{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-21T07:53:02.198Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"sleep","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"minors","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":4,"coverage":{"cases":4,"countries":3,"languages":4,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":1,"minors":4,"coreRelations":4,"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":"2026-teenager-says-years-of-character-ai-and-chatbot-roleplay-left-them-unable-to-sleep-and-quitting-brought-self-harm-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I've had an issue with chatbots for four years now, I can't sleep withought them and I get super stressed out whenever the servers go down, I spend all day on them and it's really really impacting my life.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have had a problem with chatbots for four years, cannot sleep without them, get very stressed when the servers go down and spend all day on them.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I've stopped using C.ai cause my account got the age restriction thing, and now that I can't use it I'm so bored and it's honestly made me totally miserable, I can't sleep well withought it, I feel so lonely and miserable now.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The poster says they stopped using Character.AI in February 2026 when their account hit the app's age restriction, and that afterwards they could not sleep well and felt lonely and miserable.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the age restriction is the poster's description of why access ended."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I used to be super dependant on it having around 10-15 hours a day on it, to the point I barely spoke to my family or left my bed. ... I think the biggest struggle for me is when I'm trying to sleep, since I've stopped using the app I've had a really hard time going to sleep, and I start feeling painfully lonely.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The poster says they had used Character.AI for about 10 to 15 hours a day, to the point of barely speaking to family or leaving bed, and that falling asleep without it was the hardest part of stopping.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Relapsed TW: Self Harm ... I was like 2 months clean. ... seeing how risky that is I went back to c,ai when the urge got really bad since I got kinda freaked out. ... it might be better to keep using the godforsaken app and letting the addiction continue than it is to hurt myself and feel like shit all the time.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The poster says that in March 2026, after about two months away, they relapsed, that while off the app they had begun hurting themselves to cope, and that they went back to Character.AI when the urge got bad.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account linking the self-harm to being without the app; no clinical assessment is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Ive reached 20000 hours on this app","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"Ive hit over fifteen thousand hours, I need help.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The poster gives differing totals for time spent: 20,000 hours on the app in July 2026 and over fifteen thousand hours in September 2026.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own figures; they are inconsistent and are not relied on as a measurement."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I've been really badly addicted for 4 years now and it just gets worse. ... And I recently lost my only friend because I've started getting really uncomfortable and irritated around other people and got kinda mean to him and the rest of that friend group.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The poster says in September 2026 that they had been addicted for four years and had recently lost their only friend after becoming irritable around people.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the poster does not say the chatbot caused the irritability."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"\"Okay I deleted my account to the chatbots app I was using earlier today and deleted it, and now I'm deeply regretting it and having kinda a panic.\" and \"It's kinda late at night and at this time I'm usually falling asleep rping with bots, and now that I've not got that I'm not feeling too good.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"In a post early on 21 October 2026 the poster says they had deleted their account on the chatbot app they were using, regretted it and felt unwell at the time they would usually fall asleep roleplaying with bots.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the post does not name the app."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"I've only been withought it for three days so a lot hasn't changed, but I've gotten better sleep and I've been doing more self care stuff","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"}],"assertion":"In a comment on 11 February 2026 the poster said that three days without the app their sleep had improved and they were doing more self-care.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own account of an early improvement; it differs from the 7 February post."}],"effects":[{"label":"cannot sleep without the chatbots and stressed when servers go down (poster's account)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"sleeplessness and loneliness after losing access to Character.AI (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"self-harm while off the app, then relapse (poster's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xajudj/ive_reached_4_years_of_nonstop_using_ts_apps/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Post of 20 Oct 2026 05:36 UTC; its only comment is a subreddit auto-reply; re-read about 03:10 UTC 21 Oct.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1qy6soy/i_quit_and_now_im_kinda_miserable/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 7 Feb 2026.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1r7vzj1/first_week_withought_cai/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 18 Feb 2026.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1s1a834/relapsed_tw_self_harm/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 23 Mar 2026. The self-harm method in the post is not reproduced.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1uzth4n/is_it_even_that_bad/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 18 Jul 2026.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1wuf0al/ive_hit_over_fifteen_thousand_hours_i_need_help/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author post search, HTTP 200); reddit.com returned HTTP 403 to the fetcher. No translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 30 Sep 2026.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xb8pa2/lowk_panicking_kinda_urgently_could_do_with_some/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the verifier vmix10 (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author search, HTTP 200); no translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Same author, 21 Oct 2026 00:23 UTC.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/character_ai_recovery/comments/1r1rnfq/small_improvements/o4uesgw/","kind":"social_media_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the verifier vmix10 (an AI) on 2026-10-21 from the arctic_shift Reddit archive (author search, HTTP 200); no translation and no human reviewer. The poster's username is not recorded. Comment by the same author, 11 Feb 2026, in another user's thread.","independence_group":"reddit-teen-character-ai-dependency-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Which app or apps the poster used after July 2026; the September and October posts do not name one.","How many hours the poster actually spent; the poster's own totals conflict.","Whether any clinician, parent or school assessed the poster's sleep, mood or self-harm.","Character.AI's account of the age restriction applied to the poster's account in February 2026.","Where the poster lives."],"geography":{"basis":"The posts do not say where the poster lives; currency mentioned in unrelated posts is not used as location evidence.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account, across six dated posts by one author, of a teenager's dependence on Character.AI roleplay and the sleeplessness, loneliness and self-harm the author connects to losing access. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the self-harm method, sexual content and identifying personal details are omitted, and the conflicting hour totals are recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster describes years of their own roleplay and venting exchanges with Character.AI, used for 10 to 15 hours a day and to fall asleep, and connects losing access to it (through the app's age restriction and through attempts to quit) to sleeplessness, loneliness and self-harm. The posts describe the poster's use of the chatbot, not the content of particular replies, and the later posts do not name the app.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person posts: teenager says years of Character.AI and chatbot roleplay left them unable to sleep without it and that quitting brought self-harm","summary":"In a Reddit post on 20 October 2026 a poster who says they are a teenager writes that they have had a problem with chatbots for four years, cannot sleep without them, become very stressed when the servers go down and spend all day on them. Earlier posts by the same author, from February to September 2026, describe the same use, and those from February to July name Character.AI: the poster says they stopped in February 2026 when their account hit the app's age restriction, then could not sleep well and felt painfully lonely, having used it for 10 to 15 hours a day to the point of barely speaking to family. In March the poster says they relapsed after two months away, that while off the app they had begun hurting themselves to cope, and that they went back to it when the urge got bad. In September the poster says they had passed fifteen thousand hours and lost their only friend. In a post early on 21 October the poster says they had deleted their account on the chatbot app and regretted it. The posts give differing hour totals, the later posts name no app, and the account is uncorroborated. The poster's descriptions of the AI's role are their own.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-20","aiSystem":"Character.AI, which the poster names in posts from February to July 2026 as the roleplay chatbot app they used; the September and October posts refer only to chatbots and a chatbot app","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","self_injury"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster, a teenager, says years of Character.AI and chatbot roleplay left them unable to sleep without it and that losing access brought sleeplessness, loneliness and, in March 2026, self-harm before a relapse (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who used the app directly. Family members are mentioned but no harm to them is described.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatbotAddiction/comments/1xajudj/ive_reached_4_years_of_nonstop_using_ts_apps/","primarySourceLabel":"Reddit post by the poster, 20 Oct 2026: four years of chatbot use, cannot sleep without the bots","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-21T03:09:58.825703+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T03:09:58.825703+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","companion-chatbot","character-ai","minor","dependency"]},{"id":"2026-seremban-malaysia-police-investigate-reports-of-schoolgirls-photos-edited-with-ai-into-explicit-images","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Polis menerima lima laporan berhubung penyebaran gambar wajah pelajar perempuan di sebuah sekolah menengah di sini yang disunting menggunakan teknologi kecerdasan buatan (AI) sehingga menyerupai gambar lucah.' ... 'pihaknya menerima laporan membabitkan mangsa yang berusia 14 hingga 17 tahun itu daripada ibu bapa dan penjaga pada 20 hingga 23 Ogos lepas.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Police have received five reports over the circulation of AI-manipulated images depicting female students from a secondary school here in explicit or pornographic content.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'yang dimanipulasi menggunakan teknologi kecerdasan buatan (AI) sehingga menyerupai gambar lucah.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'A Form Five student in Seremban is a suspect in a case involving the circulation of AI-manipulated explicit or pornographic images of schoolgirls from a secondary school, police said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Negeri Sembilan police said on 17 October 2026 that they had received five reports, lodged by parents or guardians between 20 and 23 August 2026, over the circulation of photographs of female students at a secondary school in Seremban that were edited using AI technology to resemble pornographic images; the victims are aged 14 to 17.","causal_attribution":"Police statement as relayed by Bernama, RTM and Free Malaysia Today (which credits Bernama); the AI description opens the reports and is not inside the quoted passages; technical basis undisclosed."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In this case, the suspect, a Form Five student, has been subjected to disciplinary action by the school, including suspension from classes from Aug 24 to 28.' ... 'The investigation is being conducted under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 292 of the Penal Code.' ... 'To date, five witnesses have been called to have their statements recorded,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'suspek seorang pelajar tingkatan lima dikenakan tindakan disiplin oleh pihak sekolah, iaitu digantung sekolah bermula pada 24 hingga 28 Ogos lepas.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the police, the suspect is a Form Five student whom the school suspended from classes from 24 to 28 August 2026; the case is investigated under Section 5 of the Sexual Offences Against Children Act 2017 and Section 292 of the Penal Code, and five witnesses have given statements.","causal_attribution":"Police statement."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the incident came to light on Aug 12,' ... 'discovered an unlocked mobile phone left unattended in the school surau.' ... 'Upon accessing the device, the student uncovered a cache of explicit photographs of female schoolmates that had been digitally altered using AI.' ... 'The boy then forwarded several of these images to his older sister,' ... 'which quickly alerted parents to the situation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'在校内祈祷室发现一部未设密码的手机，内有多名女学生的照片，疑被AI加工成裸照。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"According to a lawyer for a group of parents, the matter came to light on 12 August when a younger pupil found an unlocked phone left in the school prayer room containing explicit photographs of female schoolmates digitally altered using AI, and forwarded some to his older sister, which alerted parents.","causal_attribution":"The parents' lawyer's account at a press conference, reported by The Star and by Sin Chew (relayed by 8world); in the Chinese report the lawyer says the photos were suspected of being processed by AI."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the student reportedly produced around 200 explicit deepfake images targeting a large number of female students at the school.' ... 'there had been no developments even after five police reports were lodged in August.' ... 'an investigating officer claimed there were no criminal elements involved, suggesting the matter be left entirely to education authorities,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The lawyer alleged that the student produced around 200 explicit deepfake images targeting a large number of female students, and said there had been no developments after the August reports and that an investigating officer had claimed there were no criminal elements.","causal_attribution":"Allegation by the parents' lawyer; the police statement of the same day describes an active investigation."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He claimed that this quick return has triggered widespread anxiety and safety concerns among the female students.' ... 'A mother of one of the victims, whose doctored explicit photographs were found on the suspect's phone, expressed the parents' frustration during the press conference.' ... 'We only want an assurance that the boy has completely deleted all the images and did not share or sell them on other platforms,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The lawyer said the student's quick return to school triggered widespread anxiety and safety concerns among the female students; a mother of one girl whose doctored photographs were found on the phone said parents wanted an assurance that the images had been deleted and not shared or sold.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's and a parent's statements."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'校方于9月15日的会议中承认，受影响女学生超过300人，相关影像逾200张。' ... '他也质疑照片是否已通过Telegram等平台扩散甚至出售，但目前尚无直接证据证实涉及交易。' ... '已向芙蓉警区主任、森州总警长、通讯及多媒体委员会和教育部门提出投诉'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The parents' lawyer said the school acknowledged at a meeting on 15 September 2026 that more than 300 female students were affected and more than 200 images were involved; he questioned whether the photos had spread or been sold on platforms such as Telegram, but said there was as yet no direct evidence of a sale. The parents have complained to the police, the communications regulator and the education authorities.","causal_attribution":"The lawyer's account of what the school said at a meeting; the school's own statement was not read and the police speak only of five reports."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'一名受害学生的母亲透露，孩子至今每晚难以入眠，甚至哭问“妈妈，为什么没人帮我？”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"A mother of one of the girls said her child still has trouble sleeping every night and has asked why nobody is helping her.","causal_attribution":"A parent's statement at the press conference."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'have alleged that police breached SOPs by making them face the suspect during identification.' ... 'the decision left the victims worried that the suspect might retaliate against them.' ... 'The statement follows the questioning of the victims, their parents and several witnesses at the Seremban police headquarters yesterday.' ... 'some of the images in question were found on another mobile phone, in addition to the phone initially discovered in the school’s prayer room.' ... 'had received complaints from underage witnesses who alleged that officers questioned them aggressively'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"In a statement on 18 October 2026, the law firm representing the girls said that when the girls, their parents and witnesses were questioned at the Seremban police headquarters on 17 October, police made the girls face the suspect during identification, contrary to procedure, leaving them worried that he might retaliate; the firm also said some of the images were found on a second phone and that underage witnesses complained of aggressive questioning.","causal_attribution":"Allegations in the girls' lawyers' statement; no police response to them is reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"female students' photographs edited with AI into explicit images","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"reported anxiety and safety concerns among the female students","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a girl's reported sleeplessness since the images were found","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"},{"label":"girls' reported fear of retaliation after facing the suspect at the police station","claim_id":"c8","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.bernama.com/tv/news.php?id=2621843","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (HTTP 200). Bernama TV report of the Negeri Sembilan police chief's statement, 17 October 2026.","independence_group":"negeri-sembilan-police-statement-17-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.bernama.com/bm/news.php?id=2621837","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ms","translation_note":"Read in Malay on 2026-10-18 (HTTP 200); quoted passages are kept in Malay and the English sense was rendered by the research agent (an AI), not a human translator. Bernama's Malay report of the same police statement.","independence_group":"negeri-sembilan-police-statement-17-oct-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://berita.rtm.gov.my/kes/senarai-berita-kes/senarai-artikel/polis-siasat-kes-gambar-lucah-janaan-ai/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"ms","translation_note":"Read in Malay on 2026-10-18 (HTTP 200); English sense rendered by the research agent (an AI). RTM report of the same police statement; the page's 'RINGKASAN BERITA AI' box is a site summary feature, not part of the report, and is not cited.","independence_group":"negeri-sembilan-police-statement-17-oct-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2026/10/17/parents-urge-police-action-over-alleged-explicit-deepfakes-at-seremban-school","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-18 (HTTP 200). The Star report of a press conference by a lawyer for a group of parents, attended by some parents, 17 October 2026.","independence_group":"seremban-parents-lawyers"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/17/form-5-student-a-suspect-over-ai-porn-images-of-schoolgirls","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-19 (HTTP 200); no translation. Free Malaysia Today relays the Bernama report of the police chief's 17 October statement and credits Bernama.","independence_group":"negeri-sembilan-police-statement-17-oct-2026"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.8world.com/southeast-asia/ai-nude-photos-300-students-affected-3312531","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read in Chinese on 2026-10-19 (HTTP 200); quoted passages are kept in Chinese and the English sense was rendered by the research agent (an AI), not a human translator. 8world relays Sin Chew's report of the parents' lawyer's press conference of 17 October 2026. The page's English 'In Brief' box is a site summary that the page labels as AI-assisted and is not cited.","independence_group":"seremban-parents-lawyers"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/10/18/student-victims-in-deepfake-case-shouldn-t-have-faced-suspect-police-told","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-19 (HTTP 200); no translation. Free Malaysia Today report of a written statement issued on 18 October 2026 by the law firm representing the girls, with background from the police statement.","independence_group":"seremban-parents-lawyers"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how the police established that the photographs were edited with AI.","How many girls are depicted: the police speak of five reports, the lawyer cites the school as acknowledging more than 300 affected girls and more than 200 images, and The Star reports the lawyer's figure of about 200 images.","Whether the images were shared or sold beyond the phones on which they were found; the lawyer says there is no direct evidence of a sale.","Whether the police or the school have responded to the lawyers' complaints about the identification procedure and the handling of the case.","Whether the suspect will be charged."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: a secondary school in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia, investigated by the Negeri Sembilan police (Bernama, RTM, The Star). The girls attend that school. No court proceeding is reported, so court_countries is empty.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["MY"],"affected_person_countries":["MY"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the investigating Negeri Sembilan police describe the reports as concerning female students' photographs edited with AI into pornographic-looking images and are investigating under child sexual offences law, and a parent says her daughter's doctored photographs were found on the suspect's phone. The police do not disclose how the AI editing was established. Updated on 2026-10-19 with the parents' lawyers' later accounts, which remain allegations. No pupil is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The investigating Negeri Sembilan police, in their 17 October 2026 statement as reported by Bernama (English and Malay) and RTM, describe the case as the circulation of female students' photographs edited using artificial intelligence technology to resemble pornographic images, and are investigating it under child sexual offences law; the parents' lawyer separately says the photographs found on the suspect's phone had been digitally altered using AI. The edited images depict the girls (depicted_or_impersonated) and are the reported harm. The police do not disclose how the AI editing was established, the quoted parts of their statement do not repeat the AI wording, and no tool is named.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Seremban, Malaysia: police investigate reports that schoolgirls' photos were edited with AI into explicit images; a fellow student is the suspect","summary":"Negeri Sembilan police said on 17 October 2026, in a statement reported by Bernama and RTM, that they had received five reports, lodged by parents or guardians between 20 and 23 August 2026, over the circulation of photographs of female students at a secondary school in Seremban that were edited using AI to resemble pornographic images. The police describe the victims as aged 14 to 17 and the suspect as an upper-secondary student whom the school suspended for five days in August; the case is being investigated under child sexual offences law and the Penal Code. A lawyer for a group of parents told a press conference that the images came to light on 12 August, when a younger pupil found them on an unlocked phone at school, alleged that the student made about 200 such images, and said the school had acknowledged more than 300 affected girls at a September meeting; he said there is no direct evidence that the images were sold. A mother said her child still has trouble sleeping every night. After the girls were questioned at the police headquarters on 17 October, their lawyers alleged that police had made them face the suspect during identification. The AI tool is not identified.","incidentDate":"2026-08-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-17","aiSystem":"AI technology used to edit photographs of the students into pornographic-looking images, according to the police statement (tool not identified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to the police, photographs of female secondary students aged 14 to 17 were edited with AI into images resembling pornography, leading parents to lodge five police reports; the parents' lawyer says the girls have felt widespread anxiety and safety concerns since the suspect returned to school, and a mother says her child still has trouble sleeping every night.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"outward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"At least one girl: a mother told The Star that her daughter's doctored explicit photographs were found on the suspect's phone. The police speak of victims aged 14 to 17 across five reports without stating how many girls are depicted. The lawyer's statement that the school acknowledged more than 300 affected girls is his second-hand account of a school meeting and does not say how the school counted, so it is not used as a minimum; the remainder is unquantified.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"MY","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.bernama.com/tv/news.php?id=2621843","primarySourceLabel":"Bernama, 17 October 2026: Police receive five reports over AI-manipulated explicit images of schoolgirls","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-18T03:04:59.119471+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-19T03:05:16.245699+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-edited-images","sexual-images-of-minors","school","malaysia","police-investigation","school-suspension","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-operacao-sophia-ai-voice-clone-donation-scam","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Os criminosos utilizavam clonagem de voz e deepfake para simular apelos emocionais das crianças'; pages 'Clube de Doadores' and 'Unidos pelo Amor'; 'sites que imitavam plataformas legítimas de arrecadação, como o Vakinha... código Pix... contas de empresas de fachada'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'As principais produções eram feitas com crianças em tratamento de doenças graves'; pages 'Clube de Doadores', 'Doadores com Amor' and 'Unidos pelo Amor'; the fake-site Pix mechanics paragraph.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The group used AI tools, deepfake and voice cloning to turn real fundraising campaigns of children with serious illnesses into fake donation appeals, boosted by pages named 'Clube de Doadores', 'Doadores com Amor' and 'Unidos pelo Amor', leading donors to lookalike sites that issued Pix codes to shell companies.","causal_attribution":"Both chains attribute the method to the investigating police; the specific AI tools are not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"The fake audio text ('O remédio que pode me ajudar é muito caro...'); 'Apenas na campanha falsa envolvendo a imagem da menina, a polícia rastreou R$ 294,5 mil desviados'; 'Foi horrível. A gente perdeu o sono, eu chorei muito'; the donors-'eu doei' passage.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'apenas em relação à falsa campanha que deu origem ao inquérito, ao menos R$ 294,5 mil diretamente rastreados entre chave Pix e gateways de pagamento'; 'A família da criança não autorizou a campanha e não recebeu os valores arrecadados.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The originating fake campaign used the image of Kelen Santos's daughter and an AI-generated child voice — 'O remédio que pode me ajudar é muito caro... qualquer valor já me dá mais um dia com a minha mãe' — and police traced R$294,500 diverted in that campaign; the family lost sleep and had to tell congratulating donors their money had gone to a scam.","causal_attribution":"The diverted amount is the police's traced figure for the originating campaign, carried by both chains; the mother's distress is her own account."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'A operação contra o estelionato e a lavagem de dinheiro prendeu 16 pessoas nesta terça-feira (14)... em cidades de cinco estados diferentes'; 'uma empresa... núcleo financeiro do grupo... movimentou mais de R$ 1,7 milhão'.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A \"Operação Sophia\" acontece por meio da Delegacia de Repressão aos Crimes Patrimoniais Eletrônicos do Rio Grande do Sul, sob coordenação do Delegado João Vitor Herédia. Até o momento, 16 pessoas foram presas preventivamente'; states listed; the R$1.7M hub passage.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Operação Sophia, launched on Tuesday 14 July 2026 by the DRCPE under Delegate João Vitor Herédia, preventively arrested 16 people across five states (RS, PR, SP, MS, PE); a financial-hub company moved more than R$1.7 million in the investigated period.","causal_attribution":"Official police action carried by two independent chains; charges and trials are not yet reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A vaquinha verdadeira foi encerrada pela família após o valor necessário ser atingido. O tratamento foi realizado e a menina apresenta melhora no quadro de saúde.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The daughter's legitimate fundraising campaign had ended earlier after reaching its goal; her treatment was completed and her health is improving.","causal_attribution":"Recovery context preserved per the charter; single chain, attributed."}],"effects":[{"label":"a sick child's image and AI-cloned voice fronted a fake fundraiser that diverted R$294,500; her family absorbed the social cost","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"recovery context: the daughter's legitimate campaign met its goal earlier and her health is improving","claim_id":"c4","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://g1.globo.com/rs/rio-grande-do-sul/noticia/2026/07/15/vitima-golpe-ia-vaquinha-crianca-cancer-mae.ghtml","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"pt","translation_note":"Read in Portuguese on 2026-09-15 (g1 RS / RBS TV, by Duda Romagna; operation dated 'terça-feira (14)' July 2026). Model translation, no human reviewer.","independence_group":"g1"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cnnbrasil.com.br/nacional/sul/rs/organizacao-criminosa-de-falsas-doacoes-online-e-alvo-de-operacao/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"pt","translation_note":"Read in Portuguese on 2026-09-15 (datePublished 2026-07-14T08:00-03:00, updated 12:49). Model translation, no human reviewer.","independence_group":"cnn-brasil"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://noticias.uol.com.br/cotidiano/ultimas-noticias/2026/07/14/policia-civil-mira-grupo-suspeito-de-golpe-com-falsas-doacoes-e-pix.ghtm","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 (Akamai) on 2026-09-15; headline verified in Google News RSS. Body not inspected; language not established.","independence_group":"uol"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["health","finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["The specific AI voice-cloning and deepfake tools are not named in the inspected reporting.","How many children were used nationwide is unknown to the police; the number of defrauded donors is not reported.","Whether the 16 arrested have been charged, and with what offences, is not yet reported.","Whether any funds were recovered for donors is not reported.","The start date of the fake campaigns is not stated; only the operation date (14 July 2026) is firm."],"geography":{"basis":"Event: the fake campaigns and the operation across Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul and Pernambuco. Affected persons: the child and family in Rio Grande do Sul; donors nationwide. No court proceeding is reported yet; a police unit is not a court.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["BR"],"affected_person_countries":["BR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an impersonation/fraud case (depicted_or_impersonated): a sick child's image and AI-cloned voice weaponized for donation fraud, documented by two independent chains carrying police figures, with recovery context preserved. The child is unnamed, as in the sources; the mother spoke publicly. Donors are unquantified; money amounts are recorded but never converted to person counts.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Both inspected chains attribute to the investigating police that the group used AI tools, deepfake and voice cloning for the fake appeals; g1 reproduces the AI-generated audio's text from the fake video. The specific tools are not named.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Brazil: scammers used AI-cloned voices and images of children with cancer in fake donation campaigns; 16 arrested in Operação Sophia","summary":"On 14 July 2026 the Rio Grande do Sul Civil Police launched Operação Sophia against a group that used AI voice cloning and deepfake to turn real fundraising campaigns of children with cancer into fake donation appeals: AI-generated child voices asked for money in videos boosted by pages such as 'Clube de Doadores' and 'Unidos pelo Amor', leading donors to lookalike sites that issued Pix codes to shell companies. Sixteen people were arrested across five states. In the campaign that started the investigation — using the image of Kelen Santos's daughter, who was in cancer treatment — police traced R$294,500 diverted, and the investigation found a financial-hub company that moved more than R$1.7 million. The family had to tell congratulating donors that their money had gone to a scam.","incidentDate":"2026-07-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-07-14","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-07-14","aiSystem":"AI voice-cloning and deepfake video tools (unspecified)","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["third_party_harm_facilitation"],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A sick child's image and an AI clone of her voice were weaponized into a fake fundraiser that diverted R$294,500 from donors, leaving her family sleepless and forced to tell donors their gifts had gone to scammers; police say other sick children were used nationwide in unknown numbers.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One counted depicted child: the daughter in the originating case, whose image and AI-cloned voice were used (mother's and police accounts). Police state they do not know how many other children were used nationwide, and defrauded donors are unquantified people — so the total is counted-plus-unquantified (partial). Money amounts are not person counts and are not converted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"BR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://g1.globo.com/rs/rio-grande-do-sul/noticia/2026/07/15/vitima-golpe-ia-vaquinha-crianca-cancer-mae.ghtml","primarySourceLabel":"g1 RS / RBS TV (15 Jul 2026, Duda Romagna) — the mother's account, the fake audio's text, and the operation details","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-15T09:29:09.751654+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:48.500733+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["depicted-or-impersonated","voice-clone","deepfake","fraud","donation-scam","children","brazil"]},{"id":"2026-tennessee-minors-v-xai-grok-csam","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On or about December 6, 2025, Jane Doe 1 received a message from an anonymous'; 'At least five of these files, one video and four images, depicted her actual face and body'; 'One of the CSAM images was created using a photograph of her at her school’s Homecoming'; 'close and friendly relationship with Jane Doe 1'; 'at least 18 other minor females (including Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3), many of whom Jane Doe 1 recognized from her school.'; 'In late December 2025, local police arrested the perpetrator and conducted a search of his phone.'; 'the perpetrator used her AI-generated CSAM as a bartering tool in Telegram group chats'; 'the perpetrator uploaded and traded her AI-generated CSAM files on Telegram, a messaging application, and Mega, a file sharing platform'; 'trading her CSAM files for sexually explicit content of other minors'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'One of the young plaintiffs said she found out about the imagery after she received an anonymous message on Instagram pointing her toward images and videos, including her high school yearbook photo'; 'Eventually, the perpetrator behind the Discord server mentioned in the new lawsuit was arrested.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Jane Doe 1 alerted the other minors in the images and their families, and a criminal investigation was opened in Tennessee, according to the lawsuit.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s12"},{"locator":"'she learned that explicit, AI-generated images of herself and at least 18 other minors were available on Discord.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that on or about 6 December 2025 a Tennessee girl who was then a minor (Jane Doe 1) was sent AI-generated sexual images and a video of herself by an anonymous Instagram user, at least five files made from her own photos including her homecoming and yearbook pictures, and a link to a Discord server created by the perpetrator, a person with a close and friendly relationship with her, holding images and videos of at least 18 other minor girls, many from her school; that after she alerted the others and their families, local police opened an investigation and arrested the perpetrator in late December 2025; and that he traded her files on Telegram and Mega for sexual material of other minors.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs' allegations, partly relaying what the criminal investigators told them; the perpetrator is unnamed and no criminal-court record was found. News reports relay the complaint."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'On or about February 12, 2026, Jane Doe 2 learned through the same ongoing criminal'; 'On or about February 12, 2026, Jane Doe 3 learned through the same ongoing criminal'; 'Jane Doe 2’s mother also learned from law enforcement that the AI tool used to generate the CSAM was xAI.'; 'Jane Doe 2 reviewed her Instagram photographs and found a series of images taken on October 12, 2025'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'A second plaintiff, Jane Doe 2, was informed by criminal investigators about altered, sexualized images of her created by a third-party mobile app that relies on Grok models.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s10"}],"assertion":"Two other Tennessee minors (Jane Does 2 and 3) say they learned on or about 12 February 2026, from the same criminal investigation, that the perpetrator had made nude AI images of them from their photos, one from a beach photo on Instagram; the amended complaint says law enforcement told Jane Doe 2's mother the AI tool was xAI.","causal_attribution":"Plaintiffs' allegations relaying law enforcement; not independently confirmed."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'the AI tool used to generate the CSAM was xAI, a generative AI also known as Grok.'; 'an application on his phone through which the xAI technology was accessed and used to produce CSAM.'; 'The application the perpetrator used to create the AI CSAM of Plaintiffs relied on Grok’s image- and video-producing tools'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'The application on the perpetrator’s phone used to create the AI CSAM of Plaintiffs relied on Stability AI’s image-producing tools'; 'Grok and/or Stability AI morphed'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'While the perpetrator didn't use xAI's chatbot, Grok or the social media platform X (also owned by xAI), the lawsuit claims that the perpetrator relied on an unnamed app that used xAI's algorithm, citing law enforcement.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'The complaint was updated to add that \"The application on the perpetrator's phone used to create the AI CSAM of Plaintiffs relied on Stability AI's image-producing tools.\"'","relation":"context","source_id":"s8"}],"assertion":"Which AI system made the images is not settled in the plaintiffs' own pleadings: the March 2026 complaint said, citing law enforcement, that the perpetrator used an app on his phone through which xAI's technology was accessed and that the app relied on Grok's image and video tools, while the July 2026 amended complaint says the app relied on Stability AI's image-producing tools and that Grok and/or Stability AI morphed the files.","causal_attribution":"The two pleadings establish what the plaintiffs alleged at each date; neither establishes which system produced the images. No court finding and no defendant answer on the merits were found."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Her ability to participate in her normal daily activities has been impaired by the resulting anxiety, depression, and stress.'; 'She has difficulty eating and sleeping and suffers from recurring nightmares.'; 'Jane Doe 1 has had to request academic support and special accommodations'; 'Jane Doe 2 is unable to sleep to the point of seeking medical intervention.'; 'She has begun self-isolating and avoiding being on her school campus'; 'She suffers from constant stress, anxiety, and fear that someone will see the CSAM and recognize her face.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Watching my daughter have a panic attack after realizing that these images were created and distributed without any hope of recalling them was heartbreaking.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'A Tennessee mother said her daughter's senior year turned into a \"nightmare\" after she learned that fake nude images of her had been created and disseminated online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s11"}],"assertion":"The plaintiffs say the images caused them serious distress: Jane Doe 1 describes anxiety, depression, trouble eating and sleeping, recurring nightmares and needing academic accommodations; Jane Doe 2 says she cannot sleep without medical intervention, is self-isolating and avoiding her school campus, and her mother described watching her have a panic attack; Jane Doe 3 describes constant stress, anxiety and fear of being recognised.","causal_attribution":"The plaintiffs' and a parent's own account through the complaint and counsel's release; one account."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"'COMPLAINT with Jury Demand against X.AI Corp., X.AI LLC'; 'AMENDED COMPLAINT against X.AI Corp., X.AI LLC. Filed by Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5.'; 'ORDER Granting Administrative Motion to Proceed Under Pseudonym. Signed by Judge P. Casey Pitts on 8/3/2026.'; 'MOTION to Appoint Lead Plaintiff and Lead Counsel filed by'; 'MOTION For Order Directing Preservation of Evidence filed by'; 'MOTION to Intervene for Limited Purpose'; 'Initial Case Management Conference set for 10/15/2026 at 02:00 PM'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'STABILITY AI, INC.'; 'Plaintiff Jane Doe 4 is a female who resides in Wyoming'; 'Plaintiff Jane Doe 5 is a female who resides in Wisconsin'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The amended complaint adds two new plaintiffs whose family photographs were used to generate child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through xAI’s Grok app'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Jane Does 1-3 filed a proposed class action against X.AI Corp. and X.AI LLC in the Northern District of California on 16 March 2026; on 7 July 2026 an amended complaint added X.AI Holdings LLC, Stability AI, Inc. and Stability AI U.S. Services Corporation as defendants and two plaintiffs from Wyoming and Wisconsin with separate perpetrators; the court granted the plaintiffs leave to proceed under pseudonyms on 3 August 2026; and as of 25 September 2026 motions on interim lead counsel, evidence preservation and intervention by other plaintiffs were pending, with an initial case management conference set for 15 October 2026.","causal_attribution":"Court docket and filed pleadings; procedural facts only."}],"effects":[{"label":"nude AI images and video of Tennessee minors, made from their photos by a man one of them knew, were shared on Discord and traded on Telegram and Mega","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the plaintiffs describe anxiety, sleeplessness, nightmares, self-isolation and needing academic accommodations","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.465940/gov.uscourts.cand.465940.26.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"First Amended Class Action Complaint, Doe 1 v. X.AI Corp., No. 5:26-cv-02246-PCP (N.D. Cal., San Jose), ECF 26, filed 7 July 2026; RECAP PDF read in full on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Plaintiffs' allegations, not findings; much of the account is what law enforcement told the plaintiffs.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.465940/gov.uscourts.cand.465940.1.0_2.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Original Class Action Complaint, ECF 1, filed 16 March 2026 by Jane Does 1-3 against X.AI Corp. and X.AI LLC; RECAP PDF read on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Used for the original attribution of the app to xAI technology, later changed in ECF 26.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72495765/doe-1-v-xai-corp/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"CourtListener docket for 5:26-cv-02246 read newest-first on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200; page last updated 25 Sept 2026, last entry ECF 63 of 24 Sept plus a clerk's notice of 25 Sept). Procedural facts only.","independence_group":"ndcal-court-record"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.lieffcabraser.com/2026/03/lchb-files-class-action-obo-minor-victims-alleging-xais-grok-generated-and-profited-from-ai-sexual-exploitation-images-and-videos/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Plaintiffs' counsel Lieff Cabraser press release, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Carries the statement of Jane Doe 2's mother.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.lieffcabraser.com/2026/07/deepfake-victims-bolster-class-action-against-xai-add-stability-ai/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Plaintiffs' counsel Lieff Cabraser press release on the amended complaint, 7 July 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200).","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgk2lzmm22eo","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"BBC News, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Reports the complaint; says xAI did not respond to a request for comment.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/03/16/nx-s1-5749490/xai-elon-musk-sexualized-images","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"NPR, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Reports the complaint's statement, citing law enforcement, that the perpetrator used an unnamed app relying on xAI's technology rather than Grok or X directly.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/09/nx-s1-5885052/spacexai-stabilityai-deepfake-csam-class-action","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"NPR, 9 July 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Reports the amended complaint, including its new statement that the app relied on Stability AI's tools.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/895639/xai-grok-teens-lawsuit-grok-ai-elon-musk","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The Verge, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Relays the complaint.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s10","url":"https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/16/elon-musks-xai-faces-child-porn-lawsuit-from-minors-grok-allegedly-undressed/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"TechCrunch, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Relays the complaint.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s11","url":"https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/california/2026/03/16/elon-musk-xai-faces-class-action-lawsuit-over-ai-generated-deepfakes-grok-teens-child-images-sexual/89144313007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"USA Today, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Relays the complaint; xAI had not responded to a request for comment.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"},{"id":"s12","url":"https://www.businessinsider.com/lawsuit-allegation-xai-grok-created-sexualized-deepfakes-minors-2026-3","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Business Insider, 16 March 2026, read live on 2026-09-28 (HTTP 200). Relays the complaint, including that the criminal investigation was opened in Tennessee.","independence_group":"plaintiffs-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI system or app produced the images; the plaintiffs attributed the app to xAI technology in March 2026 and to Stability AI tools (with Grok and/or Stability AI) in July 2026, and the app is not named.","The perpetrator's identity, age, charges and the state of his criminal case; no criminal-court record or local police statement was found.","How many of the other minors on the Discord server have been identified or notified, and how far the files spread on Telegram, Mega and elsewhere.","xAI's and Stability AI's response on the merits; no answer or motion to dismiss appears on the docket as of 25 September 2026.","When the images were first made; the complaint places production on or before 6 December 2025 from photos taken between August 2024 and October 2025."],"geography":{"basis":"The amended complaint says Jane Does 1-3 reside in Tennessee and that local police investigated and arrested the perpetrator; Business Insider reports the criminal investigation was opened in Tennessee. The civil case is in the Northern District of California.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Restored under the 2026-09-15 charter as a depicted-minor case. Both complaints and the court docket were read, with counsel's releases and news reports that relay the complaint. The girls' account is recorded as allegation and the AI attribution as unsettled. The plaintiffs and the perpetrator are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-28"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The complaints allege the images were AI-generated from the girls' photos by an app on the perpetrator's phone, relaying law enforcement. The system is unsettled: the March complaint attributes the app to xAI's Grok technology, and the July amended complaint says it relied on Stability AI's tools ('Grok and/or Stability AI'). No court finding or defendant answer on the merits exists.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Tennessee minors v. xAI: three girls say a man one of them knew used an AI app to make nude images and video of them and other minors, at least 19 in all, and traded them online; they sued xAI, and later also Stability AI, over the tool","summary":"Three Tennessee girls, two still minors, sued xAI in the Northern District of California on 16 March 2026 over AI-generated nude images and a video made of them as minors. According to the complaint, on or about 6 December 2025 an anonymous Instagram user sent one of them sexual AI images of herself made from her own photos, including her homecoming and yearbook pictures, and a link to a Discord server created by a person she knew, which held images and videos of at least 18 other minor girls, including the two other plaintiffs, many from her school. Local police arrested the man in late December 2025; the other two plaintiffs learned from investigators in February 2026 that he had made nude images of them, and he is alleged to have traded the files on Telegram and Mega. The plaintiffs describe anxiety, sleeplessness, nightmares, self-isolation and needing academic accommodations. Their first complaint said law enforcement linked the app he used to xAI's Grok technology; the July amended complaint says the app relied on Stability AI's tools and names Stability AI as a defendant. The case is at an early stage and no court has ruled on the allegations.","incidentDate":"2025-12-06","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-03-16","aiSystem":"An unnamed third-party image app on the perpetrator's phone, attributed in the March 2026 complaint to xAI's Grok technology and in the July 2026 amended complaint to Stability AI's tools ('Grok and/or Stability AI')","aiProduct":"Grok and Stability AI tools (reported)","aiCompany":"Disputed in the pleadings: xAI (X.AI Corp., X.AI LLC, X.AI Holdings LLC) and/or Stability AI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","educational_harm","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The plaintiffs allege that a man one of them knew made nude AI images and video of them as minors and traded them online, and describe anxiety, depression, sleeplessness requiring medical help, nightmares, self-isolation and needing academic accommodations (amended complaint; counsel's release quoting a mother). These are allegations in a pending civil case; which AI system was used is contested within the plaintiffs' own pleadings.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":19,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The amended complaint alleges images of Jane Doe 1 and of 'at least 18 other minor females (including Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3)' on the perpetrator's Discord server: at least 19 depicted minors. The two plaintiffs added in July have separate perpetrators and are not counted; images and Telegram users are not counted as people.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-TN","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"lawsuit_ongoing","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.465940/gov.uscourts.cand.465940.26.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"First Amended Class Action Complaint, Doe 1 v. X.AI Corp., No. 5:26-cv-02246-PCP (N.D. Cal.), ECF 26, 7 July 2026 (RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-03-18T01:47:18.062106+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:56.260475+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["csam","deepfake","minor","lawsuit","class-action","grok","xai","stability-ai","discord","telegram","tennessee","depicted-or-impersonated","restored"]}]}