{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-12T08:14:53.558Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"spokesperson","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"2025","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":2,"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-uk-royal-mail-christmas-ad-ai-voiceover-resembling-late-narrator-daughter-distress","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Royal Mail, Britain' and 'admitted that it used artificial intelligence to deliver its festive message to the nation.' and 'We can reveal that Fameplay licensed its AI technology from ElevenLabs'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'As is increasingly common, the voiceover was AI-generated and we were advised that it was created using prompts and was not designed to replicate any specific individual.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Royal Mail confirmed that the voiceover in its 2025 Christmas advert was AI-generated; Deadline reports that the agency subcontracted it to the AI company Fameplay, which licensed technology from ElevenLabs.","causal_attribution":"Royal Mail statement and Deadline reporting; the AI generation of the voice is not disputed."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It was November 2025, 11 years after her father had passed.' and 'feared that Vaughan' and 'voice was somehow recreated without permission.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'No one in my family had given anyone permission to use his voice. No one had asked. I was really upset by the whole experience.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Vaughan's daughter heard the advert in November 2025, believed the voice was her late father's, and says she was upset that it was used without the family's permission.","causal_attribution":"The daughter's own account given in two interviews; one witness and one origin."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'said there was “considerable phonetic similarity” between the voice in the Royal Mail ads and that of Vaughan.' and 'All three said there were enough similarities to conclude that there was a good chance the AI-generated voice was the “same speaker” as Vaughan.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'There is considerable phonetic similarity between the voice in the Royal Mail adverts and that of Paul Vaughan'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A forensic speech scientist said there was considerable phonetic similarity between the advert voice and Vaughan's, and Deadline reported that three open-source analysis tools indicated a good chance they were the same speaker.","causal_attribution":"Expert opinion and Deadline's own tool comparison; it supports resemblance and does not establish how the voice was generated."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the company insisted no reference to Vaughan was used in its generative prompts.' and 'the company would only confirm that the Royal Mail narration was not a direct voice clone of Vaughan.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'was not designed to replicate any specific individual.' and 'The production partners also carried out checks and advised that these did not identify any resemblance concerns.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Royal Mail said the voice was not designed to replicate any specific individual and that checks found no resemblance concerns; Fameplay said no reference to Vaughan was used in its prompts, and ElevenLabs said the narration was not a direct clone of Vaughan.","causal_attribution":"Company denials, recorded as contrary evidence."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'has not received an apology from the Royal Mail after complaining.' and 'ElevenLabs has added Vaughan to its No Go Voices'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The daughter complained to Royal Mail and received no apology; ElevenLabs added Vaughan to its No Go Voices list.","causal_attribution":"Deadline reporting of the aftermath."}],"effects":[{"label":"shock and distress on hearing an AI-generated advert voice she recognised as her late father's, used without the family's permission","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://deadline.com/2026/10/paul-vaughan-bbc-paddington-ai-royal-mail-1237149879/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text. HTTP 200, full article body retained.","independence_group":"deadline-royal-mail-vaughan"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/paul-vaughan-ai-voice-royal-mail-christmas-advert-2025-b3064151.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text. Read on the MSN content-API syndicated copy (provider The Independent, same text); it relays Deadline and adds its own Royal Mail statement.","independence_group":"deadline-royal-mail-vaughan"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2255616/experts-warn-ai-dangers-royal-2255616","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-11; no translation was needed and no human reviewer inspected the text. Read on the MSN content-API syndicated copy (provider Daily Express, same text).","independence_group":"express-royal-mail-vaughan"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","relationships"],"unknowns":["How the voice was generated and whether the underlying model was trained on Vaughan's recordings; ElevenLabs declined to comment on training.","The dates the advert aired beyond November 2025, and whether Royal Mail has withdrawn or altered it."],"geography":{"basis":"Deadline reports that the daughter heard the Royal Mail advert on ITV at home in Buckinghamshire, England, in November 2025, and the campaign was Royal Mail's UK Christmas campaign. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":["GB"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a case of an AI-generated advert voice reaching a bereaved relative: Royal Mail confirms the voiceover was AI-generated, the late narrator's daughter recognised it as her father and describes her distress, and a forensic speech scientist and Deadline's tool comparison report close similarity. Two reporting chains were read (Deadline, relayed by The Independent, and the Daily Express). The companies deny that the voice was designed to copy him or is a direct clone, so causation is recorded as disputed.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Royal Mail told The Independent and the Daily Express that \"the voiceover was AI-generated\", created using prompts, and Deadline reports that Royal Mail admitted using artificial intelligence for it. Deadline reports that the voiceover was subcontracted to Fameplay, which licensed ElevenLabs technology. The generated narration is what the daughter heard and recognised as her father: she said \"that was Dad\", and a forensic speech scientist found \"considerable phonetic similarity\" between the advert voice and Vaughan's. The AI-generated voice is undisputed; whether it imitates Vaughan is disputed by Royal Mail, Fameplay and ElevenLabs.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with","depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"UK: Royal Mail confirms AI-generated voiceover in 2025 Christmas ad that late narrator Paul Vaughan's daughter says was his voice; firms deny a clone","summary":"Royal Mail's 2025 Christmas television campaign ended with a narrator speaking the slogan \"Royal Mail, it's so much more than just a card\". In November 2025 the daughter of the BBC narrator Paul Vaughan, who died in 2014 and was known for Horizon and the Paddington audiobooks, heard the advert on television and believed the voice was her father's; Deadline reports that she feared his voice had been recreated without permission, and she told the Daily Express that no one in the family had given permission and that she was really upset. Responding to questions from Deadline, Royal Mail admitted using AI for the voiceover; its spokesperson told The Independent and the Daily Express that the voiceover was AI-generated, created using prompts and not designed to replicate any specific individual, and that its production partners' checks found no resemblance concerns. Deadline reported that the agency subcontracted the voiceover to the Czech AI firm Fameplay, which licensed technology from ElevenLabs; Fameplay said no reference to Vaughan was used in its prompts and ElevenLabs said the narration was not a direct clone of Vaughan, while declining to say whether its model was trained on his recordings. A University of York forensic speech scientist was quoted by both outlets as finding considerable phonetic similarity between the advert voice and Vaughan's, and Deadline reported that three open-source analysis tools indicated a good chance the voices were the same speaker. Deadline reports that she complained to Royal Mail and has received no apology; ElevenLabs has added Vaughan to its list of voices that cannot be cloned on its platform.","incidentDate":"2025-11-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-10-09","aiSystem":"AI-generated voiceover for the slogan of Royal Mail's 2025 Christmas television campaign, subcontracted by the ad agency to Fameplay, a Czech AI voice company that Deadline reports licensed its technology from ElevenLabs.","aiProduct":"Fameplay AI voiceover (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The late narrator's daughter says that hearing what she recognised as her dead father's voice in the AI-generated advert, eleven years after his death and without the family's permission, left her shocked and upset; the Daily Express quotes her as saying she was really upset by the whole experience. Royal Mail and the AI companies deny that the voice was designed to replicate him. No other harm is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"disputed","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: Vaughan's daughter, who describes her own distress on hearing the advert. Her husband heard the advert but no harm to him is reported, and television viewers are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://deadline.com/2026/10/paul-vaughan-bbc-paddington-ai-royal-mail-1237149879/","primarySourceLabel":"Deadline, 9 October 2026: daughter of late BBC and Paddington narrator accuses Royal Mail of recreating her father's voice with AI","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-11T03:25:26.999857+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:25:26.999857+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-voice","voice-cloning","advertising","royal-mail","elevenlabs","deceased-person","united-kingdom","depicted","institutional-use"]},{"id":"2026-nt-police-deepfake-video-former-assistant-commissioner","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In December 2025, I became aware that an AI-generated, sexually explicit video had been created using my official Northern Territory Police photograph,'; 'The video was then allegedly shared among serving members of the police force.'; 'A former Northern Territory Police assistant commissioner has taken her old colleagues to court for sharing a deepfake sexually explicit video that used her professional photograph.'; 'Ms Tonkin said what happened to her was \"extremely distressing, personally and professionally\".'; 'Janelle Tonkin issued a statement yesterday after criminal proceedings on the issue were finalised'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a statement issued on 23 September 2026, after criminal proceedings were finalised, the former NT Police assistant commissioner said that in December 2025 she became aware that an AI-generated, sexually explicit video had been created using her official NT Police photograph; ABC News reports the video was allegedly shared among serving members of the force and that she took former colleagues to court over it; she described the experience as extremely distressing personally and professionally.","causal_attribution":"The complainant's own statement and the ABC's description; the court proceedings and their outcome were not inspected. The 23 September date is derived from 'yesterday' in an article posted 24 September 2026."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The outcome of the court proceedings is unknown.'; 'However, the conduct that Commander Tonkin was subject to in this matter, was, and always will be, totally unacceptable,'; 'The NT Police Association (NTPA) also condemned the conduct, but could not confirm details of an internal police investigation into the matter'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The outcome of the court proceedings is not reported; the NT Police Force said it does not comment on internal investigations and was legally constrained on matters before the court, but called the conduct totally unacceptable; the NT Police Association condemned the conduct and could not confirm details of any internal investigation.","causal_attribution":"Statements to the ABC by the NT Police Force and the NTPA."}],"effects":[{"label":"an AI-generated sexually explicit video made from a senior police officer's official photograph was circulated among her colleagues, which she describes as extremely distressing personally and professionally","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-24/police-officers-share-ai-video-of-former-assistant-commissioner/107189604","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en-AU","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-25 (ABC News, Kylie Stevenson and Tilda Colling, 24 September 2026; html lang=en-AU). Carries Ms Tonkin's statement of 23 September, the NT Police Force and NT Police Association responses.","independence_group":"abc-tonkin-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ntnews.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nt/former-nt-police-assistant-commissioner-janelle-tonkin-alleges-multiple-cops-shared-extremely-distressing-pornographic-deepfake-video/news-story/982b30e4376d3a54781c2d5a63576e2f","kind":"news_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"Not read: the NT News item of 23 September 2026 returned HTTP 403 to this host (News Corp Australia); its headline in the Bing News feed refers to the same statement. Listed for completeness; no claim rests on it.","independence_group":"abc-tonkin-statement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","privacy"],"unknowns":["Who created and who shared the video, how many officers were involved and how widely it circulated.","The charges laid, the court, and the outcome of the criminal proceedings (described by the ABC as finalised but unknown).","When the video was created; she became aware of it in December 2025.","The tool used to generate the video.","Whether an internal NT Police investigation or disciplinary process is continuing.","Whether Ms Tonkin remains a serving member of the NT Police Force: the ABC calls her a former assistant commissioner, while the NTPF statement refers to her as Commander Tonkin."],"geography":{"basis":"The video was circulated among serving members of the Northern Territory Police Force, the complainant's workplace when the video circulated (her own words: 'circulated among colleagues'), and the criminal proceedings concerned former colleagues in the Northern Territory (ABC News). Her residence is not stated separately; the affected-person country records her NT Police workplace. The court is not named in the report; court_countries is left empty.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a workplace deepfake case with one identified depicted person who made the account public in her own name: an AI-generated sexually explicit video created from a senior officer's official photograph and allegedly circulated among her colleagues, reported by ABC News with the complainant's statement and the police force's and association's responses (one chain; a paywalled News Corp report was not read). Claims are recorded as reported; no alleged offender is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-25"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Ms Tonkin's statement, quoted by ABC News, says the sexually explicit video was 'AI-generated' and created from her official police photograph; the ABC describes it as a deepfake. No tool is identified and no court finding on the video's creation is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Former NT Police assistant commissioner says an AI-generated sexually explicit video made from her official police photograph circulated among colleagues","summary":"Janelle Tonkin, a former assistant commissioner of the Northern Territory Police Force and now president of the Australasian Council of Women and Policing, said in a statement issued on 23 September 2026, after criminal proceedings on the matter were finalised, that in December 2025 she became aware that an AI-generated, sexually explicit video had been created using her official NT Police photograph; ABC News reports that the video was allegedly shared among serving members of the force and that she had taken former colleagues to court over it. She called the experience 'extremely distressing, personally and professionally' and said having her professional portrait 'turned into pornography and circulated among colleagues is something no person should have to experience'. The outcome of the court proceedings is not reported. An NT Police spokesperson said the force does not comment on internal investigations and was legally constrained from commenting on matters before the court, but that the conduct she was subjected to 'was, and always will be, totally unacceptable'; the NT Police Association condemned the conduct. Ms Tonkin said the video sat within a broader set of experiences in the force that she intends to describe later.","incidentDate":"2025-12-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-24","aiSystem":"AI video-generation ('deepfake') tool used to create a sexually explicit video from an official police portrait photograph; not identified in the report","aiProduct":"Unidentified video tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A senior police officer's official portrait was used to create an AI-generated sexually explicit video that was allegedly circulated among her serving colleagues; she describes the experience as extremely distressing personally and professionally (her own statement as reported by ABC News). The circulation and the court proceedings are as described by ABC News; the proceedings' outcome is not reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, the former assistant commissioner who issued the statement (ABC News). Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"AU","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-24/police-officers-share-ai-video-of-former-assistant-commissioner/107189604","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News, 24 September 2026: NT police officers allegedly circulated sexually explicit AI-generated video of former assistant commissioner","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-25T03:54:29.681398+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-12T03:16:24.051108+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfake","non-consensual-imagery","workplace","police","australia","northern-territory","criminal-proceedings","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}