauren-peffer-fake/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 on flaglerlive.com, which carries the News Service of Florida report (HTTP 200). No translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"news-service-of-florida-peffer"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/florida-judge-cited-deepfake-call-180000031.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 on the Yahoo News syndicated copy (provider Tampa Bay Times), HTTP 200. Yahoo and the Tampa Bay Times canonical URL date the copy 10 October 2026, while its text describes the hearing panel recommendation filed \"Friday\" (the Florida Supreme Court docket lists the findings and recommendations on 27 February 2026), so the text appears to republish earlier reporting. No translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"tampa-bay-times-peffer"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://floridapolitics.com/archives/737787-broward-judge-faces-charges-for-sharing-deepfake-recording-unread-e-book-during-campaign/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the verification agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 from an Internet Archive capture of 12 May 2025 (the live page returned HTTP 403). It reports the commission's notice of charges and earlier Sun Sentinel reporting. No translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"florida-politics-peffer"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://acis.flcourts.gov/portal/court/68f021c4-6a44-4735-9a76-5360b2e8af13/case/ac1415dc-cff8-4197-9e1f-db5cd39262a3","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket entry texts read in English by the verification agent (an AI) on 2026-10-12 through the public data interface behind this docket page. The documents attached to the entries (the notices of charges, the hearing panel findings and the disposition order) sit behind an automated challenge and were not opened. No human reviewer inspected the text.","independence_group":"florida-supreme-court-docket-sc2025-0647"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["justice","elections","public_life"],"unknowns":["Who created the recording and with what tool or method; the commission says computer manipulation or generative AI.","The date in 2024 when the recording was supplied to the editorial board; Florida Politics says the Sun Sentinel reported on the recording in July 2024.","Whether the hearing panel's findings, which the Florida Supreme Court approved, or the court's order attribute the recording to AI; neither document was opened.","How widely the recording circulated, who referred it for criminal investigation and with what result, and whether the depicted judges reported any consequence beyond saying it was fake."],"geography":{"basis":"The recording was supplied to the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board during a campaign for a Broward County court seat in Florida, and the depicted judges sit on the Florida Supreme Court and Florida's Ninth Judicial Circuit, per all inspected reports. The disciplinary proceeding was decided by the Florida Supreme Court.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"News reports of the disciplinary proceeding (Bloomberg Law on the Supreme Court decision; the ABA Journal, the News Service of Florida and Florida Politics on the commission's notice of charges) describe a recording imitating the voices of two justices and a chief judge, presented to an editorial board in a judicial campaign. The commission, which examined the recording, said it was fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative AI, and said it created a false perception of misconduct by the depicted judges. AI involvement is recorded as suspected.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-12"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission, which examined the recording in bringing charges, stated in its notice that the recording \"is fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative-AI\", and that the voices resemble those of the purported participants while the manner of speech, tone and content are objectively unrealistic. Bloomberg Law reports that the two justices \"had their voices spoofed in the call\". The recording's imitation of the judges' voices is what presented them as discussing the book and is the basis of the commission's finding of a false perception of misconduct. The commission's attribution is hedged between computer manipulation and generative AI, its technical basis beyond listening to the recording is not disclosed, and no creator or tool is identified.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Florida: judge suspended for sharing, as a 2024 candidate, a fabricated call of justices the judicial watchdog says was likely computer-manipulated or AI-made","summary":"While campaigning in 2024 for a Broward County court seat, Lauren Peffer, now a county judge, sought the endorsement of the South Florida Sun Sentinel editorial board. Asked to back her claim of an image crisis in Florida's judiciary, she cited a self-published book by a fired employee of the Ninth Judicial Circuit and supplied a recording purportedly of a phone call about the book between Chief Justice Carlos Muñiz, Justice Renatha Francis and the circuit's chief judge, Lisa Munyon. The Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission's notice of formal charges, filed in May 2025, said the recording was fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative AI, and that while the voices resembled those of the participants, the manner of speech, tone and much of the content were objectively unrealistic. The notice said she had shared it despite clear evidence of its inauthenticity and had perpetuated a false perception of illegal, unethical or immoral conduct by the justices, a chief judge and others in the judicial branch. Peffer apologised, said the content was created by a third party with whom she had no ties, and testified that she could not explain why she had thought it valid. According to Bloomberg Law, the Florida Supreme Court on 9 October 2026 suspended her for 30 days and fined her $10,000, saying her conduct undermined public confidence in the judiciary by implicating sitting justices; the two justices whose voices were faked recused. Who made the recording, and with what tool, is not reported.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2025-05-11","aiSystem":"An audio recording, posted on a website associated with a former court employee, that faked the voices of two Florida Supreme Court justices and a circuit chief judge. The Judicial Qualifications Commission's notice of charges said it was fabricated, likely using computer manipulation or generative AI. No tool or creator is identified in the inspected reports.","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool (suspected)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the Judicial Qualifications Commission's notice of charges and the Florida Supreme Court opinion as reported, a fabricated recording that imitated the voices of two Supreme Court justices and a circuit chief judge was presented to a newspaper editorial board during a judicial campaign, and the notice said it perpetuated a false perception of illegal, unethical or immoral conduct by those judges. The candidate who shared it was later suspended and fined. All three judges said the recording was fake, according to Florida Politics; no further consequence for them is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Three people: the two Florida Supreme Court justices and the circuit chief judge whom the recording purported to capture, named in the FlaglerLive report of the notice of charges; Florida Politics reports that all three said the recording was fake. The candidate who shared the recording is not counted as harmed by it; newspaper staff and the public are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-FL","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/florida-judge-suspended-over-deepfake-call-mimicking-justices","primarySourceLabel":"Bloomberg Law, 9 October 2026: FL Judge Suspended Over Deepfake Call Mimicking Justices","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-12T03:18:31.150274+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:18:31.150274+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","voice-impersonation","judiciary","election","florida","public-figure","judicial-discipline"]},{"id":"2024-seoige-ai-deepfake-sexual-image-galway-west-election","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige has said that sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology have left her deeply traumatised.'; 'Ms Seoige was alerted by people close to her of the circulation of such images while she was standing as a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 general election.'; '\"I’ve had to deal with the shame and humiliation of this for almost a year and a half,\" she said. \"It has been deeply traumatising.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'During the campaign, explicit deepfake images of her were created using AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'she recalls how she became the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI while canvassing for election in 2024.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"Gráinne Seoige says that while she was a candidate in Galway West in the 2024 general election she was alerted to the circulation of sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology, that the experience was the most shocking of her life and deeply traumatising, and that she has dealt with shame and humiliation for almost a year and a half.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in successive interviews and statements (one account-holder, so not independent corroboration). The creator and tool are unknown."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ms Seoige said the image of her was disseminated through WhatsApp, owned by Meta, and that when gardaí became aware people were in possession of the image, they sought information about its origin.'; 'Rather than cooperate, she said, some recipients refused to share that information.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Ms Seoige will say that her case “hit a dead end” and “even though the AI-generated pornographic image of me was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times across WhatsApp'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She says the AI-generated image was disseminated through WhatsApp, by her account shared hundreds if not thousands of times, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so her case hit a dead end.","causal_attribution":"Her own account; the sharing figure is her estimate. No Garda statement was read."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne Seoige has told of experiencing nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake images of her circulated online.'; 'The Galway native often had night terrors of \"faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.\"'; '\"I went through a period where I just wore a long puffer coat everywhere I went.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Since then she has had nightmares in which faceless men attack her.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"In a September 2026 interview she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and a period when she wore a long puffer coat everywhere so that nobody could see her body.","causal_attribution":"Her own account, relayed by RSVP from a Sunday Independent interview that was not itself read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'What we know after Gráinne Seoige appears before Oireachtas committee urging action on sexualised AI deepfakes'; 'Gráinne Seoige has urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The creation and dissemination of deepfake explicit images will be the “abuse scandal of the 21st century if we do not act now”, television presenter Gráinne Seoige is set to tell TDs and senators.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In January 2026 she appeared before an Oireachtas committee and urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Independent report of her appearance (headline and opening read); the Examiner item is a preview of her prepared statement."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I found it deeply humiliating. It was such an attack on my dignity. It made me feel incredibly vulnerable, distrusting of people, it made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. I have terrible nightmares of faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'It made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. It was such an attack on my dignity.'; 'It made me feel incredibly vulnerable. Distrusting of people. I have terrible nightmares.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"In passages from her documentary quoted on 4 October 2026, she says she found the image deeply humiliating and an attack on her dignity, that it made her feel incredibly vulnerable and distrusting of people and not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home, and that she has terrible nightmares of faceless men.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I was shown this image in September or October 2024, and I haven’t seen it since.'; 'weeps on camera as she sees the horrendous image'; 'right now I feel like I could vomit, looking at it again'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says in the documentary that she was shown the image in September or October 2024 and had not looked at it since; the Irish Sun reports that she weeps on camera on seeing it again and says she felt she could vomit.","causal_attribution":"Her own account and the Irish Sun's description of the documentary, which was not viewed."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’ve had to have therapy to deal with all this'; 'People make fun of it.'; 'previously told how she wore a face mask at the shops after the image was circulated online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says she has had therapy to deal with the experience and that people make fun of it; the Irish Sun also reports that she previously said she wore a face mask at the shops after the image circulated.","causal_attribution":"Her own account as quoted by the Irish Sun; no clinical record is cited."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I spent the rest of that day knocking on doors in Connemara'; 'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother.'; 'It completely destabilises your sense of safety in the world.'; 'hyper vigilant the whole time, which is exhausting'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says that on the day she was told about the image she spent the rest of the day knocking on doors in Connemara wondering whether each man who answered had seen it, that she had to tell her father and mother, and that the experience destabilised her sense of safety and left her hypervigilant.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'This was done for a very specific reason. It was politically motivated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'she says helped to scupper her election chances'; 'meant she wouldn’t recommend a woman to run for public office'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'because it surfaced at a time when she was standing for election for Fianna Fáil in Galway West'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"She says the image was made for a very specific reason and was politically motivated; the Irish Sun reports that she says it helped to scupper her election chances and that she told an Oireachtas committee she would not recommend that a woman run for public office.","causal_attribution":"Her own belief about motive and effect; the maker is unidentified and no finding on motive or on the election result is reported."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne contacted Gardai and also went to'; 'parent company, and the media regulator, Coimisiun na Mean, as she fought to get justice'; 'no one was ever prosecuted for creating the fake image'; 'nothing could be done to find where the picture originated from given WhatsApp’s encryption'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The Irish Sun reports that she contacted gardaí, Meta and the media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, that no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image, and that she spoke of powerlessness because the origin of the picture could not be found given WhatsApp's encryption.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Sun's summary; no Garda, Meta or regulator statement was read."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'airs Monday, 5 October at 9 pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media One'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'which airs on Virgin Media One at 9pm tomorrow'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, Monday, Virgin Media One, 9pm'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The documentary, Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, was scheduled to air on Virgin Media One at 9pm on Monday 5 October 2026, and The Irish Times reviewed it that day.","causal_attribution":"Broadcast listing as reported on 4 and 5 October 2026; the review is dated 5 October."},{"id":"c12","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'of Dublin-based technology company Ceartas, where she discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software. This is news to Seoige, who is understandably appalled.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The Irish Times review reports that in the documentary she meets a representative of a Dublin-based technology company, Ceartas, and discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software, which was news to her.","causal_attribution":"The reviewer's description of the film; how many images were found, when they were made and whether they circulated are not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation, after a sexualised deepfake image of her circulated during her election campaign","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"recurring nightmares of being attacked and a period of hiding her body under a long coat","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"did not want to go outside and moved away from her home, by her account","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"learned during filming that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software","claim_id":"c12","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rte.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28 and again on 2026-10-05; read in full through the Internet Archive id_ capture (re-read 2026-10-05 from the capture of 6 May 2026). Report of her Prime Time interview (13 January 2026 edition).","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41779358.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-28 and re-read live on 2026-10-05 (20 January 2026). Reports her prepared statement to the Oireachtas media committee; the committee transcript was not read.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-experienced-nightmares-being-37707633","kind":"news_relay","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rsvplive.ie returned 202 with an empty body; the same article (RSVP, Michelle Townsend, 27 September 2026) was read in full through the MSN content API. It relays her interview with the Sunday Independent, which was not readable (independent.ie 403, Archive 404). Re-read through the MSN content API on 2026-10-05.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/what-we-know-after-grainne-seoige-appears-before-oireachtas-committee-urging-action-on-sexualised-ai-deepfakes/a/125585403.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"independent.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28; the headline and opening paragraph (Maeve McTaggart, 21 January 2026) were read through a reader relay by the second researcher (bodies/verify-seoige-indo-oireachtas.txt); the remainder is paywalled and was not read. Separate group: the paper's own report of her committee appearance, used only for that fact. independent.ie returned 403 again on 2026-10-05; not re-read, the 2026-09-28 extract is relied on.","independence_group":"independent-ie-oireachtas"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-said-deepfake-images-37725097","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 through the MSN content API, which carries the RSVP article (reporter byline, timestamp 3 October 2026 23:01 UTC, 4 October Irish time) and names this address as its source. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.thesun.ie/tv/17711501/grainne-seoige-deepfake-ireland-ai-abuse-tears-nightmares/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 from the publisher's own REST endpoint for this post (the article page returned a device-verification screen). The Irish Sun, 4 October 2026 08:00. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast and adds the paper's own summary of the Garda outcome. Same account-holder as the other sources, so the same group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2026/10/05/deepfake-ireland-on-virgin-media-grainne-seoiges-distress-in-this-grim-film-is-palpable/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-06 from irishtimes.com (HTTP 200). A television review published on 5 October 2026, the broadcast date, describing the documentary's content; it relays her statements in the film, so it shares her account's group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["Who made the image and with which tool.","The exact dates of creation and circulation within the 2024 campaign; she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024.","Whether any Garda investigation remains open; no arrest or charge is reported, and the Irish Sun says no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image.","Whether she has received a clinical diagnosis: none is stated in the sources read.","Where she moved from and to, and when; she says only that she moved away from her home.","What Meta and Coimisiún na Meán did in response to her approaches.","Whether the broadcast matched the version reviewed: the film was not viewed for this record, and its content comes from two preview reports of 4 October and The Irish Times review of 5 October 2026.","How many further manipulated images were found during filming, who made them, when, and whether they circulated."],"geography":{"basis":"The image circulated while she was a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 Irish general election and she reported it to An Garda Síochána (RTÉ; Irish Examiner). RSVP calls her a Galway native. No court proceedings are reported. She describes canvassing in Connemara on the day she was told (RSVP Live, 4 October 2026).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IE"],"affected_person_countries":["IE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): an AI-generated sexualised image depicting Ms Seoige, a public figure, circulated during her 2024 election campaign, and she has described its effects on the record in interviews, to an Oireachtas committee and in a documentary. The account is hers and the creator is unidentified. No sexual imagery is described beyond its nature. Updated on 2026-10-06 from The Irish Times review of the documentary, which reports that she learned during filming of further deepfake manipulations of images from her Instagram account; the added claim is reported and attributed to the review.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-06"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"RTÉ reports sexualised images of her 'made with deepfake technology', and the Irish Examiner reports her statement that 'the AI-generated pornographic image of me' was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times on WhatsApp. The Irish Times review describes her as the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI and reports that further images from her Instagram account were manipulated by deepfake software. The generated image depicts her and its circulation is the source of the shame, nightmares and withdrawal she describes. The tool and maker are unknown and no forensic finding is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexual deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp during her 2024 election campaign","summary":"Gráinne Seoige, a broadcaster who stood for Fianna Fáil in Galway West in Ireland's 2024 general election, told RTÉ's Prime Time in January 2026 that people close to her alerted her during the campaign to sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology. She says the AI-generated pornographic image was disseminated through WhatsApp, shared hundreds if not thousands of times by her account, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so the investigation hit a dead end. She kept silent during the campaign and has described the experience as deeply traumatising, with shame and humiliation lasting almost a year and a half. In a September 2026 interview relayed by RSVP Live from the Sunday Independent she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and wearing a long puffer coat everywhere so her body could not be seen. She has since appeared before the Oireachtas media committee (Irish Independent, 21 January 2026), and made a Virgin Media documentary on deepfake abuse, scheduled for broadcast on 5 October 2026. In passages from it quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024, that it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy; she also says she believes the image was politically motivated. The Irish Times, reviewing the documentary on 5 October 2026, reports that in it she learns from a Dublin technology company that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated with deepfake software, which was news to her. The tool used to make the image and the person who made it are not identified.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-14","aiSystem":"An unidentified generative-AI or deepfake tool used to make a sexualised image of a real person (described as 'made with deepfake technology' by RTÉ and as an 'AI-generated pornographic image' in her Oireachtas statement reported by the Irish Examiner); the tool and its maker are not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Ms Seoige says the circulation of an AI-generated sexualised image of her during her 2024 election campaign left her deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation and recurring nightmares of being attacked, and that the Garda investigation could not identify those responsible (her accounts to RTÉ Prime Time, the Oireachtas committee via the Irish Examiner, and the Sunday Independent via RSVP Live). In passages from her documentary quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy. The Irish Times review of the documentary (5 October 2026) reports that during filming she learned that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, Gráinne Seoige, who describes her own experience (RTÉ; Irish Examiner; RSVP Live). The other victims she says she has spoken to are separate experiences and are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","primarySourceLabel":"RTÉ News, 14 January 2026: Gráinne Seoige: Sexualised deepfake images left me traumatised","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:40.162359+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T03:05:33.997291+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","non-consensual-intimate-imagery","ireland","galway","election","whatsapp","public-figure","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-adelaide-yeates-deepfake-graduation-photo-first-federal-prosecution","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Netherby resident William Hamish Yeates, 19, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent'; 'The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions confirmed the case was the first prosecution of its type in SA.'; 'is also facing 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, a charge that carries a maximum prison term of five years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 25 February 2026 William Hamish Yeates, 19, of Netherby, appeared in the Adelaide Magistrates Court charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent, a Commonwealth offence introduced in 2024 against deepfake pornography, and 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way; the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions said it was the first prosecution of its type in South Australia and a suppression order on his identity was lifted.","causal_attribution":"Court reporting by the ABC of the charges as read in court."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025.'; 'Yeates also pleaded guilty to two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way.'; 'The first person in Australia to be charged under new deepfake laws has admitted his guilt'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'He pleaded guilty in April to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025, and two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way.'; 'William Hamish Yeates, now aged 20, is the first person to be prosecuted under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat adult deepfake pornography.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The 20-year-old was the first person in Australia to be charged under federal laws introduced in 2024 to combat the rise of deepfake pornography.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 15 April 2026 he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent between October 2024 and February 2025 and two counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, and he is the first person prosecuted in Australia under the 2024 federal deepfake law.","causal_attribution":"Guilty pleas recorded in court and reported by two independent court reporters."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The offending, which occurred between October 2024 and February 2025, involved the creation of sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of his victim that he shared online.'; 'The first time I saw my actual graduation picture was on a pornography website'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The material was distributed across multiple accounts on the social media platform, X.'; 'The first time I saw my actual graduation photo was on a pornographic website'; 'confronted the man behind doctoring her graduation photo'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'on the social media platform X and that he was'; 'used two different X accounts on 12 occasions between September 2024 and February 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The offending involved creating sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of the victim from her graduation photograph and sharing them across accounts on X; she told the court the first time she saw her actual graduation picture was on a pornography website.","causal_attribution":"The pleas establish that he created and shared the material; the X accounts are in the court documents reported by ABC in February and in AAP's account; the pornography-website detail is the victim's statement to the court, reported by both outlets."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'these images of me were fake but the impact they had is painfully real.'; 'Every time I now see that photo, I feel sick.'; 'of her life but said she would not let it define her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'These images of me were fake, but the impact they had is painfully real.'; 'she would not let it dictate her world'; 'I will heal from this.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"In her victim impact statement she said the images were fake but their impact was painfully real, that she feels sick every time she sees her graduation photo, and that she would not let it define her or dictate her world.","causal_attribution":"The victim's own statement to the court, quoted by both court reporters."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'a psychologist had diagnosed the 20-year-old with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)'; 'She asked the court not to sentence Yeates to time behind bars'; 'My actions were repulsive and will continue to plague my mind for as long as I breathe'; 'Yeates faces a maximum penalty of seven years behind bars and will be sentenced next month.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Yeates read an apology in court, saying he was in a constant state of self-loathing and shame.'; 'his diagnoses of autism, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and persistent adjustment disorder'; 'was warranted, the prosector said'; 'Judge Anne Barnett will sentence Yeates on October 22.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"At the pre-sentence hearing on 22 September 2026 Yeates read an apology calling his actions repulsive; his counsel cited diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and asked for no custody; the Commonwealth prosecutor argued for a custodial sentence; sentencing is in October 2026.","causal_attribution":"Submissions made in open court and reported by both outlets."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'offending resulted in the'; 'of her life but said she would not let it define her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"She said the discovery of the offending resulted in the darkest period of her life.","causal_attribution":"The victim's statement as paraphrased by the ABC; AAP does not carry this line."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The body in those images were not mine, but you somehow made me hate my body'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The Sun quotes her as saying the body in the images was not hers but he had made her hate her body; the line does not appear in the ABC or AAP reports.","causal_attribution":"The Sun's rendering of her statement; not in the two independent court reports."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'beside altered videos of me with my full name and school attached to it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"She told the court that the pornography website showed her real graduation photo beside altered videos of her with her full name and school attached.","causal_attribution":"The victim's statement as quoted by the ABC; AAP's quotation stops at the website."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The 19-year-old was initially charged with 20 offences, but the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) withdrew those counts in lieu of the pleas to the four charges.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He had initially been charged with 20 offences; the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew those counts in lieu of the pleas to the four charges.","causal_attribution":"ABC court reporting of the April 2026 hearing."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Judge Anne Barnett will sentence Yeates on October 22.'; 'This gross material will be forever in perpetuity online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"AAP reports that Judge Anne Barnett will sentence him on 22 October 2026 and that the prosecutor said the material will be online in perpetuity.","causal_attribution":"AAP court reporting; the ABC gives October without a date or the judge's name."}],"effects":[{"label":"a teenage girl was depicted in sexually explicit deepfake images and videos posted on X and on a pornography website; she describes lasting distress and the prosecutor said the material will remain online","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"she describes the discovery as the darkest period of her life and feeling sick at her own graduation photo","claim_id":"c6","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-25/william-yeates-charged-deepfake-image-creation/106387272","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 25 February 2026, updated 27 February): charges, suppression order lifted, first prosecution of its type in SA, court-document allegations.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-15/sa-teen-pleads-guilty-over-deepfake-images/106567132","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 15 April 2026): guilty pleas, withdrawal of the other counts, committal to the District Court.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/survivor-of-first-australian-charged-under-deepfake-laws-speaks/107180484","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (ABC News, Eva Blandis, 22 September 2026): pre-sentence hearing, victim impact statement, apology, defence and prosecution submissions.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.easternriverinachronicle.com.au/story/9355441/i-will-heal-deepfake-porn-survivors-courageous-vow/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-au","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-23 (Australian Associated Press, Abe Maddison, 22 September 2026, published by the Eastern Riverina Chronicle; an identical copy ran in The Singleton Argus): the same hearing with additional quotations and the 22 October sentencing date.","independence_group":"aap"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40457969/law-student-created-deepfake-nudes-teen-girl/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read on 2026-09-23 through the r.jina.ai reader proxy (the live page returned a shell). Foreign-desk rewrite carrying the ABC and AAP quotations; adds that he was a second-year University of Adelaide law student and had become infatuated with the girl. Its text tracks the AAP copy (same quotations and truncations), so it shares the AAP independence group and is not used to corroborate any claim.","independence_group":"aap"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["The software used to make the images and videos.","The victim's exact age at the time of the offending (a teenage girl finishing school; now 19).","The sentence, due on 22 October 2026.","Whether the material has been removed from the pornography website and X (the prosecutor said it will remain online).","Whether the two X accounts were his own or anonymous.","The date he was charged (the 25 February 2026 report covers a court appearance, not the charging)."],"geography":{"basis":"The offender lived in Netherby, Adelaide, and was prosecuted in the Adelaide Magistrates Court and the South Australian District Court (ABC, AAP); the victim delivered her statement in person in the Adelaide court (ABC, AAP); her residence and school are not reported. Court: South Australia (Commonwealth prosecution in a state court).","court_countries":["AU"],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a criminal record: guilty pleas under Australia's 2024 deepfake offence and a victim impact statement given in open court, reported by ABC News across three hearings and independently by the Australian Associated Press at the pre-sentence hearing. The victim is unnamed and not further identified here; the adult defendant is named as in the court reporting after the suppression order was lifted.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The offence to which he pleaded guilty is creating or altering sexual material without consent under the Commonwealth deepfake provisions; ABC and AAP describe the material as sexually explicit deepfake images and videos made from her graduation photograph. The software used is not identified.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Adelaide: a law student who turned a teenage girl's school graduation photograph into sexually explicit deepfake images and videos shared across accounts on X, in Australia's first prosecution under the 2024 federal deepfake law, heard her victim impact statement at a pre-sentence hearing on 22 September 2026; she told the court the fake images had a 'painfully real' impact and that she first saw her real graduation photo on a pornography website beside the altered videos with her full name and school","summary":"William Hamish Yeates, then 18, of Netherby in Adelaide, created sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of a teenage girl with whom, his counsel said, he had developed an obsession (The Sun describes her as a former friend), using her school graduation photograph, and shared them across multiple accounts on X between October 2024 and February 2025. Appearing in court in February 2026 charged with eight counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent and 12 counts of using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way, he became the first person in Australia prosecuted under the Commonwealth offence introduced in 2024 against adult deepfake pornography; in April 2026 he pleaded guilty to two counts of creating or altering sexual material without consent (October 2024 to February 2025) and two of the carriage-service offence, and the remaining counts were withdrawn. At a pre-sentence hearing in the South Australian District Court on 22 September 2026 the victim, now 19, told the court that the first time she saw her actual graduation picture was on a pornography website beside altered videos of her with her full name and school attached, that she feels sick whenever she sees the photo, that the discovery led to the darkest period of her life, and that although the images were fake their impact was painfully real. Yeates read an apology; his counsel cited diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder and compulsive sexual behaviour disorder and asked for no custody; the Commonwealth prosecutor sought imprisonment. Sentencing is listed for 22 October 2026.","incidentDate":"2024-10-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-02-28","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-02-25","aiSystem":"AI image and video manipulation ('deepfake') software; the tools are not identified in the court reporting","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A teenage girl was depicted in sexually explicit deepfake images and videos made from her graduation photograph and posted across accounts on X and, with her full name and school attached, on a pornography website; in court she described lasting distress (feeling sick at her own graduation photo; the darkest period of her life) and the prosecutor said the material will remain online. The offender's guilty pleas establish that he made and shared the material; the harms are the victim's own account given in court.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One victim: every report refers to a single teenage girl (the alleged victim; his victim), and the pleas concern material depicting her. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"AU","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-22/survivor-of-first-australian-charged-under-deepfake-laws-speaks/107180484","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News (Australia), 22 September 2026: Woman tells court of 'painfully real' impacts of sexually explicit deepfake images","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-23T03:45:53.574177+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:23.456953+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","australia","south-australia","adelaide","criminal-charges","non-consensual-images","x-twitter","first-prosecution","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-netherlands-mrdeepfakes-74-year-old-prosecuted-deepfake-sex-videos-public-figures","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Managers en woordvoerders van verschillende slachtoffers bevestigen aan de NOS dat zij aangifte hebben gedaan of dat zij juridische stappen overwegen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'BBB-leider Caroline van der Plas, die bij Humberto zei dat de video voelt als \"digitale verkrachting\"'; '\"Ik doe geen aangifte voor mezelf, maar om nieuwe, jonge slachtoffers te voorkomen.\"'; 'Erachter komen dat ik in een deepfake pornovideo zit, was misselijkmakend.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'De zaak kwam in maart 2024 aan het licht. Vrouwelijke politici, olympische sporters, presentatrices en leden van het Koninklijk Huis doken op in gemanipuleerde pornovideo's'; 'Tientallen vrouwen deden aangifte.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In March 2024 a large number of Dutch women in public life, including presenters and politicians, were found to appear in manipulated pornographic videos on an online platform; dozens filed complaints and several described the harm publicly.","causal_attribution":"AD's 2024 investigation as reported by NOS, with victims' public statements."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Op zijn computer en andere gegevensdragers werden beelden aangetroffen van ongeveer zestig bekende Nederlanders en politici'; 'Naar aanleiding daarvan deden meer dan twintig mensen aangifte. De Noord-Hollander zou volgens het AD de meest actieve Nederlandse gebruiker van het platform zijn geweest'; 'Sommige video's werden tienduizenden keren bekeken'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'De man kwam in beeld door onderzoek naar het beruchte platform MrDeepFakes. Dat leidde tot meer dan twintig aangiftes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Images of about sixty well-known Dutch people and politicians were found on the suspect's computer and data carriers; AD's investigation into MrDeepFakes led to more than twenty complaints; according to AD he had been the platform's most active Dutch user, and some videos were viewed tens of thousands of times.","causal_attribution":"AD's reporting of the OM's findings, relayed by NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland; one chain."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Het Openbaar Ministerie gaat een 74-jarige man uit Noord-Holland vervolgen voor het maken van deepfakeporno van tientallen bekende Nederlandse vrouwen. Dat bevestigt een woordvoerder van het OM'; 'Na ruim een jaar onderzoek heeft justitie besloten hem voor de rechter te brengen'; 'De man riskeert een celstraf van maximaal twee jaar'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Het Openbaar Ministerie (OM) heeft na ruim een jaar onderzoek besloten de man voor de rechter te brengen'; 'De 74-jarige man kan daarvoor maximaal twee jaar gevangenisstraf krijgen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"After more than a year of investigation the OM decided to prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland for making deepfake porn of dozens of well-known Dutch women; the maximum sentence is two years' imprisonment.","causal_attribution":"OM spokesperson to NOS (after AD's report) and to AD (relayed by NH Nieuws); two chains for the decision itself."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Zij zegt tegen het AD opgelucht te zijn dat de zaak voor de rechter komt. Volgens haar heeft zij zelf ervaren welke impact dergelijke nepbeelden kunnen hebben.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"One of the presenters reported to be among the depicted said she was relieved the case would come to court, having experienced the impact of such fake images herself.","causal_attribution":"Her statement to AD as relayed by NH Nieuws."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Meerdere vrouwelijke bekende Nederlanders overwegen juridische stappen omdat zij zijn opgedoken in gemanipuleerde pornovideo's. Deze video's staan op een online platform met maandelijks 13 miljoen bezoekers, schrijft het AD'; 'Nederlandse artiesten, tv-presentatrices, olympische sporters, (oud-)ministers, burgemeesters en leden van het Koninklijk Huis voorkomen'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'De video's stonden op een online platform met maandelijks 13 miljoen bezoekers'","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"AD reported that the platform had 13 million monthly visitors and that the depicted people included Dutch artists, television presenters, Olympic athletes, current and former ministers, mayors and members of the royal family.","causal_attribution":"AD's 2024 investigation, relayed by NOS; one chain."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Hij is op de hoogte van het besluit, zegt het OM tegen de krant'; 'De website waar de video's op stonden, werd opgericht en gerund door een Canadees uit Toronto. Hij verwijderde eerder al beelden op verzoek van het OM en blokkeerde de website voor Nederlandse IP-adressen'; 'De Canadees wordt niet vervolgd. Wat hij deed, was in Canada niet strafbaar. En het Nederlandse Openbaar Ministerie gaat niet proberen om hem naar Nederland te halen. Dat zou te veel politiecapaciteit vergen, laat het OM weten aan het AD.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'De verdachte zit niet vast. Het is nog niet bekend wanneer de zaak inhoudelijk voor de rechter komt'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The suspect has been informed of the decision and is not in custody; no hearing date is known. The platform's founder-operator, a Canadian from Toronto who had removed images at the OM's request and blocked Dutch IP addresses before the site went offline, will not be prosecuted because his conduct was not punishable in Canada and the OM will not try to bring him to the Netherlands.","causal_attribution":"OM statements to AD, relayed by NOS and NH Nieuws; one chain."}],"effects":[{"label":"dozens of women in Dutch public life depicted without consent in pornographic deepfake videos on a platform AD said had 13 million monthly visitors; complaints filed; public statements of harm","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a 74-year-old man to be prosecuted after more than a year of investigation, facing up to two years' imprisonment","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2631746-om-gaat-74-jarige-man-vervolgen-voor-maken-deepfakeporno-van-bn-ers","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (HTTP 200; published 2026-09-20 12:26). An OM spokesperson confirmed the prosecution decision to NOS after AD's reporting; NOS adds its own 2024 reporting and the OM's position on the platform operator. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.nhnieuws.nl/nieuws/363601/om-vervolgt-74-jarige-man-uit-noord-holland-voor-deepfake-seksvideos","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NH Nieuws, published 2026-09-20 15:35 CEST (13:35 UTC)). Relays AD's report (which spoke to an OM spokesperson): devices, 'about sixty' people, more than twenty complaints, most active Dutch user, a presenter's reaction. AD itself answered 403. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"ad"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.hartvannederland.nl/tech/nieuws/artikelen/man-rechter-deepfake-seksvideos-bners","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (Hart van Nederland, published 2026-09-20 11:43). Relays AD; grouped with s2. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"ad"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2513371-vrouwelijke-bn-ers-overwegen-aangifte-vanwege-deepfake-pornovideo-s","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NOS, 19 March 2024). NOS's own 2024 report on the AD revelations, with confirmations from victims' managers and the minister's reaction. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2024"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2513552-wel-of-niet-zeggen-dat-je-in-een-neppornovideo-zit-bn-ers-worstelen-ermee","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"nl","translation_note":"Read live in Dutch on 2026-09-21 (NOS, 20 March 2024). Own reporting with victims' public statements and a quote given to NOS. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"nos-2024"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.ad.nl/binnenland/gepensioneerde-man-74-wordt-vervolgd-voor-maken-deepfake-seksvideos-van-zestig-bners~aa272972/","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Original AD report of 19 September 2026; the live page answered HTTP 403 (DPG paywall) and the Internet Archive CDX service was offline on 2026-09-21. Its contents are known only through s2, s3 and s1. The 19 September date rests on Google News feed metadata, not on the body.","independence_group":"ad"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","justice","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the videos were made and over what period; the tools used.","The exact number of depicted people and of complainants ('about sixty'; 'more than twenty').","The charges' legal basis and whether distribution as well as creation is charged; no hearing date.","The suspect's identity beyond age and province is not reported and is not sought here.","The AD original could not be read; its details are known through relays.","The range start (19 March 2024) is the date the videos' existence was publicly revealed and complaints began; the videos were made and posted at unreported earlier dates. The range end (19 September 2026) is the date the prosecution decision was reported; the OM's decision date is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"The suspect is from Noord-Holland and the videos were made at his home (NH Nieuws citing AD); the depicted people are Dutch public figures; the platform was operated from Toronto (NOS). The prosecution decision is by the Dutch OM; no hearing has been scheduled, so no court country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["NL"],"affected_person_countries":["NL"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an image-based abuse case affecting identifiable people, with harm described publicly by several of the depicted women and a prosecution decision confirmed by the Public Prosecution Service to NOS. Five Dutch bodies read (two NOS chains and the AD relay chain); the AD original is unavailable. Depicted people who spoke publicly are quoted in locators but not named in the record; the suspect is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"NOS, NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland describe the videos as deepfakes in which the faces of known women were placed on pornographic footage, and the OM's prosecution, as confirmed to NOS, is for making deepfake porn (Hart van Nederland says he is suspected of making and distributing the videos); the specific tools are not identified in any inspected source.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Netherlands: the Public Prosecution Service will prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland for making deepfake sex videos of dozens of Dutch public figures, including presenters, politicians and a member of the royal family (images of about sixty people were found on his devices), after the 2024 revelations about the MrDeepFakes platform","summary":"In March 2024 the newspaper AD revealed that a large number of Dutch women in public life, including artists, television presenters, Olympic athletes, current and former ministers, mayors and members of the royal family, appeared in manipulated pornographic videos on an online platform with 13 million monthly visitors, later identified as MrDeepFakes. Dozens of women filed police complaints and several spoke publicly: one presenter said she was preparing a complaint, a party leader said the video felt like 'digital rape', another presenter said she would file a complaint 'because tomorrow it could happen to young girls of sixteen', a presenter-entrepreneur did so 'to prevent new, young victims', and a member of parliament, told of a video by the House security service, went public rather than 'keep it small'. On 19 and 20 September 2026 AD, and the Public Prosecution Service (OM) confirming to NOS, reported that after more than a year of investigation the OM will prosecute a 74-year-old man from Noord-Holland, who is not in custody, for making the videos (Hart van Nederland, citing AD, says he is suspected of making and distributing them); images of about sixty well-known Dutch people and politicians were found on his devices, AD reported that he had been the platform's most active Dutch user, and he faces up to two years' imprisonment. The platform's Canadian operator, who removed material at the OM's request and blocked Dutch IP addresses before the site went offline, will not be prosecuted. One of the presenters reported to be among the depicted told AD she was relieved the case would go to court, having experienced the impact of such images herself. No hearing date has been set.","incidentDate":"2024-03-19","incidentEndDate":"2026-09-19","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2024-03-19","aiSystem":"Face-swap deepfake video tools (not identified); videos published on the MrDeepFakes platform","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Dozens of women in Dutch public life (images of about sixty people were found on the suspect's devices) were depicted without consent in pornographic deepfake videos, some viewed tens of thousands of times; those who spoke publicly described the experience as sickening and as 'digital rape', and one was advised by parliamentary security to stay silent (NOS 2024; NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland citing AD, 2026). The 2026 prosecution decision is the consequence for the alleged maker.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":20,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"NH Nieuws and Hart van Nederland, citing AD, report that the MrDeepFakes investigation led to more than twenty complaints ('meer dan twintig aangiften'), a documented lower bound of 20 depicted complainants; images of about sixty well-known people were found on the suspect's devices, but 'ongeveer zestig' is approximate and not all are confirmed as depicted victims. Documented minimum 20.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"NL","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://nos.nl/artikel/2631746-om-gaat-74-jarige-man-vervolgen-voor-maken-deepfakeporno-van-bn-ers","primarySourceLabel":"NOS, 20 September 2026: OM gaat 74-jarige man vervolgen voor maken deepfakeporno van BN'ers (OM spokesperson confirms after AD's report)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-21T04:11:25.939553+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:46.470563+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ncii","sexual-deepfake","mrdeepfakes","public-figures","politicians","royal-family","prosecution","netherlands","noord-holland","depicted"]},{"id":"2026-strahler-ohio-ai-deepfake-cyberstalking-take-it-down-act","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'sentenced last week in U.S. District Court to 180 months in prison'; 'pleaded guilty in April to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries'; 'the first in the Nation under the Take It Down Act'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'sentenced Sept. 8 in U.S. District Court in Columbus to 15 years in prison'; 'first in the nation to be convicted under a 2025 federal law'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Chief U.S. District Court Judge Sarah D. Morrison handed down the 180-month sentence to 37-year-old James Strahler II on Tuesday'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"On 8 September 2026 James Strahler II was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus to 180 months (15 years) after pleading guilty in April 2026 to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries; the U.S. Attorney described it as the first conviction under the Take It Down Act.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome reported by the prosecuting office and two independent local newsrooms."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'used to harass at least six women in central Ohio between December 2024 and June 2025'; 'nude images of the victims that were both real and AI-generated'; 'used AI to create pornographic videos depicting one of the women engaged in sexual acts with her father'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'harass at least six adult female victims from December 2024 to June 2025'; 'generated pornographic videos using AI that depicted an adult victim in sexual acts with her father and sent those videos to the victim's co-workers'; 'threatened victims' mothers, demanding nude photos'; 'voicemails that included threats of rape'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'sent harassing messages to at least six women'; 'distributed those videos to the victim's coworkers or family members'; 'threaten rape'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Between December 2024 and June 2025 Strahler harassed at least six adult women in central Ohio with messages containing real and AI-generated nude images of them, threatened rape, referred to their addresses, threatened their mothers, and in one case sent AI-generated pornographic videos depicting a victim with her father to her co-workers.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutors' account of the offending, reported by three local newsrooms; the defendant pleaded guilty."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'posted online AI-generated images of the faces of boys from his community that he would morph onto the bodies of other children or adults'; 'more than 700 images'; '2,400 images and videos on his cell phone were flagged'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'using the faces of minor boys from his community and morphing them onto the bodies of other children or adults'; 'more than 700 images'; '2,400 more flagged images and videos'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Strahler also posted AI-generated sexual images of minor boys from his community, morphing their faces onto other bodies; more than 700 images were posted to a child sexual abuse website and about 2,400 further explicit files were found on his phone.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutors' account; part of the guilty plea to producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse."}],"effects":[{"label":"at least six women harassed with real and AI-generated nude images and rape threats; AI videos of one sent to her co-workers; boys depicted in AI abuse imagery","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://highlandcountypress.com/headlines/columbus-man-sentenced-15-years-prison-cyberstalking-exes-creating-ai-generated-obscene","kind":"official_statement_republished","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18. Verbatim republication (16 Sep 2026) of the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio press release; the justice.gov original (usao-sdoh/pr/columbus-man-sentenced-15-years-prison-cyberstalking-exes-creating-ai-generated) returns only a 1.5 kB shell to this host.","independence_group":"usao-sdoh"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/courts/2026/09/08/james-strahler-sentenced-to-15-years-in-prison-for-ai-generated-porn/91664055007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18 (Columbus Dispatch, Shahid Meighan, 8 Sep 2026; served from the eu.dispatch.com mirror). Court reporting drawing on the USAO and court records.","independence_group":"dispatch"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.10tv.com/article/news/crime/columbus-man-15-years-cyberstalking-creating-ai-generated-obscene-material/530-f3a9a6c2-cf42-4011-a757-e65a624f8b9f","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18 via the MSN content API copy (WBNS 10TV, 8 Sep 2026). Adds the Hilliard Police investigative history from court records.","independence_group":"10tv"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://abc6onyourside.com/news/local/man-sentenced-to-15-years-in-federal-prison-for-cyberstalking-creating-ai-deepfakes-us-district-court-judge-sarah-d-morrison-james-strahler-ii-take-it-down-act-nonconsensual-project-safe-childhood","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18 via the MSN content API copy (WSYX ABC6, 8 Sep 2026). Names the sentencing judge and the threats to victims' mothers.","independence_group":"abc6"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The exact number of adult victims beyond 'at least six' and the number of boys depicted are not stated.","The AI tools used are not named in any inspected source.","Whether restitution or protective orders were imposed is not reported.","The status of the earlier local (state) charge is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: central Ohio (Columbus/Upper Arlington, Hilliard, Delaware County) per the USAO release and Dispatch. Victims are described as women in central Ohio. Court: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, Columbus.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact and impersonation case: identified adult women and local boys were depicted in AI-generated sexual imagery used for harassment and threats, a federal court sentenced the perpetrator, and four sources (the prosecuting office's release and three independent local newsrooms) were read. Victims are unnamed; the perpetrator is named in the court record and press.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The defendant pleaded guilty to publication of digital forgeries and producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse; prosecutors and the court record describe AI-generated nude images and AI-made videos of victims and AI-morphed images of boys. The AI tools depicted the affected people; they did not communicate with them.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Columbus, Ohio: a man was sentenced to 15 years for cyberstalking at least six women with real and AI-generated sexual images and rape threats, the first conviction under the Take It Down Act","summary":"Between December 2024 and June 2025 James Strahler II, then 37, of Columbus (Upper Arlington), Ohio, harassed at least six women in central Ohio by phone, voicemail, text and web posts, sending them nude images that were both real and AI-generated, threatening rape, referring to their home addresses and demanding nude photos from their mothers. In one case he used AI to make pornographic videos depicting a victim with her father and sent them to her co-workers. He also posted AI-generated sexual images of boys from his community, morphing their faces onto other bodies. Prosecutors said he had installed more than 24 AI platforms and more than 100 web-based AI models on his phone. He pleaded guilty in April 2026 to cyberstalking, producing obscene visual representations of child sexual abuse and publication of digital forgeries, and on 8 September 2026 Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison sentenced him to 180 months in prison. The U.S. Attorney called it the first conviction in the nation under the 2025 Take It Down Act.","incidentDate":"2024-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-06-30","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-08","aiSystem":"Generative AI image and video tools (not named; prosecutors said more than 24 AI platforms and over 100 web-based AI models were installed on the defendant's phone)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"At least six women were sexually harassed and threatened with rape using real and AI-generated nude images of themselves, with AI videos of one victim sent to her co-workers; victims' mothers were threatened, and boys from the defendant's community were depicted in AI-generated sexual abuse imagery posted online. The perpetrator received 15 years in federal prison.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":6,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Prosecutors said Strahler harassed 'at least six' adult women (Dispatch, 10TV, ABC6). Their mothers, who were threatened, and the minor boys whose faces were used in AI-generated abuse imagery are additional harmed people without a stated count. Six counted plus unquantified others: partial.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://highlandcountypress.com/headlines/columbus-man-sentenced-15-years-prison-cyberstalking-exes-creating-ai-generated-obscene","primarySourceLabel":"U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio press release (republished by the Highland County Press, 16 Sep 2026): Columbus man sentenced to 15 years for cyberstalking exes and creating AI-generated obscene material of adults and children","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-18T03:25:07.926173+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:55.061125+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-generated-imagery","ncii","cyberstalking","take-it-down-act","sextortion","united-states","ohio","criminal-conviction","depicted"]},{"id":"2024-incheon-teacher-deepfake-student-sentence","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'인천지법 형사1단독(부장판사 이창경)은 16일 선고공판에서... A(10대)군에게 장기 2년, 단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고했다'; '40시간의 성폭력 치료 프로그램 이수와 아동·청소년 관련 기관 취업제한 5년'; '도주 우려 등을 이유로 A군을 법정구속했다'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'장기 2년∼단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고하고 법정 구속했다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'장기 2년, 단기 1년6개월의 징역형을 선고하고 법정 구속했다. 소년법상 만 19세 미만 미성년자에게는... 부정기형이 내려진다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 16 September 2026 the Incheon District Court (Criminal Division 1, Judge 이창경) sentenced the teenage defendant to an indeterminate term of 2 years maximum / 1 year 6 months minimum for violating the Sexual Violence Punishment Act (editing and distributing false sexual images), ordered 40 hours of treatment and a five-year child-institution employment ban, and detained him in court.","causal_attribution":"Sentence reported identically by three outlets from the sentencing hearing."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'2024년 8월 인공지능을 이용해 교사 5명의 얼굴을 나체사진에 합성한 뒤 사회관계망서비스(SNS)에 유포한 혐의'; '모두 11명의 허위영상물을 35차례 제작'; ''지인 능욕'을 테마로 한 텔레그램 대화방'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'2024년 8월 인공지능(AI) 기술을 이용해 교사와 학생들의 얼굴을 나체 사진에 합성한 혐의'; '교사 5명과 함께 태권도 학원에 다닌 여중생 등 총 11명을 대상으로 35차례에 걸쳐 합성물을 제작, 텔레그램 '지인 능욕' 대화방 등에 유포'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'2024년 인천의 한 중학교에 재학하던 중 딥페이크 기술을 이용해 교사 등 20여명의 얼굴을 나체 사진과 영상에 합성한 뒤 SNS에 유포한 혐의' (the prosecution's figure of about twenty).","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In 2024, while a middle-school student in Incheon, he used AI deepfake technology to composite the faces of five teachers and six female middle- and high-school students from his taekwondo academy onto nude photographs and videos, 35 productions of 11 people in all, and distributed them in Telegram 'acquaintance humiliation' chat rooms.","causal_attribution":"Court findings as reported; the 11-in-35 count is Hankyoreh's and Munhwa's, and Newsis's 'about twenty' is the prosecution's charge description."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'자신의 담임교사에게 \"연락처와 사진이 지워졌다\"고 속여 사진을 받아내는 등 치밀하게 범행을 준비한 것으로 조사됐다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"He obtained his homeroom teacher's photographs by telling her that his contacts and photos had been deleted.","causal_attribution":"Investigation finding reported by Munhwa Ilbo only."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Judge: '반포한 교사 5명의 합성 사진과 영상물에는 피해자의 얼굴이 그대로 드러나 있고 실명, 나이, 학교, 교과목도 명시돼 있다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Judge: '피해 교사들의 얼굴뿐 아니라 실명, 학교, 휴대전화 번호까지 명시해 반포했다'; '피해자들이 장기간 심리치료를 받는 등 상당한 트라우마를 겪고 있는 점'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Judge: '피해교사들은 말할 수 없는 충격을 받고 트라우마를 겪고 있으며 A군의 엄벌 탄원하고 있다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'합성물에는 피해 교사의 얼굴뿐 아니라 이름과 나이, 학교, 담당 교과목이 적혀 있었고 일부에는 휴대폰 번호와 인스타그램 아이디도 담겼다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The distributed images showed the teachers' faces together with their real names, ages, schools, subjects and phone numbers, and the court found the teachers are suffering considerable trauma and receiving long-term psychological treatment.","causal_attribution":"The judge's sentencing remarks as reported by three outlets; phone numbers appear in Munhwa's and Hankook Ilbo's accounts; Hankook Ilbo adds Instagram IDs on some."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'A군은 지역교권보호위원회가 열리기 일주일 전 자퇴해 학교 차원의 별다른 징계 처분은 받지 않았다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'피해 교사들은 올해 1월에야 피해 사실을 인지했으나, A 군은 교권보호위원회가 열리기 전 자퇴해 학교 측의 징계를 피했다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'ㄱ군은 교권보호위원회가 열리기 전 자퇴해 징계 처분을 받지 않았다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"He withdrew from school a week before the regional teachers'-rights protection committee met and received no school discipline; the teachers learned of the images only in January 2026.","causal_attribution":"The withdrawal is reported by all three; the January 2026 discovery by Munhwa only."},{"id":"c6","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'검찰이 구형한 부정기형 장기 3년6개월∼단기 2년은... 그러나 이날 선고는 검찰 구형에도 미치지 못했다'; the superintendent's pledge.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'인천교사노동조합은 입장문을 내고... 이번 선고에 깊은 유감을 표한다'; the superintendent: '법적·심리 치료 지원과 함께... 예방교육도 강화하겠다'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Incheon Teachers' Union expressed regret that the sentence fell below the prosecution's request of 3 years 6 months to 2 years; the superintendent of education attended and pledged legal and psychological support and prevention education.","causal_attribution":"Statements reported by two outlets."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'22일 인천교사노조에 따르면 교사 A씨 등 2명은 최근 학생 졸업사진 촬영과정에서 학교로부터 함께하자는 요구를 받았다.'; 'A씨 등은 전근 사유를 밝히지 않아 지금 학교는 피해사실을 모르는 것으로 전해졌다. 사정을 밝히지 못한 A씨 등은 결국 사진을 촬영했다.'; 'B군은 A씨 등 교사·학생 11명의 사진으로 성착취물을 제작·유포했으며 16일 장기 2년~단기 1년6개월의 징역을 선고받았다.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'딥페이크 성범죄 피해 교사 2명이 옮긴 고등학교에서'; '피해 사실을 밝히지 않으면 촬영에 응해야 하고, 거부하려면 피해 사실을 설명해야 하는 분위기 속에서 결국 사진을 찍을 수밖에 없었다고 호소했다'; '이들 교사 2명은 2024년 발생한 10대 A군의 딥페이크 성범죄 피해 교사 5명에 포함된 피해자들이다.'; '사진 촬영과 게재가 교직원의 자율적 선택에 따라 이뤄질 수 있도록 하는 절차를 마련하라'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"On 22 September 2026 the Incheon Teachers' Union said two of the five victim teachers in this case, who had transferred to other schools without disclosing the reason, were recently asked by their new schools to join graduation-album photo sessions and took the photographs because refusing would have required explaining the victimisation; the union asked the education office to make staff photo sessions a voluntary choice.","causal_attribution":"The union's statement of 22 September as reported by two separately bylined outlets, each of which ties the two teachers to this sentenced case; Hankook Ilbo frames it as a tip received by the union. Not independently confirmed by the schools."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'등의 말로 촬영 압박을 받았다는 제보가 접수됐다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'거절 사유를 밝히지 않도록 강제하는 제도망을 갖추도록 요구했다'; '강요 분위기도 일지 않도록 대책을 강구하겠다'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Hankook Ilbo reports the union as saying the pressure came with remarks such as 'let's leave memories' and 'don't spoil the mood' at the high schools the two teachers had moved to, while Kyeonggi Ilbo attributes such remarks to an atmosphere in some schools generally; Kyeonggi Ilbo also reports the union's demand that reasons for refusal need not be disclosed, and an education-office official's reply that the office would devise measures to ensure thorough consent procedures and prevent a coercive atmosphere.","causal_attribution":"Union and education-office statements as reported by each outlet."}],"effects":[{"label":"teachers and students depicted in AI-composited sexual images distributed with their names, schools and phone numbers; long-term trauma treatment","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"two victim teachers pressed into graduation-album photographs at their new schools because refusing would have meant disclosing the deepfake victimisation (union account, 22 September 2026)","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260916_0003791674","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T10:51+09:00; Incheon bureau reporter 이루비; '종합' consolidated report). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"newsis"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/area/capital/1278039.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T11:00+09:00). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"hani"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.munhwa.com/article/11617393","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read in Korean on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2026-09-16T10:51+09:00). Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"munhwa"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.kyeonggi.com/article/20260922580361","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read live in Korean on 2026-09-23 (Kyeonggi Ilbo, 박기웅, 22 September 2026 15:43; a Daum copy is identical): the Incheon teachers' union's account that two victim teachers were asked to join graduation-photo sessions after transferring. Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"kyeonggi-ilbo"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.hankookilbo.com/news/article/A2026092210370000589","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Read live in Korean on 2026-09-23 (Hankook Ilbo, 이환직, 22 September 2026 14:04): the union's statement of the same day and its demands to the education office. Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"hankook-ilbo"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The AI tool used is not named; the written judgment was not inspected.","The number of people depicted differs between the prosecution's charge description (about twenty, per Newsis) and the court reporting (eleven); eleven is used as the documented minimum.","When the distribution began and ended within 2024 and whether the additional indicted conduct extended later are not stated; the record uses August 2024 with month precision and no end date.","Whether either side appeals, and the outcome of any separate proceedings against the Telegram room operators, are not reported.","Earlier coverage of the arrest or indictment was not inspected; the reported_date is the sentencing coverage.","Korean bodies were read by the model without human bilingual review.","Which schools pressed the two teachers is not reported; the education office said it would devise measures (Kyeonggi Ilbo), and whether graduation-album procedures changed is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: an Incheon middle school and a taekwondo academy in Incheon (Newsis: '인천의 한 중학교'); victims are Incheon teachers and students; court: Incheon District Court.","court_countries":["KR"],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":["KR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a criminal judgment: a court found that AI deepfake images of five teachers and six students were made and distributed with identifying details, and described the victims' ongoing trauma. Three separately bylined Korean outlets were read. The defendant is a minor and unnamed in the sources and here; no victim is named; the superintendent, union chair and judge are public officials. Updated 2026-09-23 with the union's report that two victim teachers were pressed into graduation-album photographs at their new schools (Kyeonggi Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo); the two teachers are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Three outlets report the court's findings that the images were made with AI deepfake (image-compositing) technology and the conviction under the false-sexual-image provisions; the specific tool is not named. The Korean bodies were read by the model; no written judgment was inspected.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Incheon, South Korea: teenager sentenced to up to two years for AI deepfake sexual images of five teachers and six students, distributed on Telegram with the victims' names and schools","summary":"On 16 September 2026 the Incheon District Court sentenced a teenage defendant to an indeterminate term of two years (maximum) to one year six months (minimum) under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act for making and distributing false sexual images, ordered a 40-hour treatment programme and a five-year ban on working with children, and took him into custody in court. As a middle-school student in Incheon in 2024 he had used AI deepfake technology to composite the faces of five teachers, including his homeroom teacher whom he tricked into sending photographs, and six female middle- and high-school students from his taekwondo academy onto nude images and videos, 35 productions in all, and distributed them in Telegram 'acquaintance humiliation' chat rooms with the victims' real names, ages, schools, subjects and, per two reports, phone numbers (Hankook Ilbo adds Instagram IDs on some). The teachers learned of the images only in January 2026; the court said they are receiving long-term psychological treatment. He had withdrawn from school a week before the teachers'-rights committee met, avoiding school discipline. The Incheon teachers' union called the sentence, below the prosecution's request, regrettable.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-16","aiSystem":"AI deepfake image-compositing tools (not named in the inspected court reporting)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Five teachers and six students had their faces composited by AI onto nude images and videos that were distributed on Telegram with their real names, ages, schools, subjects and phone numbers; the court found the teachers are suffering considerable trauma and receiving long-term psychological treatment.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":11,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Hankyoreh and Munhwa Ilbo both report 11 people (five teachers and six students) in 35 composites, as found by the court; Newsis reports the prosecution's charge sheet as 'about twenty', which is not used as a count. Eleven is the documented minimum.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"KR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260916_0003791674","primarySourceLabel":"뉴시스 (Newsis), 16 September 2026, Incheon bureau: sentencing report with the judge's reasons, the superintendent's and the union's statements","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-16T03:16:35.128819+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:52.00163+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","south-korea","incheon","teachers","minors","telegram","criminal-sentence","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-china-wang-ai-faceswap-defamation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'2024年4月至2025年1月间，王某甲利用AI软件的深度合成技术，将于某（系化名）等多人的人脸信息与色情图片进行拼接，伪造大量不雅图片'; '多次在境外网站以公开发帖的形式予以散布。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Between April 2024 and January 2025 Wang used the deep-synthesis technology of AI software to splice the facial information of Yu (pseudonym) and several other people onto pornographic images, forged a large number of indecent images, fabricated 'sexual' topics about them and spread them repeatedly in public posts on overseas websites.","causal_attribution":"The court's account of the facts as published by the Jiangsu High People's Court and relayed by The Paper."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'2025年1月5日，王某甲又将两张AI换脸后面部为于某的裸照和于某有关证件图片发送给王某乙（另案处理），并捏造自己与于某存在性交易的不实信息。'; '后王某乙将上述图片转发至微信群，并在群里声称于某与他人存在性交易，引发群内外大量人员讨论，给于某的个人形象、工作、生活带来不利影响'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 5 January 2025 he sent two AI face-swapped nude images bearing Yu's face and images of Yu's identity documents to a second man with a fabricated claim that he had had a sex-for-money transaction with Yu; the second man forwarded them to Yu's work WeChat group and claimed there that Yu engaged in sex-for-money transactions with others, which the court found caused extensive discussion and adverse effects on Yu's image, work and life, seriously lowering Yu's social evaluation and violating Yu's dignity.","causal_attribution":"Court findings relayed by The Paper."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'张家港市人民法院于2025年12月1日作出一审判决，以诽谤罪判处被告人王某甲有期徒刑一年三个月。'; '宣判后，王某甲提出上诉。苏州市中级人民法院依法作出二审裁定，驳回上诉，维持原判。'; '1月27日，江苏省高级人民法院公布2025年度十大典型案例'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The Zhangjiagang People's Court convicted him of defamation on 1 December 2025 and sentenced him to one year and three months' imprisonment, treating his voluntary surrender as mitigation; the Suzhou Intermediate People's Court rejected his appeal; on 27 January 2026 the Jiangsu High People's Court listed the case among its ten typical cases of 2025.","causal_attribution":"Court decisions as published by the High Court and relayed by The Paper; the written judgments were not inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"the face of a person (pseudonym Yu) AI-swapped onto pornographic images posted on overseas sites and forwarded to Yu's work WeChat group with a fabricated claim of sex-for-money transactions; the court found harm to Yu's image, work, life and dignity","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"http://thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32473843","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Chinese on 2026-09-23 (The Paper, 邱海鸿, 27 January 2026 19:07); relays the Jiangsu High People's Court's 2025 top-ten typical cases publication. The court judgment itself was not inspected. Model reading; no human bilingual review.","independence_group":"jiangsu-high-court"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["The AI software used and the overseas websites.","How many other people's faces were used besides Yu.","The outcome of the separate case against the man who forwarded the images.","Whether Yu obtained civil compensation.","The judgment texts were not inspected; Chinese read by the model without human bilingual review.","Yu's sex and age are not stated in the cited body (于某, 其); earlier uncited reporting described a woman; victim_age_range adult is inferred from the work WeChat group.","Where the events took place and where Yu and the defendant live; the body names only the courts.","The conduct period is stated as ending in January 2025; 5 January 2025 is the last dated act and is used as the end date."],"geography":{"basis":"The Paper's account of the court's findings states no event location or residence for Yu or the defendant; the posts were made on overseas websites and the forwarding was to a WeChat work group. Under the charter a country is not inferred from the court, so event and affected-person countries are left empty as a reviewed unknown. Court: Zhangjiagang Municipal People's Court and Suzhou Intermediate People's Court, Jiangsu, China.","court_countries":["CN"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a criminal conviction: AI face-swapped pornographic images of a person forwarded to their workplace, with court findings of harm to their image, work, life and dignity, as published by the Jiangsu High People's Court and relayed by The Paper (one chain; all claims reported). The original ID and first-publication timestamp are preserved; the sentence and dates correct the historical row; the victim's sex, previously asserted, is not in the cited body and is recorded as unknown. The victim is identified only by a court pseudonym.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The court found that the defendant used the deep-synthesis technology of AI software to splice the victims' faces onto pornographic images (The Paper relaying the Jiangsu High People's Court). The software is not identified.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Jiangsu, China (Zhangjiagang court): a man used AI face-swap deep-synthesis to splice the faces of a person referred to as Yu and several others onto pornographic images, fabricated 'sexual' stories about them and posted the material repeatedly on overseas websites between April 2024 and January 2025; after two face-swapped nude images of Yu and Yu's ID were forwarded to Yu's work WeChat group with a fabricated claim of sex-for-money transactions, he was convicted of criminal defamation and sentenced to one year and three months (1 December 2025), upheld on appeal and listed by the Jiangsu High People's Court among its 2025 typical cases","summary":"According to the Jiangsu High People's Court's 2025 top-ten typical cases, published on 27 January 2026 and reported by The Paper, a man surnamed Wang used the deep-synthesis technology of AI software between April 2024 and January 2025 to splice the facial information of a person (pseudonym Yu) and several other people onto pornographic images, fabricated a large number of indecent images and 'sexual' topics about them, and repeatedly spread them in public posts on overseas websites. On 5 January 2025 he sent two AI face-swapped nude images bearing Yu's face and images of Yu's identity documents to a second man (dealt with separately) and fabricated the claim that he had had a sex-for-money transaction with Yu; although the second man said he would forward the material to Yu's work WeChat group, Wang did not clarify that it was false or effectively stop him, only deleting the contact. The second man forwarded the images to the WeChat group and claimed there that Yu sold sex, prompting extensive discussion inside and outside the group and, the court found, adverse effects on Yu's personal image, work and life, a serious lowering of Yu's social evaluation and a violation of Yu's dignity. The Zhangjiagang People's Court held that using deep-synthesis technology that ordinary people cannot easily identify to generate indecent images and fabricate sexual topics, spread repeatedly through information networks, was defamation of serious circumstances that seriously harmed social order; taking into account his voluntary surrender, it sentenced him on 1 December 2025 to one year and three months' imprisonment for defamation. The Suzhou Intermediate People's Court rejected his appeal. The High Court described the case as a typical example of punishing online defamation committed with AI.","incidentDate":"2024-04-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-01-05","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-27","aiSystem":"AI deep-synthesis ('face-swap') software; not identified in the court's account","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The face of a person (pseudonym Yu) was AI-swapped onto pornographic images that were posted repeatedly on overseas websites and then forwarded to Yu's workplace WeChat group with a fabricated claim that she sold sex; the court found adverse effects on Yu's image, work and life, a serious lowering of Yu's social evaluation and a violation of Yu's personal dignity. The court's findings are relayed by The Paper; the judgment itself was not inspected.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One identified victim (Yu, pseudonym) whose images reached her work group; the court states that several other people's faces were also used (于某等多人) without a number. Partial: 1 counted plus unquantified others.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"http://thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32473843","primarySourceLabel":"The Paper (澎湃新闻), 27 January 2026: 利用AI换脸生成不雅照片诽谤他人，男子被判一年三个月","firstPublishedAt":"2026-06-15T06:50:02.798485+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:31.844756+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["criminal","deepfake","face-swap","defamation","china","jiangsu","non-consensual-images","conviction","workplace","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2025-valencia-spain-deepfake-school","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'began investigating in December last year after a female student reported the creation of a social media account in her name that featured an AI-generated video'; '\"All these photos had been modified from the originals, which had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked\"'; 'a webpage devoted to advertising the images for commercial purposes'; 'After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints'; 'a 17-year-old boy was being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"From December 2024 a girl in the Ribera Alta area reported fake accounts in her name with an AI-generated video and AI-manipulated nude photos of minors, plus a webpage advertising the images commercially; 15 other minors complained; the Guardia Civil traced the accounts to a 17-year-old schoolmate, now investigated for corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court.","causal_attribution":"Guardia Civil statement as reported by the Guardian; single chain."}],"effects":[{"label":"16 minors depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos on fake accounts, one impersonated by name, images advertised for sale","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-18 (The Guardian, 27 July 2025). Reports and quotes the Guardia Civil's statement of 27 July 2025; the Spanish original of the statement was not read.","independence_group":"guardian"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The outcome of the youth-court proceeding is not known.","The AI tools and the platforms hosting the accounts are not named.","Whether any images were actually sold is not stated."],"geography":{"basis":"Guardia Civil officers in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province investigated; the victims are the suspect's schoolmates there; a youth court in Valencia oversees the case (Guardian).","court_countries":["ES"],"event_countries":["ES"],"affected_person_countries":["ES"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case involving identified (unnamed) depicted minors, an impersonation and a police investigation under a youth court. One chain read; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; incident date corrected to the first complaint.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-18"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Guardia Civil statement, as quoted by the Guardian, describes AI-generated videos and AI-modified photos and a website advertising AI image-modification services; no forensic detail is published. The artifacts depicted the minors and impersonated one girl by name.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Ribera Alta, Valencia: a 17-year-old was investigated for making AI-generated nude images and videos of 16 schoolmates, impersonating a girl on fake accounts and advertising the images for sale","summary":"In December 2024 a female student in the Ribera Alta area of Valencia province reported to the Guardia Civil that a social-media account had been created in her name featuring an AI-generated video, and later a second account in her name, other accounts showing AI-generated nude videos, and a webpage advertising the images for commercial purposes; the Guardia Civil said the photos, all of minors, had been manipulated so that the people in them appeared completely naked. After 15 other minors came forward with similar complaints, officers traced IP addresses and account emails to the home of a 17-year-old schoolmate, who is being investigated on suspicion of corrupting minors under a Valencia youth court. The Guardia Civil announced the investigation on 27 July 2025.","incidentDate":"2024-12-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2025-07-27","aiSystem":"AI image and video manipulation tools (not named; police examined a website advertising AI image-modification services)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Sixteen minors were depicted in AI-generated nude images and videos published on fake accounts, with one girl also impersonated by name, and the images were advertised for sale; a schoolmate is under youth-court investigation.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":16,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One complainant plus 15 other minors who came forward with similar complaints (Guardian, quoting the Guardia Civil): exact count of 16 depicted minors.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"ES","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/27/spanish-teenager-investigated-ai-generated-nude-videos","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian, 27 July 2025: Spanish teenager investigated over AI-generated nude videos of 16 schoolmates (Guardia Civil statement)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-09T05:45:25.741735+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:20.032625+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-generated-imagery","minors","school","impersonation","spain","valencia","guardia-civil","youth-court","depicted"]},{"id":"2024-south-korea-telegram-deepfake-crisis","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1a","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"BBC 3 Sep 2024 confirms Ko Narin's Hankyoreh scoop and describes the school- and university-specific rooms.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Hankyoreh English's own exposure of the military Telegram room (27 Aug 2024).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Around 26 August 2024 The Hankyoreh (Ko Narin) exposed Telegram rooms creating and sharing AI-generated sexual deepfakes of Korean women and girls, with rooms organized by school and university.","causal_attribution":"The scoop's existence and the rooms' school/university organization are confirmed by the BBC's original reporting and Hankyoreh English's companion investigation; the original Korean article is dead-linked and retained uninspected."},{"id":"c1b","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Room-structure passages: 'humiliation rooms'/'friend of friend rooms', entry terms, the 2,000-member school group.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The rooms ran as 'humiliation rooms' and 'friend of friend rooms' with entry terms demanding at least four photos plus name, age and area, and one group for underage pupils at a single school had more than 2,000 members.","causal_attribution":"Single-chain detail from the BBC's 3 Sep 2024 account; no second inspected chain describes the entry terms or the 2,000-member group."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Police-figure passages: 297 vs 180; 'The victims are often minors and the perpetrators are mostly teenagers'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Watchdog ~6,500 requests Jan-Jul (4x); 178 suspects booked, 74% aged 10-19; >half of erased deepfakes involved minors.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Police recorded 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 against 180 in all of 2023; the watchdog received nearly 6,500 takedown requests in the first seven months of 2024 (four times the prior year); of 178 suspects booked, 74% were aged 10-19; more than half of erased deepfakes involved minors; victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets relay the same police and watchdog accounts; traced to one official origin, so the figures are reported rather than corroborated. Figures count cases, requests and suspects, not harmed people."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' (education ministry); 'of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported from January to October last year, police made 23 arrests' (Seoul police statement).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The education ministry counted more than 900 students, teachers and staff victimized between January and early November 2024; a Seoul police statement said that of 964 deepfake-related sex crime cases reported January-October 2024, 23 arrests were made.","causal_attribution":"Single chain (CNN) relaying official figures; the education-ministry count is the record's person-count lower bound."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Reuters wire via CNN, 26 Sep 2024: possession/viewing criminalized.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"CNN 25 Apr 2025: Sep 2024 law — possession/viewing up to 3 years or 30M won; creation maximum raised 5 to 7 years.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes (up to 3 years' prison or a 30 million won fine); the maximum sentence for creating deepfake pornography was raised from 5 to 7 years.","causal_attribution":"The statute is a public record carried by two chains (Reuters wire; CNN original). The historical claim of an October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement was not re-verified and is recorded as an unknown."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Military IDs turned into deepfake porn': servicewomen called 'military supplies'; at least 30 victims; channel active since 8 Aug with ~850 audience.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A separate Telegram room degraded servicewomen with deepfakes made from military-intranet ID photos, implying insider involvement, with at least 30 victims across the Army, Navy and Air Force and an audience of about 850 since 8 August 2024.","causal_attribution":"Single chain (Hankyoreh original reporting)."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Heejin passages (pseudonymous victim account).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Ruma passages (pseudonymous victim account).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Individual victims described severe harm: a pseudonymous school victim 'Heejin' spoke to the BBC, and 'Ruma', targeted in 2021 at age 27, spoke to CNN.","causal_attribution":"Pseudonymous first-person accounts carried by two outlets; the historical record's 'broke my whole belief system' quotation was not re-found in inspected sources and is dropped from the claims."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Korea Herald 16 Nov 2025 relaying the National Office of Investigation figures.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"By November 2025 the National Office of Investigation reported 3,557 people apprehended for cybersexual violence over the preceding year, with deepfake crimes the largest category (1,553 cases) and about 62% of suspects teenagers.","causal_attribution":"Single chain relaying official figures; apprehension figures count suspects, not victims."}],"effects":[{"label":"mass AI-generated sexual deepfakes of identified women and girls distributed in Telegram rooms","claim_id":"c1a","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (3 Sep 2024; Jean Mackenzie, Seoul). Original reporting: victim 'Heejin', room structure, the 2,000-member school group, the 500+ activist-compiled school list.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cg4yerrg451o","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (28 Aug 2024). Yoon cabinet order; police figures attributed.","independence_group":"bbc"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1155588.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (27 Aug 2024). Hankyoreh's own exposure of the military room.","independence_group":"hankyoreh"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.npr.org/2024/09/06/nx-s1-5101891/south-korea-deepfake","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (6 Sep 2024). Watchdog and police figures attributed.","independence_group":"npr"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/26/asia/south-korea-deepfake-bill-passed-intl-hnk","kind":"wire_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (26 Sep 2024); bylined Reuters.","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/25/asia/south-korea-deepfake-crimes-intl-hnk-dst","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (25 Apr 2025). CNN original: victim 'Ruma', education-ministry figure, Seoul police statement.","independence_group":"cnn"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10616925","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-15 (16 Nov 2025; the historical date 2025-11-01 was wrong). National Office of Investigation figures.","independence_group":"korea-herald"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/society/society_general/1155800.html","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 404 on 2026-09-15. Ko Narin's original Korean investigation (~26 Aug 2024); retained as the historical reference. BBC's 3 Sep 2024 report confirms the scoop; the body was not inspected in this review and its language is not re-asserted.","independence_group":"hankyoreh"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","justice"],"unknowns":["Not re-verified in inspected sources and therefore not claims of this record: the 220,000-member channel figure; 781 victims with 37% minors; Women's Human Rights Institute of Korea 332,341 supported cases; the October 2024 amendment removing the distribution-intent requirement; the Seoul National University graduates' 9-year and 3.5-year sentences; the teachers' union 200-school estimate; the 'broke my whole belief system' victim quotation.","The specific AI tools used are not identified in the inspected reporting.","Ko Narin's original Korean article (hani.co.kr 1155800) is HTTP 404; its contents are known only through the BBC's confirmation and the historical record.","The ScienceDirect study cited by the historical record answered 403 and was not inspected.","Cross-group overlap between police case counts, the education-ministry victim count and watchdog requests is unresolved."],"geography":{"basis":"Events, victims and the responding institutions are all in South Korea (all chains). No court proceeding is verified in this review, so court_countries is [].","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":["KR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact crisis affecting identified women and girls, predominantly minors. The person count is the education ministry's documented lower bound; case, request and membership figures are recorded but never used as person counts. Unverifiable historical claims are preserved as unknowns rather than deleted silently. No death; the death-verification rule is not engaged. Pseudonymous victims remain pseudonymous. In a 2026-09-15 second pass the original compound first claim was split: the corroborated exposure and room organization stand as c1a, and the BBC-only structure details (entry terms, 2,000-member group) stand as reported c1b. person_relations recorded in the same pass.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Every inspected chain describes AI deepfake tools as the generation mechanism and Telegram as the distribution channel; police and watchdog figures classify the cases as deepfake sex crimes. The specific tools are not individually identified beyond 'AI deepfake/nudify tools'.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"South Korea Telegram AI Deepfake Sexual Abuse Crisis","summary":"In late August 2024, journalist Ko Narin of The Hankyoreh exposed networks of Telegram rooms in South Korea where AI tools were used to turn ordinary photos of women and girls — middle and high school pupils, university students, teachers and servicewomen — into sexual deepfakes, shared with their identities in school- and university-specific 'humiliation rooms'. Police figures showed 297 deepfake cases in January-July 2024 (vs 180 in all of 2023); the education ministry counted more than 900 victimized students, teachers and staff; President Yoon ordered a crackdown; and on 26 September 2024 the National Assembly criminalized possessing or viewing sexually explicit deepfakes. Victims were often minors and perpetrators mostly teenagers.","incidentDate":"2024-08-01","incidentEndDate":"2024-09-26","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2024-08-26","aiSystem":"AI deepfake generation tools (various)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Multiple (various free AI 'undressing' tools)","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation","third_party_harm_facilitation","psychological_manipulation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Mass non-consensual AI sexual imagery of schoolgirls, students, teachers and servicewomen, distributed with their identities in Telegram rooms; pseudonymous victims describe severe distress, and police recorded hundreds of cases dominated by minor victims and teenage perpetrators.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":900,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Lower bound: the South Korean education ministry's count of 'more than 900 students, teachers and staff' victimized (January-early November 2024), carried by CNN's 25 April 2025 report. This counts people reported as victims to the education authorities. Police figures (297 cases; 964 cases) count cases, not people, and are not used as person counts; the watchdog's ~6,500 figures count takedown requests, not people; the 500+ schools figure is an activist-compiled list of targets, not a victim count; channel membership numbers are not counted. Cross-group overlap is unresolved.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"KR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cpdlpj9zn9go","primarySourceLabel":"BBC News, Jean Mackenzie (3 Sep 2024) — 'Inside the deepfake porn crisis engulfing Korean schools' (replaces the dead Hankyoreh original)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-29T09:52:18.956616+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:53.809496+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","minor","south-korea","telegram","sexual-images","school","criminal-charges","legislation","mass-scale","non-western"]}]}