{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-05T08:56:45.440Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"search","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":8,"coverage":{"cases":8,"countries":4,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":5,"minors":3,"coreRelations":8,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-lacey-insurance-discovery-relief-denied-ai-citations","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"ECF 119, pages 2–4, paragraphs 5–9; page 8 paragraph 20; page 10 conclusion.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The special master struck the claimant’s briefs and denied requested discovery relief after her lawyers relied on unverified AI-generated citations.","causal_attribution":"The order expressly connects the discovery sanction to counsel’s AI use and failures of verification."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"ECF 119, page 10 paragraphs 24–25 and conclusion.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The $31,100 award falls on the firms; the order says the client was not at fault and would not be financially responsible.","causal_attribution":"Allocation of financial responsibility is directly recorded in the order."}],"effects":[{"label":"Loss of requested discovery relief","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.lawnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/C.D.-Cal.-24-cv-05205-dckt-000119_000-filed-2025-05-06.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"lacey-ecf119"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["justice"],"unknowns":["The later effect on the merits of the insurance case and the location of the AI use are unknown."],"geography":{"basis":"The order is in the Central District of California. The location of the AI-assisted drafting and the claimant’s residence are not established by the passages used.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"The retained filed court order directly establishes the discovery sanction and allocation of the monetary award.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The retained filed court order directly establishes the discovery sanction and allocation of the monetary award.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["acted_on_behalf"]},"name":"Insurance claimant loses discovery relief after lawyers submit AI-generated false citations","summary":"In a May 2025 order in Lacey v. State Farm, a special master struck supplemental briefs and denied the claimant’s requested discovery relief after her lawyers submitted unverified AI-generated legal material. The order required the two law firms to pay $31,100. It explicitly said the client was not at fault and would not pay that award, and declined further penalties against individual lawyers.","incidentDate":"2025-04-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-05-06","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI legal-research tools","aiProduct":"Unidentified legal research tool","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The special master struck the claimant’s briefs and denied requested discovery relief after her lawyers relied on unverified AI-generated citations.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One claimant directly affected by the denial of discovery relief. Firm costs are not counted as personal losses to every lawyer.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"assistant","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.lawnext.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/C.D.-Cal.-24-cv-05205-dckt-000119_000-filed-2025-05-06.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Lacey v. State Farm General Insurance Company, ECF 119, order filed 6 May 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T10:29:01.113121+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:08.302696+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025"]},{"id":"2025-aberdeen-mississippi-fee-suit-ai-hallucinated-citations-four-attorneys-sanctioned","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 2: 'the Court was unable to locate certain legal authorities cited within them. Specifically, the Court determined that the following filings contained hallucinatory citations'; p. 3: 'the attorneys admitted that the hallucinatory citations cited by them, and identified by the Court, resulted from unverified AI use.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'In *Withers v. City of Aberdeen*, attorneys for both sides cited no fewer than six entirely fabricated precedents.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"In late 2025, legal memoranda filed for both sides in a fee suit against the City of Aberdeen (N.D. Miss.) cited cases that do not exist; the court identified one such citation in the City's summary-judgment memorandum, three in its fee-challenge memorandum and two in the plaintiff's opposition, and the attorneys admitted the citations resulted from unverified AI use.","causal_attribution":"Established by the court's sanctions order on the attorneys' own admissions."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 3: 'Williams admitted to using an AI tool to conduct legal research, and Wilson admitted to using generative AI to draft her respective filing. Neither of them verified the legal authority output by AI before filing their briefs.'; p. 9: 'She explained that she used “First Drafts,” an AI- powered program for drafting legal documents.'; p. 14: 'it had acquired software that was built for in-house legal research.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The plaintiff's out-of-state counsel, Kathleen M. Wilson, drafted the opposition using 'First Drafts', an AI-powered drafting program, and the City's out-of-state counsel, Kathryn Y. Williams, used an in-house AI legal research tool; neither verified the AI output before filing.","causal_attribution":"Admissions recorded and findings made in the sanctions order."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"p. 21: 'Kathleen M. Wilson’s pro hac vice admission in this case is REVOKED.'; 'Wilson is hereby ORDERED to pay a $2,500 fine to the registry of this Court'; 'Williams is hereby ORDERED to pay a $3,500 fine to the registry of this Court'; 'Shauncey Hunter Ridgeway is DISQUALIFIED from further participation in this case.'; p. 22: 'Mark McClinton is DISQUALIFIED from further participation in this case.'; 'send a copy of this Sanctions Order to the Mississippi Bar, the Louisiana Bar, and the Texas Bar.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"p. 20: 'Wilson and Williams are hereby BARRED from entering an appearance in any case before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for the period of two (2) years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"On 8 June 2026 the court revoked Wilson's and Williams' pro hac vice admissions, barred both from appearing in the Northern District of Mississippi for two years, fined Wilson $2,500 and Williams $3,500, ordered Wilson to complete an AI ethics CLE, disqualified the two local counsel (Shauncey Hunter Ridgeway and Mark C. McClinton, who signed without checking the citations) with $1,000 fines each, and sent the order to the Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas bars.","causal_attribution":"The sanctions are the court's response to the AI-generated false citations and the failure to verify them."},{"id":"c4","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'Given the pending sanctions issue, this case is hereby STAYED until further order of the Court. The final pretrial conference scheduled on February 19, 2026 and trial scheduled on March 23, 2026 are hereby cancelled'; 'The following pending motions are hereby TERMINATED'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"p. 20: 'The Court is cognizant that upon disqualifying the resident attorneys the litigants are effectively left without representation in this case, and that this can cause hardship for them.'; p. 22: 'the Court will dismiss this case without further notice.'; p. 12: 'The Court was unable to resolve that dispositive motion given the tainted filings, and it effectively inhibited the case from proceeding further.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Because of the sanctions issue the court stayed the case, cancelled the pretrial conference and the 23 March 2026 trial, and terminated the pending summary-judgment and fee motions; after disqualifying all four attorneys it gave both litigants 60 days to find new counsel, acknowledging this could cause them hardship, and warned the plaintiff that the case would be dismissed if no counsel appeared or he did not elect to proceed pro se by 7 August 2026.","causal_attribution":"The stay and loss of counsel follow directly from the sanctions proceeding over the AI-generated citations, per the court's orders."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'directing attorney Kathleen M. Wilson to show cause as to why this Court should not hold her in contempt for her failure to pay the fine'; 'Wilson shall have until September 16, 2026 to (1) pay the monetary fine'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 17 August 2026, after a show-cause order over Wilson's failure to pay the fine, the court extended her deadline to pay it and to complete the CLE to 16 September 2026.","causal_attribution":"Follow-on enforcement of the sanctions order."}],"effects":[{"label":"two attorneys who used AI tools without verifying the output lost their pro hac vice admissions, were barred from the district for two years and fined","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"two local counsel were disqualified and fined for signing the AI-drafted filings without checking the citations","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the case was stayed, the trial cancelled and both litigants left without counsel, with the plaintiff's case facing dismissal if no new counsel appeared","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.123.0_1.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Sanctions Order, ECF 123, filed 8 June 2026 (Senior Judge Sharion Aycock), 23 pages; full text read via pdftotext on 2026-09-29 (RECAP copy on CourtListener).","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.120.0.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Order staying the case, ECF 120, filed 4 February 2026; one page, read in full on 2026-09-29.","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.133.0.pdf","kind":"court_order","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Order of 17 August 2026, ECF 133, extending one attorney's deadline to pay the fine and complete the CLE; one page, read in full on 2026-09-29.","independence_group":"msnd-court-record"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/technology-science/artc-courtroom-hallucinations-lawyers-cite-precedents-dreamt-up-by-ai-as-clients-sabotage-their-own-cases","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"i24NEWS aggregate piece (Sep 2026) read on 2026-09-29 from the Internet Archive capture of 10 Sep 2026 (the live page is a JavaScript shell). It mentions the case in two sentences; its count of 'no fewer than six' fabricated precedents matches the order's list and is not an independent check.","independence_group":"i24news"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["work","justice"],"unknowns":["Which underlying model the 'First Drafts' program and Williams' research tool used; the order names neither vendor's model.","Whether the Mississippi, Louisiana or Texas bars opened disciplinary proceedings, and whether Wilson paid by 16 September 2026.","Whether the litigants retained new counsel by 7 August 2026 and what became of the case.","The dates of the other tainted filings Wilson drafted in this case (ECF 123 p.11); they may predate 5 November 2025."],"geography":{"basis":"Federal case in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi (Aberdeen Division); the order describes the attorneys as licensed in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published from the court's own sanctions order and related docket orders, which record the attorneys' admissions of unverified AI use and the resulting sanctions, stay and loss of counsel. Attorneys are named as they are in the public order; the plaintiff, a private litigant, is not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sanctions order records the two drafting attorneys' admissions that their filings were produced with AI tools (Wilson: 'First Drafts', a generative drafting program; Williams: an unnamed in-house AI legal research product) and finds that their unverified reliance on the output produced the fabricated citations.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Fee suit against the City of Aberdeen (N.D. Miss.): four attorneys on both sides sanctioned after AI tools produced fabricated case citations; trial cancelled and both litigants left without counsel","summary":"In a fee dispute between a Louisiana attorney and the City of Aberdeen, Mississippi, briefs filed for both sides in late 2025 cited six cases that do not exist. The attorneys admitted the citations came from unverified AI use: the plaintiff's out-of-state counsel, Kathleen M. Wilson, drafted her filing with an AI drafting program called 'First Drafts', and the City's out-of-state counsel, Kathryn Y. Williams, used an in-house AI legal research tool. Senior Judge Sharion Aycock stayed the case and cancelled the March 2026 trial, then on 8 June 2026 revoked both attorneys' pro hac vice admissions, barred them from the district for two years and fined them $2,500 and $3,500, and disqualified and fined the two local counsel who had signed the filings. Both litigants were left without counsel and given 60 days to find new representation.","incidentDate":"2025-11-05","incidentEndDate":"2026-06-08","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-06-08","aiSystem":"'First Drafts', an AI-powered legal drafting program (plaintiff's counsel), and an unnamed in-house AI legal research software product (City's counsel); underlying models not stated","aiProduct":"First Drafts and unidentified legal research tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","legal_harm","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Per the court's orders, two attorneys who filed AI-generated fabricated citations lost their pro hac vice admissions, were barred from the district for two years and fined $2,500 and $3,500; two local counsel who signed the filings were disqualified and fined $1,000 each; the case was stayed with its trial cancelled, and the plaintiff was left without counsel under threat of dismissal.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"established","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Sanctions Order (ECF 123). Participant users: Wilson and Williams, the two attorneys who used the AI tools and were sanctioned (2). Others harmed through their use: the two local counsel disqualified and fined (Ridgeway, McClinton) and the plaintiff, an individual whose case was stayed, whose trial was cancelled and who was left without counsel (3). The City of Aberdeen is an organisation and is not counted; no other person's harm is stated.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-MS","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181/gov.uscourts.msnd.50181.123.0_1.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Withers v. City of Aberdeen, No. 1:24-cv-218-SA-RP (N.D. Miss.), Sanctions Order, ECF 123, 8 June 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:31.680119+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:55.045067+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["work","justice","legal-profession","sanction","fabricated-citations","pro-hac-vice","own-use","mississippi"]},{"id":"2025-stephens-county-oklahoma-judge-chatgpt-fake-citations-paternity-order","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Wheeler denied a request from one of the parents' attorneys to have the other parent undergo a psychological test—and in his order denying the request, he pointed to multiple previous Oklahoma cases he said backed him up.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The 2025 order in a child paternity case'; 'He came under scrutiny after he reprimanded attorney [the attorney] last November in an order in the paternity case for asking for a psychological evaluation of the child’s father.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The issue came to light after a request for a mental evaluation was denied and a subsequent court order was filed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"In November 2025, in a child paternity and custody case, Judge Wheeler issued an order denying a request by one parent's attorney for a psychological evaluation of the other parent, citing Oklahoma cases he said supported the decision.","causal_attribution":"Court history as reported by The Oklahoman and KFOR and described by the mother; the order itself was not read."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The judge told the OSBI he only used ChatGPT for research and created the order himself, DA Jason Hicks wrote. The judge, however, also “indicated that at least two of the case citations included in his order and produced by ChatGPT do not exist.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Stephens County District Attorney Jason Hicks says Wheeler admitted to OSBI agents he cited \"at least two\" cases ChatGPT fed him that \"do not exist.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Hicks wrote that Wheeler acknowledged using case citations generated by ChatGPT and that at least two citations included in the order did not exist.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Associate District Judge Lawrence Wheeler used OpenAI's ChatGPT for research while drafting the order, which cited two cases that do not exist, according to state records.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"According to the district attorney's 17 August 2026 letter, the judge told the OSBI that he used ChatGPT for research and wrote the order himself, and indicated that at least two case citations in the order, produced by ChatGPT, do not exist.","causal_attribution":"The judge's own statement to investigators as relayed in the district attorney's letter; all four reports rely on that letter, which was not read. The judge's attorney declined to comment."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The judge issued the reprimand “for stooping to such frivolous trial tactics” and cautioned that future similar filings may be subject to further sanctions.'; '[The attorney] challenged the order at the Oklahoma Supreme Court in February. He told justices that Wheeler based his order on two cases, Cummings v. Cimarron Elevator Co. and Hawkins v. Linhart, that do not exist.'; '[The attorney] dismissed his challenge in March after Wheeler vacated the order. Wheeler is no longer involved in the paternity case.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'She said her attorney at the time challenged the ruling and began reviewing the legal authorities cited in the order.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The order reprimanded the attorney who had asked for a psychological evaluation of the child's father 'for stooping to such frivolous trial tactics' and warned of further sanctions; that attorney challenged it at the Oklahoma Supreme Court in February 2026, saying it relied on two nonexistent cases, and dismissed the challenge in March after Wheeler vacated the order. The mother told News 9 that her attorney at the time challenged the ruling.","causal_attribution":"The Oklahoman's account of the court filings and the mother's account to News 9; the Supreme Court filings were not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'[The mother] said learning the citations were allegedly fabricated was alarming because the order involved the custody of a child.'; '“Then it became very concerning to me that somebody would do something like that over a child custody case,” she said.'; '“He then turned around and decided to recuse himself from my case,” she said. “He called my attorney that I had at the time and apologized to him.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The mother told News 9 that learning the citations were allegedly fabricated was alarming because the order involved the custody of a child, and that the judge later recused himself from her case and apologised to her attorney.","causal_attribution":"The mother's first-person account in a broadcast interview."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The OSBI investigated the judge at the request of the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints.'; 'The OSBI also looked into allegations “that Judge Wheeler offered to amend the order in exchange for a dismissal of a writ seeking relief from the Oklahoma Supreme Court” and that he “eavesdropped on jury deliberations,” the DA disclosed in the letter.'; 'Prosecutors in the AG’s office “thoroughly reviewed the results of the investigation and determined the evidence does not support a criminal prosecution,” the AG’s press secretary, Leslie Berger, said on Sept. 2.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The Criminal Justice Division of the Attorney General’s Office thoroughly reviewed the results of the investigation and determined the evidence does not support a criminal prosecution. The Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Court on the Judiciary possess ultimate jurisdiction over disciplinary actions for allegations of inappropriate behavior by judges regardless of whether the behavior constitutes a violation of a criminal statute.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The OSBI investigated the judge at the request of the Council on Judicial Complaints, including allegations that he offered to amend the order in exchange for dismissal of the writ and that he eavesdropped on jury deliberations; the attorney general's office said the evidence did not support criminal prosecution and that judicial discipline rests with the Oklahoma Supreme Court and the Court on the Judiciary.","causal_attribution":"District attorney's letter and attorney general's statement as reported; no disciplinary finding has been made."}],"effects":[{"label":"an order in the mother's custody case that denied a request for a psychological evaluation cited nonexistent cases that the judge says ChatGPT produced","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the attorney who requested the evaluation was reprimanded in the order and sought relief from the Oklahoma Supreme Court before the order was vacated","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the mother describes learning of the fabricated citations in her child custody case as alarming","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://minnlawyer.com/2026/09/09/oklahoma-judge-ai-fabricated-case-citations/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Oklahoman's report (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect) as republished by Minnesota Lawyer; read in full from the Wayback capture of 10 September 2026 because the live page returned 403. Its ChatGPT-admission passages relay the district attorney's letter; its account of the reprimand, the Supreme Court challenge and the vacatur draws on court filings and the attorney.","independence_group":"oklahoman"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.aol.com/articles/oklahoma-judge-admitted-citing-fake-030000000.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"KFOR (Oklahoma City) report syndicated on AOL, read in full on 2026-09-29. Its account of the ChatGPT admission relays the same district attorney letter.","independence_group":"kfor"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.news9.com/oklahoma-city-news/stephens-county-mother-speaks-out-after-judge-accused-of-using-chatgpt-in-custody-case","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"News 9 (Griffin Media) interview with the mother, read in full on 2026-09-29. Its description of the ChatGPT admission also relays the district attorney's letter; the mother's own account is independent of it.","independence_group":"news9-mother"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://hoodline.com/2026/09/stephens-county-judge-faces-discipline-over-chatgpt-written-court-order/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Hoodline rewrite of the Reuters report, read in full on 2026-09-29. Reuters relays the same district attorney letter.","independence_group":"reuters"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["justice","relationships"],"unknowns":["The text of the order and whether the nonexistent citations were decisive for denying the evaluation and for the reprimand.","Whether any disciplinary proceeding follows from the Council on Judicial Complaints referral.","The current state of the custody case after the vacatur and the judge's departure from it.","The exact day in November 2025 on which the order was issued."],"geography":{"basis":"The order was issued in Stephens County District Court, Oklahoma, and challenged at the Oklahoma Supreme Court (The Oklahoman; KFOR). News 9 reports from Stephens County and describes the mother's case as handled there; her residence is not stated beyond that.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a concrete case in which a judge's use of ChatGPT for research put nonexistent case citations into an order that denied a parent's request and reprimanded the requesting attorney in a child custody case. The ChatGPT admission rests on the district attorney's letter as relayed by several outlets, which was not read; the order and the Supreme Court filings were not read. The mother and the attorney are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"According to the district attorney's 17 August 2026 letter, as reported by The Oklahoman, KFOR and News 9, the judge told the OSBI that he used ChatGPT for research and that at least two citations in his order, produced by ChatGPT, do not exist. ChatGPT communicated only with the judge; the mother and the reprimanded attorney were affected through the order he issued. The letter itself was not read.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Stephens County, Oklahoma: according to the district attorney, Judge Lawrence Wheeler told state investigators that a November 2025 order in a paternity and custody case, which denied a parent's request for a psychological evaluation and reprimanded that parent's attorney, cited at least two nonexistent cases produced by ChatGPT; the order was vacated after the attorney challenged it","summary":"In November 2025 Stephens County Associate District Judge Lawrence Wheeler issued an order in a child paternity and custody case that denied one parent's request for a psychological evaluation of the other parent and reprimanded the requesting parent's attorney 'for stooping to such frivolous trial tactics'. The attorney challenged the order at the Oklahoma Supreme Court in February 2026, telling the justices that it relied on two cases that do not exist; the challenge was dismissed in March after Wheeler vacated the order, and he is no longer on the case. According to a 17 August 2026 letter from the Stephens County district attorney, Wheeler told the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation that he used ChatGPT for research and wrote the order himself, and that at least two citations in it produced by ChatGPT do not exist. The mother in the case told News 9 that learning the order's citations were allegedly fabricated was alarming because it concerned the custody of a child. The attorney general's office declined criminal prosecution; judicial discipline remains possible.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-09","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI), used by the judge for legal research while preparing the order","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm","professional_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A court order in a child custody case, which the judge has acknowledged to investigators contained at least two nonexistent ChatGPT-produced citations, denied a request for a psychological evaluation of the child's father and formally reprimanded the requesting attorney; the attorney had to seek relief from the Oklahoma Supreme Court before the order was vacated (per the district attorney's letter and The Oklahoman; the judge's attorney declined to comment).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people affected through the judge's use of ChatGPT: the mother, whose request for a psychological evaluation was denied by the order and who describes the discovery as alarming (News 9), and the attorney who requested the evaluation and was reprimanded in the order and challenged it at the Oklahoma Supreme Court (The Oklahoman). The child and the other parent are not counted because no harm to them is reported. The judge, the AI user, is not counted: he faces a possible disciplinary process but no sanction has been reported and the complaint bundled other allegations.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-OK","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://minnlawyer.com/2026/09/09/oklahoma-judge-ai-fabricated-case-citations/","primarySourceLabel":"The Oklahoman (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect), republished by Minnesota Lawyer, 9 September 2026: Oklahoma judge used AI on order that cited cases that don't exist","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T09:10:18.787549+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:16.712062+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["justice","family-court","judge","fabricated-citations","chatgpt","institutional-use","oklahoma"]},{"id":"2026-seoul-lab-colleagues-deepfake-sentence","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraphs 1-2: 서울북부지법 형사5단독 권소영 판사, 10일, 징역 1년6개월; 40시간 성폭력 치료 프로그램 이수; 취업제한 5년; 중국 국적 A(30)씨.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Paragraphs 1-3: 징역 1년 6개월; 40시간 치료프로그램; 5년간 취업제한; 중국 국적 대학원생 (30).","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Opening paragraphs report the same 18-month sentence and associated orders but date sentencing to 9 September. That date contradicts the 10 September date reported by Newsis and News1; this source does not corroborate the exact date.","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 10 September 2026 the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced a 30-year-old Chinese national doctoral student to 18 months in prison under the Sexual Violence Punishment Act for habitually producing manipulated sexual images of seven women from his university research laboratory, and ordered a 40-hour treatment programme and a five-year employment restriction at institutions for children, adolescents and people with disabilities.","causal_attribution":"Court judgment as reported by Newsis, News1 via Dong-A and The Korea Herald via The Straits Times; the written judgment was not inspected. The Korean accounts give 10 September while the Korea Herald copy gives 9 September. The record follows the two Korean accounts and retains the unresolved date discrepancy."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraphs 5-8: 지난해 11월부터 약 6개월간; 1141개; 개인 노트북에 보관; 유포됐다고 확실히 볼 만한 정황은 없다.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Paragraphs 5-6 and 8: 1141건; 유포됐다고 볼 만한 사정은 없는 점.","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Paragraph 4: 1,141 files; paragraph 9: no evidence the content had been distributed.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Investigators found 1,141 manipulated images and videos on his computer, produced over about six months from November 2025 using the victims' facial photographs; the court found no evidence the material had been distributed.","causal_attribution":"Findings of the court as reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 8: 생성형 인공지능(AI) '그록'의 안전장치를 우회하는 방법을 검색한 기록도 확인됐다.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Paragraph 5: 'Investigators also found that he had searched for ways to bypass safeguards built into Grok, a generative AI chatbot.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Investigators also found records of searches for ways to bypass the safeguards of the generative AI Grok.","causal_attribution":"Reported from the investigation; the reporting does not state which tool generated the images."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraph 12: 'a lawyer representing five of the victims asked the court to impose a harsh sentence, saying they continued to suffer from fear, trauma and emotional distress'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A lawyer representing five of the victims told the court they continued to suffer fear, trauma and emotional distress.","causal_attribution":"Victims' representative's statement as reported by The Korea Herald."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Paragraphs 4 and 9-10: 각 700만원 형사 공탁, 수령 거부; 검찰 징역 3년 구형, 신상정보 공개·고지 요청.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Paragraphs 6-7 and 9: 700만원씩 공탁, 수령 거부; 신상정보 공개·고지 명령 면제; 검찰 징역 3년 구형.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Paragraphs 7 and 10-11.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The defendant deposited 7 million won per victim with the court; the victims refused to accept it. Prosecutors had sought three years and public disclosure of his identity, which the court declined.","causal_attribution":"Procedural facts as reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"nonconsensual_sexualized_imagery","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"psychological_distress","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260910_0003784048","kind":"news_report_court","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Model read the Korean original retained on 2026-09-15; no independent bilingual human review.","independence_group":"newsis"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.donga.com/news/Society/article/all/20260910/134641563/1","kind":"news_agency_report_syndicated_court","access":"read","language":"ko","translation_note":"Model read the Korean original retained on 2026-09-15; no independent bilingual human review. This Dong-A page is a News1 wire report, explicitly credited at the article’s beginning and end.","independence_group":"news1"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/chinese-student-sentenced-to-18-months-jail-in-s-korea-for-creating-1100-deepfakes-of-colleagues","kind":"news_report_syndicated","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Korea Herald report carried by The Straits Times (Asia News Network); read in English on 2026-09-15.","independence_group":"korea-herald"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Which tool or service generated the images is not stated; the Grok safeguard-bypass searches are the only named system.","Whether either side appealed the first-instance sentence is not known.","The victims' ages are not reported; the university is not named here.","The written judgment was not inspected.","Exact event start day and end date are not reported; the sources describe about six months from November 2025.","Sentencing date differs across inspected reports: Newsis and News1 say 10 September 2026; the Korea Herald copy says 9 September. The written judgment was not inspected to resolve this."],"geography":{"basis":"Event and affected persons: the women and defendant worked or studied in the same university research laboratory in Seoul (Newsis; News1 via Dong-A). Court: Seoul Northern District Court. Newsis and News1 date the sentence to 10 September 2026; the Korea Herald copy gives 9 September.","court_countries":["KR"],"event_countries":["KR"],"affected_person_countries":["KR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published after source, duplicate and sensitivity review under the 2026-09-15 charter: a first-instance criminal judgment reported by two Korean outlets and The Korea Herald. Neither the defendant nor the victims are named; no image content is described beyond the court's characterisation.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The court convicted the defendant of habitually editing and compositing the victims' faces into sexual images; Dong-A Ilbo and The Korea Herald report that investigators found search records for ways to bypass the safeguards of the generative AI Grok. The tool that produced the images is not named in the inspected reporting.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Seoul: doctoral student sentenced to 18 months for 1,141 AI-manipulated sexual images of seven laboratory colleagues","summary":"On 10 September 2026 the Seoul Northern District Court sentenced a 30-year-old Chinese national doctoral student to 18 months in prison for habitually producing manipulated sexual images of seven women who worked in his university research laboratory. Investigators found 1,141 files made over about six months from November 2025, and search records for ways to bypass the safeguards of the generative AI Grok; the court found no evidence of distribution. A lawyer for five of the victims said they continued to suffer fear, trauma and distress. Prosecutors had sought three years and public disclosure of his identity, which the court declined.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-10","aiSystem":"Generative AI image tools (unspecified; investigators found searches for bypassing Grok's safeguards)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Seven women had their faces composited into sexual images and videos without consent; a lawyer for five of them told the court they continued to suffer fear, trauma and emotional distress.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":7,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The court identified seven victims, members of the same research laboratory (Newsis; Dong-A; Korea Herald). The defendant is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.newsis.com/view/NISX20260910_0003784048","primarySourceLabel":"뉴시스 (Newsis), 10 September 2026: \"'동료 여성 딥페이크 1141개 제작' 중국인 유학생, 징역 1년6개월\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-15T03:23:43.390259+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:52.80899+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","south-korea","non-consensual-imagery","university","criminal-charges","grok"]},{"id":"2026-ahmedabad-ai-morphed-images","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'for allegedly creating multiple fake social media accounts and uploading AI-generated morphed obscene images and videos of an Ahmedabad woman and her mother after she rejected his friendship request, according to a statement issued by the cybercrime police'; 'between Dec 2025 and April 2026'; 'forensic examination of the accused’s phone revealed the existence of eight to ten fake social media accounts created in the complainant’s name'; 'generated more than 100 AI-morphed images of the victim using various online tools and websites'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'created at least three separate fake Instagram IDs and a YouTube channel in her name and uploaded obscene morphed photos of herself and her mother'; 'He then searched “AI Remove Clothes” on Google and uploaded these photographs on various websites. Using AI tools, he created morphed nude photographs and nude videos and uploaded them on these fake IDs. He also wrote obscene text and mentally harassed the complainant.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'uploaded over 100 AI-generated nude photos and videos of her and her mother on social media platforms and YouTube channels'; 'He searched for AI Remove Clothes tools on Google and used different websites to create morphed nude images and videos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'In total, he created over a hundred fake videos and images related to the victim, and within those six months, he created 8 to 10 fake social media accounts impersonating the complainant.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'Eight to 10 more fake social media accounts in the complainant's name were found on his mobile phone. Investigation revealed that the accused had created over 100 AI-morphed pornographic images'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Between December 2025 and April 2026 the accused, after the woman declined his friendship, created fake accounts in her name (initially three Instagram accounts and a YouTube channel; eight to ten found across X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube on forensic examination of his phone), downloaded photographs of her and her mother, used \"AI remove clothes\" websites to produce morphed obscene images and videos of the two women, and posted them on the fake accounts with obscene captions; police say more than 100 AI-morphed images of the complainant were found (India Today and ANI put the figure as over 100 photos and videos of her and her mother).","causal_attribution":"Police allegations from the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch (written statement, DCP briefing, ACP interview, officer quoted by ThePrint); the accused has not been tried."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Based on the complaint, the person was booked in an FIR on April 6.'; 'A month-and-a-half later, the team apprehended'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'registered under Sections 78(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 67 of the Information Technology Act'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'was arrested by the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch after investigators tracked him through technical surveillance and human intelligence inputs'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'tracked him down in Delhi and arrested him on Wednesday under its new initiative, Mission Cyber Rakshika'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'A police team subsequently travelled to Delhi and arrested him there.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The woman complained to the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station; an FIR was registered on 6 April 2026 under Sections 78(2) and 356(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 67 of the Information Technology Act; police traced the accused through technical surveillance and human intelligence and arrested him at his home in north-east Delhi (announced 28 May 2026, the arrest reported as the previous day) under the Branch's \"Mission Cyber Rakshika\" initiative.","causal_attribution":"Police statements; the FIR date is reported by the Indian Express only."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He told her that he would ensure he reports these accounts, so nobody troubles her. He was just manipulating her, and trying to gain her sympathy,” said an officer probing the matter.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'After doing this, he would contact the victim, assuring her that he would get her account reinstated. This went on for a total of five to six months'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The woman had confided in the accused about the fake accounts; police say he told her to keep quiet, claimed he was reporting the accounts and would get them removed, and manipulated her for sympathy for five to six months before the complaint.","causal_attribution":"Police officers quoted by ThePrint and the DCP quoted by ANI."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The woman claimed she was “mentally harassed and defamed in the society, since her nude photographs and videos morphed with AI, with obscene texts written over it, are being shared online (sic),” a senior police officer from Ahmedabad Crime Branch’s Cyber Crime unit told ThePrint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'Police said the posts caused deep mental trauma and public humiliation for both the woman and her mother.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The complainant told police she was mentally harassed and defamed in society by the morphed images; police said the posts caused deep mental trauma and public humiliation for her and her mother.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's account as relayed by police; no independent impact evidence."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He also utilised AI to generate videos and explicit images, not only of the victim but also of her mother and maternal aunt, and posted them on these accounts'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'uploaded obscene morphed photos of herself and her mother'","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The DCP said the AI images also depicted the woman's maternal aunt; the written police statement and the other reports mention only the woman and her mother.","causal_attribution":"DCP briefing to ANI only."}],"effects":[{"label":"AI-morphed obscene images and videos of a woman and her mother (more than 100 images found) posted for months on fake accounts impersonating the woman","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the complainant reported mental harassment and defamation; police said both women suffered trauma and public humiliation","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/delhi-man-posts-100-obscene-ai-created-photos-of-ahmedabad-woman/articleshow/131377083.cms","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Times of India, Ahmedabad, TNN, 29 May 2026 edition, live). Reports the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch statement.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/ahmedabad/delhi-man-ai-morph-pictures-videos-gujarat-woman-social-media-10712944/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Indian Express Ahmedabad, 28 May 2026; quotes the Cyber Crime Branch statement verbatim and gives the FIR date.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.etvbharat.com/en/state/gujarat-cyber-crime-branch-arrests-man-for-uploading-obscene-photos-videos-of-woman-and-her-mother-on-social-media-enn26052806767","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (ETV Bharat, 28 May 2026, live). Same statement, with the investigating inspector quoted.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://english.gujaratsamachar.com/news/gujarat/over-100-ai-morphed-photos-fake-idsdelhi-man-held-for-online-harassment-of-ahmedabad-woman-mother-32482827453","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Gujarat Samachar English, 28 May 2026, live). IANS wire text of the same statement, also carried by The Statesman, Asia News Network, Mangalorean and others.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/delhi-priest-creates-nudes-of-woman-using-ai-after-she-refuses-to-be-friends-on-instagram-11558612","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). NDTV, 28 May 2026, citing IANS; gives the arrest day.","independence_group":"cyber-crime-branch-statement"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/ai-generated-nude-photos-delhi-man-held-ahmedabad-influencer-mother-2918567-2026-05-28","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (India Today, bylined, 28 May 2026, live). Quotes the Cyber Crime Branch ACP directly.","independence_group":"india-today-acp"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/ahmedabad-police-under-mission-cyber-rakshika-arrests-27-year-old-delhi-based-religious-preacher-for-creating-fake-profile-of-gujarat-woman20260529083631/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (ANI, 29 May 2026, live). On-camera briefing by the Ahmedabad DCP; copied by Asianet Newsable.","independence_group":"ani-dcp-briefing"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://theprint.in/india/gujarat-womans-spiritual-friend-turns-stalker-held-for-posting-her-morphed-photos-online-for-months/2944720/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture of 1 June 2026 (live page answers a JavaScript challenge). ThePrint, bylined, 29 May 2026; quotes a senior Cyber Crime officer and investigators.","independence_group":"theprint-officer"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["relationships","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["The AI websites or tools used are not named.","The complainant's age: 24 (Indian Express) or 21 (ThePrint).","Whether the maternal aunt was depicted (DCP briefing to ANI only).","Whether the more-than-100 figure counts images only (police statement) or images and videos (India Today, ANI).","Any charge sheet, bail decision or trial outcome; nothing later than 1 June 2026 was found.","How far the material spread and whether the platforms removed it."],"geography":{"basis":"Complainant in Ahmedabad, Gujarat; FIR at the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Police Station; accused arrested in north-east Delhi (all sources). No court proceeding is reported in the inspected sources.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact and impersonation case with identified (unnamed) depicted victims, a registered FIR and an arrest. Four police briefings read across separate outlets, all originating with the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch; claims recorded as reported. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; incident dates corrected to the harassment period.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Cyber Crime Branch statement says the accused searched \"AI Remove Clothes\", uploaded the photographs to such websites and produced morphed images and videos with AI tools; police say forensic examination of his phone found more than 100 AI-morphed images. The specific tools are not named and the finding is a police allegation pending trial. The artifacts depicted the women and the fake accounts impersonated the complainant; no AI system interacted with them.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Ahmedabad, Gujarat: a 27-year-old Delhi man was arrested for posting AI-morphed obscene images and videos of a young woman and her mother (more than 100 images found) on fake accounts in her name after she declined his friendship, while posing as the friend reporting the fake accounts for her","summary":"On 28 May 2026 the Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch announced the arrest in north-east Delhi of a 27-year-old man who posts religious discourse videos online. Police allege that after meeting a young Ahmedabad woman with a public social-media profile through religious conversations on Instagram and being refused friendship, he stalked her online from December 2025 to April 2026, created fake accounts in her name (three Instagram accounts and a YouTube channel at first; eight to ten across X, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube were found on his phone), downloaded photographs of her and her mother, used websites found by searching \"AI remove clothes\" to generate morphed obscene images and videos of the two women, and posted them with obscene captions to damage her reputation; investigators say more than 100 AI-morphed images of the complainant were found. Officers told ThePrint and ANI that she had confided in him about the accounts and that he told her to keep quiet and claimed to be reporting the accounts and getting hers reinstated. She complained to the Cyber Crime Police Station; an FIR was registered on 6 April 2026 under BNS Sections 78(2) and 356(2) and IT Act Sections 66(C) and 67, and the accused was traced through technical surveillance and arrested under the Branch's \"Mission Cyber Rakshika\" campaign. The complainant said she was mentally harassed and defamed; the DCP said the images also depicted her maternal aunt. Further investigation was under way; no charge sheet or court outcome was found.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-04-06","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-05-28","aiSystem":"Web-based AI \"remove clothes\" image-manipulation tools found via Google search (not named); used to morph photographs into obscene images and videos","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A young woman and her mother were depicted in AI-morphed obscene images and videos (more than 100 images found by police) posted for months on fake accounts impersonating the woman; she told police she was mentally harassed and defamed, and police said both women suffered trauma and public humiliation. The accused was arrested and booked; the case is pending.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Two depicted people are reported in every chain: the complainant (also impersonated) and her mother. The DCP told ANI that a maternal aunt was also depicted, which no other source repeats, so the count is a documented minimum of 2. The accused is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/delhi-man-posts-100-obscene-ai-created-photos-of-ahmedabad-woman/articleshow/131377083.cms","primarySourceLabel":"The Times of India (Ahmedabad), 29 May 2026: Delhi man creates fake accounts and uploads 100 obscene AI-generated photos of Ahmedabad woman (Cyber Crime Branch statement)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-06-15T07:52:26.434751+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:23.789885+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-undressing","ncii","impersonation","stalking","harassment","india","gujarat","ahmedabad","arrest","depicted"]},{"id":"2025-heacock-ai-sextortion-death","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Local teenager Eli Heacock died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound last month'; 'he took his life on Feb 28'; 'at 11:30 p.m. on that Thursday night, Eli's twin sister found him'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'He died by suicide shortly after receiving the message, CBS affiliate KFDA reported'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'After their 16-year-old son died by suicide, a Kentucky family is pushing for stronger sextortion laws'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Elijah Heacock died Feb. 28 at a local hospital, WBKO-TV reported'; 'the Barren County Sheriff's Office responded to the hospital on Feb. 27'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Elijah Heacock, 16, a Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025 after being found injured at home on the night of 27 February.","causal_attribution":"The death is reported independently by WKMS (own reporting) and CBS (citing KFDA), with Spectrum and the WBKO/ABC relay consistent; the 27/28 February dates come from WKMS and NewsNation."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'During a search of Eli's phone, AI-generated images used to extort the young man were discovered. The offender created the images, some sexually explicit, and sent them to Eli. They then threatened to release the pictures unless Eli sent them $3,000.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'when Elijah received a threatening text with an A.I.-generated nude photo of himself demanding he pay $3,000 to keep it from being sent to friends and family, everything changed'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'a perpetrator threatened him, saying he needed to send $3,000 or they would release sexually explicit images of him'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'fake, AI-generated nude images'; 'Though the photos were not real, it's unclear whether Elijah Heacock knew they were AI-generated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Investigators found on his phone AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, sent by an anonymous extortionist who threatened to release them unless he paid $3,000.","causal_attribution":"WKMS attributes the AI-generated finding to investigators' search of the phone; CBS's account rests on the parents' interview. Whether he knew the images were fake is unknown (NewsNation)."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'His parents told Spectrum News 1 that Heacock sent $50, but did not have enough to cover the rest.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Shannon Heacock said she found texts indicating that her son had sent some money to the scammer, to which the scammer replied, \"This is not enough,\" she told ABC News.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Best friend: 'The last message I got from him was, \"I love you so much\"' after Eli asked to borrow money that night.","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"He sent a partial payment of $50 and the extortionist replied that it was 'not enough'.","causal_attribution":"Both accounts are the parents' descriptions of the messages on his phone, given to two separate outlets; the $50 figure appears only in Spectrum."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The FBI continues to investigate. The family hopes the exploiter will be caught and charged with murder.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'a sheriff's detective reviewed Elijah Heacock's phone and escalated the case to the FBI'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating; no arrest has been reported.","causal_attribution":"Investigation status as of the inspected reports (March and June 2025); nothing later was inspected."},{"id":"c5","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill into law this month, making sextortion a felony. It also mandates education about sextortion in schools and in law enforcement agencies.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'state lawmakers passed a bill that establishes sexual extortion as a felony, and mandates training about the topic at schools and law enforcement agencies. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Kentucky, signed it into law.'; Rep. Guthrie on the Take It Down Act","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The recently-passed \"Take It Down\" Act... makes it a federal crime to post real and fake sexually explicit images'; 'They said they hope the \"Take It Down\" Act will make a difference.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Kentucky's governor signed a law in March 2025 making sexual extortion a felony and mandating education in schools and law-enforcement agencies; the parents publicly supported the federal Take It Down Act, signed in May 2025.","causal_attribution":"Legislative context reported by three outlets; the Kentucky law is described, not inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"a 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and died by suicide","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion","kind":"public_radio_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-03-24; WKU Public Radio, Lisa Autry); own interviews with his mother, father and best friend; quotes the KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander.","independence_group":"wkms"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sextortion-generative-ai-scam-elijah-heacock-take-it-down-act/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 28 December 2025 (datePublished 2025-05-31; CBS Saturday Morning interview with the parents); the live URL answers HTTP 406 to this box. The article attributes the death report to CBS affiliate KFDA and the advocacy to WLKY.","independence_group":"cbs"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://spectrumnews1.com/ky/louisville/news/2025/04/10/sextortion-kentucky-elijah-heacock","kind":"local_tv_news","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (datePublished 2025-04-10; Glasgow, Ky. dateline; the parents' own statements to Spectrum News 1).","independence_group":"spectrum"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/teen-suicide-ai-images/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 from the Internet Archive capture of 26 November 2025 (datePublished 2025-06-11); the live URL answers HTTP 403. NewsNation relays WBKO-TV and ABC News interviews with the parents, so it is grouped with those originals rather than counted as independent.","independence_group":"wbko-abc"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","privacy"],"unknowns":["The tool used to generate the images and the identity or location of the extortionist are not reported; no arrest has been reported in the inspected sources.","Whether he knew the images were AI-generated is unclear (NewsNation).","When the extortion messages began is not reported; the record uses the night of 27 February (when his friend received his last messages and the sheriff reviewed the phone) and the 28 February death date.","The earliest local report (WBKO-TV, cited by NewsNation) was not inspected: its URL answers HTTP 404; the reported_date uses the earliest inspected report (WKMS, 24 March 2025).","The CBS article's cited affiliate reports (KFDA, WLKY) were not inspected.","Investigation status after June 2025 was not researched in this review."],"geography":{"basis":"Event and residence: Barren County (Glasgow area), Kentucky, per WKMS ('In southern Kentucky, the Barren County community') and Spectrum's Glasgow, Ky. dateline. No court proceeding is reported; the extortionist has not been identified.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a reported death: AI-generated sexual images of a minor were used to extort him and he died by suicide. The death and the AI connection are each carried by two independent inspected chains (WKMS own reporting and CBS), meeting the additional death rule; causation rests on investigators and the family, recorded as supported, not established. He is named because his parents campaign publicly in his name; the method of death is not described here.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"WKMS reports that investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images used to extort him, and quotes the Kentucky State Police Electronic Crime Branch commander on AI-generated exploitation; CBS separately describes the extortion message as carrying an AI-generated nude photo of him. The generation tool is not identified in any inspected source.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Kentucky: Elijah Heacock, 16, died by suicide after a sextortion demand backed by AI-generated nude images of him","summary":"Elijah Heacock, a 16-year-old Caverna High School student in Barren County, Kentucky, died by suicide on 28 February 2025. Investigators searching his phone found AI-generated images of him, some sexually explicit, that an anonymous extortionist had sent with a demand for $3,000 and a threat to share them with his family and friends; his parents say he sent a small partial payment and was told it was 'not enough'. The Barren County Sheriff's Office escalated the case to the FBI, which was still investigating in the inspected reports; no arrest has been reported. His parents have campaigned publicly, Kentucky made sextortion a felony in March 2025, and the family supported the federal Take It Down Act.","incidentDate":"2025-02-27","incidentEndDate":"2025-02-28","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-03-24","aiSystem":"AI image-generation or manipulation tools (unspecified; investigators described the extortion images as AI-generated)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death","exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A 16-year-old was extorted with AI-generated sexual images of himself and a $3,000 demand, and died by suicide the same night his best friend received his last message; investigators and his parents connect the death to the sextortion.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, Elijah Heacock, was depicted in the AI-generated images and died; his family members are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.wkms.org/health/2025-03-24/suicide-of-ky-teen-investigated-as-financial-sextortion","primarySourceLabel":"WKMS / WKU Public Radio, 24 March 2025: investigators found AI-generated images used to extort him; KSP Electronic Crime Branch commander quoted","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-09T05:43:08.739008+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:04.61944+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["sextortion","deepfake","minor","kentucky","suicide","depicted-or-impersonated","take-it-down-act"]},{"id":"2025-west-bengal-teen-deepfake-suicide","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'A class 10 student was found hanging from the ceiling of her room in Sonarpur in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district'; 'where doctors declared her brought dead on Thursday night, a police officer said'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'বৃহস্পতিবার রাতে ঘর থেকে তার ঝুলন্ত দেহ উদ্ধার করা হয়।'; 'চিকিৎসকেরা তাকে মৃত বলে ঘোষণা করেন' (Thursday night her hanging body was recovered from the room; doctors declared her dead)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'On Thursday night, her body was found hanging in her room.'; 'she was rushed to hospital where doctors declared her dead'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'শুক্রবার সকালে ঘর থেকে ওই কিশোরীর ঝুলন্ত দেহ উদ্ধার হয়'; 'সোনারপুর থানা এলাকা থেকে আজ সকালে এক মাধ্যমিক পরীক্ষার্থী ছাত্রীর মামার বাড়ি থেকে ঝুলন্ত দেহ পাওয়া গিয়েছে' (ETV: the body was recovered on Friday morning; the Baruipur SDPO is quoted that a Madhyamik candidate's hanging body was found \"this morning\" at her maternal uncle's house in the Sonarpur police-station area)","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A Class 10 student, a minor preparing for the 2026 Madhyamik examination, was found hanging at the relative's home where she lived in the Sonarpur police-station area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, on the night of Thursday 27 November 2025 and was declared dead at hospital; one report and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted statement place the discovery on the Friday morning.","causal_attribution":"Death confirmed by a police officer to PTI, by the Baruipur SDPO on the record to ETV Bharat, and by local reporting (Anandabazar, Dainik Bhaskar). Timing of discovery differs between reports."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'\"We have received a complaint alleging that a married man from the locality has been harassing her,\" he said.'; 'Her family members, in the complaint, alleged that the man had collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images, which were then shared online.'; 'The family also accused members of the man's family of participating in the harassment.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'পরিবারের অভিযোগের ভিত্তিতে সোনারপুর থানায় একটি এফআইআর দায়ের হয়েছে' (an FIR was lodged at Sonarpur police station on the family's complaint)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'তার কিছু ছবি সংগ্রহ করে এআই-এর সাহায্যে তা নগ্ন করে দেওয়া হয়। তার পর তা একাধিক সমাজমাধ্যম প্লাটফর্মে ছড়িয়ে দেওয়া হয়।'; 'অভিযোগ, তাঁর স্ত্রী, মা এবং আরও কয়েক জন কিশোরীকে হেনস্থা করেছেন।' (some of her photos were collected and made nude with AI, then spread on several social-media platforms; the family alleges his wife, mother and others harassed her)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'Her family alleges that a local, married youth had been tormenting her for months. They claim he collected personal photos and used artificial intelligence to generate nude images, which were later made viral online.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'তাঁর মেয়ের ছবি নিয়ে AI দিয়ে নগ্ন ছবি বানায়। তারপর সেই ছবি ভাইরাল করে বলে অভিযোগ।' (the mother: he took her daughter's photos, made nude images with AI and made them viral)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"Her family's complaint to Sonarpur police alleges that a married man from the locality had been harassing her for months, collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images of her, which were then shared on social media, and that members of his family took part in the harassment; police registered an FIR on the complaint.","causal_attribution":"The AI connection rests on the family's allegation, relayed by police to PTI and stated by the mother and aunt to Bengali outlets; no police or forensic confirmation that the images were AI-generated was published."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Preliminary reports suggest the teenager may have taken her own life due to prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse, the police officer added.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'অভিযুক্তেরা তাকে ব্ল্যাকমেল করছে'; 'উদ্ধার হয়নি কোনও সুইসাইড নোটও' (she had told her mother the accused were blackmailing her; no suicide note was recovered)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'পুলিশ সূত্রে জানান হয়েছে এখনও কোনও সুইসাইড নোট উদ্ধার হয়নি।' (police sources: no suicide note recovered so far)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"},{"locator":"'বিষয়টি জানতে পারার পর থেকেই মানসিক অবসাদে ভুগছিল সে। স্কুলে যেতে চাইত না ওই ছাত্রী।' (the family: since learning of it she had been depressed and did not want to go to school)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'Relatives said the student had become increasingly withdrawn, rarely speaking to anyone at home and often remaining visibly distressed.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Police said preliminary reports suggest the teenager may have taken her own life because of prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse; relatives said she had become withdrawn, would not go to school and had told her mother she was being blackmailed; no suicide note was found.","causal_attribution":"Police preliminary view as relayed by PTI; family accounts to Anandabazar and Dainik Bhaskar. Causation is not established."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'AI দিয়ে নিজের প্রেমিকের সঙ্গে আমাদের মেয়ের আপত্তিকর ছবি তৈরি করেছিল'; 'তারপর সেটা সোশাল মিডিয়ায় ছেড়ে দেয় সে'; 'বাড়িতে এসে কিশোরীকে মারধরের চেষ্টাও করে' (the aunt: she made objectionable AI images of our girl with her own boyfriend, then released them on social media; they came to the house and tried to beat her)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'অভিযুক্তের অন্য এক প্রেমিকা ওই ছবি সোশ্যাল মিডিয়ায় ছড়িয়ে দেয় বলেও অভিযোগ তুলেছে পরিবার' (the family also allege that another woman, the accused's girlfriend, spread the images on social media)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"},{"locator":"'পরিবারের দাবি, ওই যুবকের এক প্রেমিকা ছবিগুলি ছড়িয়ে দেওয়ার সঙ্গে যুক্ত।' (the family claim a girlfriend of the man was involved in spreading the images)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"}],"assertion":"Bengali-language reports quoting the family say a woman described as the accused man's girlfriend circulated the images, and in ETV Bharat's account the aunt says the girlfriend made the AI images (depicting the girl with the man) about a week before the death and posted them; the family also say the girlfriend and her friends came to the house and tried to assault the girl.","causal_attribution":"Family statements to Bengali outlets; the accounts differ on who produced the images and are not confirmed by police."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'An investigation has been initiated, and officers are examining digital evidence and questioning those named in the complaint.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'পুলিশ সূত্রে জানা গিয়েছে, অভিযুক্তের খোঁজে তল্লাশি শুরু হয়েছে এবং ছাত্রীর ফোন ও সোশ্যাল মিডিয়া অ্যাকাউন্ট খতিয়ে দেখা হচ্ছে।' (police sources: a search for the accused has begun and the girl's phone and social-media accounts are being examined)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"},{"locator":"'এখনও পর্যন্ত কারও বিরুদ্ধে পদক্ষেপ করা হয়নি' (no action had yet been taken against anyone)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'অভিযুক্তদের খোঁজে তল্লাশিও চালানো হচ্ছে।' (a search for the accused is under way)","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"}],"assertion":"Police said an investigation had begun, that digital evidence was being examined and those named in the complaint questioned, and that officers were searching for the accused and examining the girl's phone and social-media accounts; no arrest was reported in the inspected sources.","causal_attribution":"Police statements as reported on 28 November 2025; no later development was found."}],"effects":[{"label":"a minor died by hanging after AI-generated nude images of her were reportedly circulated on social media during months of harassment","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"non-consensual AI nude images of a minor circulated locally; withdrawal, humiliation and reported blackmail before her death","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/bengal-teen-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-1920296","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Deccan Chronicle, Kolkata dateline, 28 November 2025, live). PTI wire copy quoting a police officer and the family complaint; identical text runs in Deccan Herald, NDTV, News18, Telegraph India, Jagran and India.com.","independence_group":"pti"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/class-10-student-dies-by-suicide-in-bengals-sonarpur-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated/cid/2135262","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (the live page answers 403). Same PTI text as s1 with one added closing line on the investigation.","independence_group":"pti"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.news18.com/india/bengal-student-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-ws-l-9738120.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Carries the PTI credit (\"With inputs from PTI\") that establishes the wire chain for s1 and s2.","independence_group":"pti"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.etvbharat.com/bn/state/girl-hanging-body-recovered-after-her-ai-made-obscene-photos-viral-on-social-media-west-bengal-news-wbs25112802025","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (ETV Bharat Bengali, Sonarpur dateline, 28 November 2025, live). Own reporting: quotes the Baruipur SDPO and the girl's maternal aunt. Translated by the reviewer; the aunt's and SDPO's words are paraphrased in English in the locators.","independence_group":"etv-bharat"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.anandabazar.com/west-bengal/24-parganas/madhyamik-examinee-dies-in-sonarpur-south-24-parganas-dgtld/cid/1650636","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403; the page is partly paywalled but the article text was present in the capture). Own reporting from local sources and the family. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"anandabazar"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.bhaskarenglish.in/local/west-bengal/news/ai-misuse-nude-images-student-humiliation-suicide-sonarpur-investigation-family-demands-strict-punishment-136533320.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (Dainik Bhaskar English, South 24 Parganas byline, 28 November 2025, live). Own reporting citing local and police sources.","independence_group":"dainik-bhaskar"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://zeenews.india.com/bengali/state/sonarpur-incident-madhyamik-candidate-girl-ends-her-life-after-her-ai-driven-fake-photos-goes-viral-by-lover_626454.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Zee 24 Ghanta, bylined, 28 November 2025; quotes the mother. Its text is shared nearly verbatim by Asianet News Bangla (29 November) and overlaps Kolkata TV, so these are grouped as one chain. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"bengali-tv"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://kolkatatvonline.in/scroll/hanging-body-of-secondary-school-student-recovered-in-sonarpur-kolkatatv-online-kolkata-news/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (Kolkata TV, 28 November 2025, live). Earliest inspected report (12:10 IST). Grouped with s7. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"bengali-tv"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://bangla.asianetnews.com/west-bengal/west-bengal-news/photo-of-sonarpur-student-nude-with-ai-goes-viral-commits-suicide-out-of-shame/photoshow-d9atrbt","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 (Asianet News Bangla photo story, 28 November 2025, live). Grouped with s7. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"bengali-tv"},{"id":"s10","url":"https://bengali.indianexpress.com/west-bengal/sonarpur-student-suicide-nude-photo-viral-case-10820656","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"bn","translation_note":"Read in Bengali on 2026-09-19 from a Wayback Machine capture (live page 403). Indian Express Bangla, bylined, 28 November 2025; own reporting citing the family and police sources. Translated by the reviewer.","independence_group":"ie-bengali"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["Whether the images were in fact AI-generated has not been confirmed by police or forensics; it is the family's allegation.","Who produced the images: the family's complaint and the mother name the married man; ETV Bharat quotes the aunt saying his girlfriend made them (depicting the girl with the man). Several reports say the girlfriend circulated them.","When she was found: most reports say Thursday night 27 November 2025; ETV Bharat and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted words place the discovery on the Friday morning.","Whether anyone was arrested or charged; no arrest is reported in the inspected sources and no later coverage was found through 2026-09-19.","When the images were first circulated and how widely; ETV Bharat says about a week before the death.","The AI tool or platform used, and the social-media platforms involved, are not identified."],"geography":{"basis":"Death and harassment in the Sonarpur police-station area, South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal (all sources); FIR at Sonarpur police station; no court proceeding reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IN"],"affected_person_countries":["IN"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a harmful-artifact case with a deceased depicted minor. Death rule met: the death is confirmed by a police officer (PTI), the Baruipur SDPO (ETV Bharat) and independent local reporting (Anandabazar, Dainik Bhaskar), and the reported AI connection is carried by each of those chains as the family's allegation. Claims about who made and spread the images stay reported and attributed. Original ID and first-publication timestamp preserved; death date corrected to 27 November 2025.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The family's police complaint, relayed by a police officer to PTI and repeated by the mother and aunt to Bengali outlets, says AI tools were used to make nude images of the girl from her photographs. No police or forensic finding that the images were AI-made was published, and one report attributes their creation to the man's girlfriend rather than the man. The artifacts depicted the girl; no AI system interacted with her.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Sonarpur, West Bengal: a Class 10 student died by hanging after AI-generated nude images of her were circulated on social media; her family's police complaint accuses a married man from the locality of making them","summary":"On the night of Thursday 27 November 2025 a Class 10 student, a minor preparing for the 2026 Madhyamik examination, was found hanging at the relative's home where she lived in the Sonarpur police-station area of South 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, and was declared dead at hospital. Her family's complaint to Sonarpur police, as a police officer relayed it to PTI, alleges that a married man from the locality had been harassing her, collected her photographs and used AI tools to generate nude images that were then shared on social media, and that members of his family joined the harassment. Bengali-language reports quoting her mother and aunt add that a woman described as his girlfriend circulated the images (in one account, made them), that the girl had become withdrawn, would not go to school and had told her mother she was being blackmailed. Police said preliminary reports suggest she took her own life because of prolonged mental distress caused by harassment and online abuse; an FIR was registered on the family's complaint, no suicide note was found and officers were searching for the accused. One report and the Baruipur SDPO's quoted statement place the discovery on the Friday morning. No arrest or later development was found in this review.","incidentDate":"2025-11-27","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-11-28","aiSystem":"AI image-manipulation (\"nudifying\") tools, not named in any inspected report; AI use is the family's allegation","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death","psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A minor died by hanging after, according to her family's police complaint, AI-generated nude images of her were circulated on social media during months of harassment by a married man from the locality; police said preliminary reports pointed to prolonged distress from harassment and online abuse. Causation is the family's allegation and a preliminary police view.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, the girl who died (all inspected reports). Relatives are not counted; the accused and the girlfriend are alleged perpetrators.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"IN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/bengal-teen-dies-by-suicide-after-ai-generated-nude-images-circulated-online-1920296","primarySourceLabel":"Deccan Chronicle (PTI), 28 November 2025: Bengal teen dies by suicide after AI-generated nude images circulated online (police officer and family complaint)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-09T05:43:05.91184+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:21.273734+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","ai-generated-imagery","ncii","minor","suicide","death","harassment","india","west-bengal","sonarpur","depicted"]},{"id":"2025-singapore-far-right-teen-ai-firearms","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'In February and March 2025, two self-radicalised Singaporean youths, aged 15 and 17, were issued with a Restriction Order and an Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act respectively'; '2 April 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'were detained in December 2024 and March 2025, respectively'; 'FRE supporter detained in March 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In March 2025 a 17-year-old Singaporean was issued an Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act, which the ISD announced on 2 April 2025.","causal_attribution":"The ISD release is the official announcement of the order. The order was issued for his attack preparations; no source attributes the detention to his chatbot use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'had been radicalised by violent far-right extremist and racist ideologies and had taken steps in preparation for attacks against Muslims at mosques in Singapore'; 'he made multiple unsuccessful attempts to procure a gun'; 'the youth shortlisted five mosques'; 'he had yet to execute his attacks only because he was unable to procure a gun'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'had made extensive preparations to conduct shootings against Muslims at five mosques in Singapore'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The ISD says the 17-year-old had been radicalised by far-right extremist and racist ideologies, shortlisted five mosques in Singapore as targets for shooting attacks on Muslims, made several unsuccessful attempts to procure a gun, and admitted at his arrest that he had not carried out the attacks only because he was unable to procure a gun.","causal_attribution":"The ISD's account of its investigation and of his statements. No court has tested it; the detention is an executive order."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'FRE supporter detained in March 2025, he had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition, and considered 3D printing his own firearms for his local attack plans'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The ISD's 2025 threat assessment report says the 17-year-old had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition and considered 3D printing his own firearms for his local attack plans.","causal_attribution":"The report states the search, not its result. It does not name the chatbot, date the search or say what the chatbot replied, so whether the chatbot supplied instructions is not established."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'he reached out to a US-based online contact who claimed to be a gun maker'; 'suggested 3D printing the gun parts and ammunition instead'; 'the youth did not follow through with the idea due to the cost and technical feasibility'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The ISD press release says a US-based online contact who claimed to be a gun maker suggested 3D printing gun parts and ammunition, and that the youth did not follow through because of the cost and technical feasibility.","causal_attribution":"The ISD's account. This passage does not involve the AI chatbot."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Even though there is no indication that evolving technologies, such as AI and 3D printing, have been used in any terrorist attack plot in Singapore, we are seeing an emerging trend of evolving technologies featuring in local youth self-radicalisation cases'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Artificial Intelligence (AI) is emerging as a terrorism enabler for'","relation":"context","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The ISD report cites the case as part of an emerging trend of evolving technologies in youth self-radicalisation cases, while stating that there is no indication that technologies such as AI and 3D printing have been used in any terrorist attack plot in Singapore.","causal_attribution":"The ISD's assessment of a trend; it does not attribute the attack plan to the chatbot."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was identified during ISD’s investigations of'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'who was detained under the ISA in December 2024'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The 17-year-old male was an online contact of 18-year-old Singaporean'; 'then a student, was radicalised by violent far-right extremist ideologies'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The ISD says it identified the 17-year-old during its investigation of an 18-year-old far-right extremist detained in December 2024, of whom he was an online contact.","causal_attribution":"The ISD's account of how he came to its attention; the chatbot use played no reported part."}],"effects":[{"label":"a 17-year-old was detained under the Internal Security Act","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/singapore-terrorism-threat-assessment-report-2025/","kind":"official_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"ISD landing page for the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025, dated 29 July 2025, read live in English on 2026-10-03 and 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). It summarises the report and links the PDF; it does not describe this case.","independence_group":"isd-singapore"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/155/3c41ba65-fa24-4ef1-9bf9-0b79d892a742/sttar-2025-(final).pdf","kind":"official_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Report PDF (14.9 MB) read on 2026-10-03 through pdftotext; HTTP 200 and the same size re-checked on 2026-10-04. The text is English although the PDF language tag says ar-SA. Line wrapping in the extracted text joins '17-year-old' as '17-yearold' in one passage.","independence_group":"isd-singapore"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/issuance-of-orders-under-internal-security-act--isa--against-two-self-radicalised-singaporean-youths--and-updates-on-isa-orders/","kind":"official_statement","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"ISD press release of 2 April 2025, read live in English on 2026-10-03 and 2026-10-04 (HTTP 200). It announced the Order of Detention. It does not mention the AI chatbot in this youth's case; the chatbot it mentions concerns a 15-year-old in the same release.","independence_group":"isd-singapore"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI chatbot the teenager used, when he searched it, and what it replied, including whether it supplied usable ammunition instructions or refused.","Whether the detention order remains in force; no later ISD update on this youth was inspected.","No inspected source states where the teenager used the AI chatbot; event_countries rests on the location of the planned attacks."],"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the metadata review of 2026-10-03 and re-checked on 2026-10-04. The ISD press release says he had taken steps in preparation for attacks against Muslims at mosques in Singapore and frequented the Jurong West area, and the report describes preparations for shootings at five mosques in Singapore. event_countries describes the attack preparations; no source says where he used the chatbot. The Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act is an executive order and no court proceeding is reported, so court_countries is empty. Countries of his online contacts and of places he considered buying guns are not event locations.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["SG"],"affected_person_countries":["SG"]},"publication":{"basis":"Full review on 2026-10-04 of a legacy row against the ISD's Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025 (landing page and PDF) and its press release of 2 April 2025, all official records read in English. The chatbot detail rests on the July 2025 report alone. A previously cited The Print item could not be read and was removed. Prose stating that the chatbot provided instructions was corrected because no inspected source says what the chatbot replied.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-04"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The ISD's Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025 states that the 17-year-old far-right extremist supporter detained in March 2025 had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition. The ISD press release of 2 April 2025 that announced his detention does not mention the chatbot. No inspected source names the chatbot or says what it replied, and the report also says there is no indication that AI has been used in any terrorist attack plot in Singapore.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-03 against the Internal Security Department (ISD) page for the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025, the report PDF it links, and the ISD press release of 2 April 2025 that announced the detention, all read in English; The Print item could not be read. The press release states that the 17-year-old had taken steps in preparation for attacks against Muslims at mosques in Singapore and shortlisted five mosques there, and the report describes preparations to conduct shootings at five mosques in Singapore, which supports event_countries=SG. The press release says he frequented the Jurong West area of Singapore, which supports affected_person_countries=SG for the teenager who used the AI chatbot (location, not nationality; no inspected source names any harmed third party). He was issued an Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act, an executive order; no inspected source reports a court proceeding, so court_countries stays empty. No inspected source states where he used the AI chatbot, so event_countries describes the attack preparations, not the chatbot use. Countries named outside Singapore (a US-based online contact, and Malaysia or Thailand as places he considered buying guns) are contacts or options he considered, not event locations.","evidence":[{"kind":"existing_record","locator":"after preparing shooting attacks on Muslims at mosques in Singapore","location":"summary","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["SG"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"had taken steps in preparation for attacks against Muslims at mosques in Singapore","location":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/issuance-of-orders-under-internal-security-act--isa--against-two-self-radicalised-singaporean-youths--and-updates-on-isa-orders/","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["SG"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"he had given greater thought to attacking Masjid Maarof, as he frequented the Jurong West area","location":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/issuance-of-orders-under-internal-security-act--isa--against-two-self-radicalised-singaporean-youths--and-updates-on-isa-orders/","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["SG"]},{"kind":"source_body","locator":"had made extensive preparations to conduct shootings against Muslims at five mosques in Singapore","location":"https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/155/3c41ba65-fa24-4ef1-9bf9-0b79d892a742/sttar-2025-(final).pdf","supports":["event_countries"],"countries":["SG"]}],"court_countries":[],"event_countries":["SG"],"affected_person_countries":["SG"]},"unresolved":["No court country: the Order of Detention under the Internal Security Act is an executive order, and no inspected source reports a court proceeding.","No inspected source states where the teenager used the AI chatbot; event_countries=SG rests on the location of the planned attacks.","The Print item could not be read (Cloudflare challenge live and in both Internet Archive captures, 16 Aug 2026 and 25 Sep 2026); the row dates it 17 Jan 2025, which would precede the March 2025 detention, but the date was not checked against the item.","Row-correction lead outside this metadata pass: the ISD press release of 2 April 2025 does not mention the AI chatbot in this case; among inspected sources the chatbot detail rests on the ISD Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-03","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/singapore-terrorism-threat-assessment-report-2025/","notes":"Read live on 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200; html lang=en). English. ISD landing page for the Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025; it summarises the report and links the report PDF. The page itself does not describe the 17-year-old's case.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://isomer-user-content.by.gov.sg/155/3c41ba65-fa24-4ef1-9bf9-0b79d892a742/sttar-2025-(final).pdf","notes":"Read on 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200, application/pdf, 14.9 MB; text extracted with pdftotext). The text is English; the PDF's /Lang tag says ar-SA, which does not match its content. The report states that the 17-year-old far-right extremist supporter detained in March 2025 searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition and considered 3D printing firearms, and that he prepared shootings at five mosques in Singapore.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/issuance-of-orders-under-internal-security-act--isa--against-two-self-radicalised-singaporean-youths--and-updates-on-isa-orders/","notes":"Read live on 2026-10-03 (HTTP 200; html lang=en). English. ISD press release of 2 April 2025, not cited on the row, which announced the Order of Detention issued in March 2025. It locates the planned attacks at mosques in Singapore and gives the Jurong West area. It does not mention an AI chatbot in the 17-year-old's case (the chatbot it mentions concerns the 15-year-old in the same release).","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://theprint.in/world/singapore-warns-of-elevated-terror-threat-amid-rising-extremist-ideologies/2705989/","notes":"Live fetches on 2026-10-03 returned HTTP 403 with a browser user agent and a Cloudflare 'Just a moment' challenge page with a plain request; both Internet Archive captures (16 Aug 2026 and 25 Sep 2026) are the same challenge page. Not read, so its language is not recorded here. The row dates this item 17 Jan 2025; that date was not checked against the item, so whether it reports this case is not established.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Singapore Far-Right Teen Plot (AI Chatbot Ammunition Search)","summary":"Singapore's Internal Security Department (ISD) says a 17-year-old far-right extremist supporter, detained under the Internal Security Act in March 2025 after preparing shooting attacks on Muslims at mosques in Singapore, had searched for instructions on an AI chatbot about producing ammunition and considered 3D printing his own firearms. The chatbot is not named, and what it replied is not reported.","incidentDate":"2025-03-15","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-04-02","aiSystem":"AI chatbot (unspecified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified chatbot","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["legal_harm","loss_of_liberty"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The ISD says a 17-year-old who had prepared shooting attacks on mosques and had searched an AI chatbot for instructions on producing ammunition was detained under Singapore's Internal Security Act in March 2025.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"unclear","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The ISD records one detained 17-year-old who used an AI chatbot. The planned attacks were not carried out, so the people at the mosques are intended targets and are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"SG","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"regulatory_action","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.isd.gov.sg/news-and-resources/singapore-terrorism-threat-assessment-report-2025/","primarySourceLabel":"Internal Security Department, Singapore Terrorism Threat Assessment Report 2025, 29 July 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-22T07:15:38.750068+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-04T03:21:51.543496+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["terrorism","far-right","radicalization","minor","singapore","firearms","ammunition","3d-printing","foiled-plot","ai-chatbot"]}]}