{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-14T16:32:12.855Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"state-department","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"","response":"regulatory","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":1,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"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-us-state-department-cable-says-impostor-used-ai-voice-and-text-messages-to-pose-as-secretary-of-state","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'an impostor posing as Rubio had attempted to reach out to at least three foreign ministers, a U.S. senator and a governor, according to the July 3 cable'; 'which were sent by text, Signal and voice mail'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'left voicemails on Signal for at least two targeted individuals'; 'three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A State Department cable dated 3 July 2025 said an impostor posing as the Secretary of State had attempted to reach at least three foreign ministers, a US governor and a member of Congress by text, Signal and voicemail, leaving Signal voicemails for at least two of them.","causal_attribution":"The cable as reported by AP and the Guardian (one origin); the two accounts differ on whether the legislator was a senator or a member of Congress."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'using technology driven by artificial intelligence, according to two senior officials and a cable sent last week to all embassies and consulates'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'the impostor sent fake voice messages and texts that mimicked'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to AP, two senior officials and the cable described the impersonation attempts as using technology driven by artificial intelligence; the Guardian reports that the messages mimicked the Secretary of State's voice and writing style.","causal_attribution":"The State Department's attribution as relayed by AP and the Guardian; its technical basis is not disclosed."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The hoaxes involving Rubio had been unsuccessful and \"not very sophisticated,\" one of the officials said'; 'advise all employees and foreign governments'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'is currently investigating the matter'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The department said it was investigating, sent the cable to all embassies and consulates and advised all employees and foreign governments; one official said the attempts had been unsuccessful and not very sophisticated.","causal_attribution":"Statements by department officials as reported by AP and the Guardian."}],"effects":[{"label":"the Secretary of State's identity was used in AI voice and text messages to senior officials, prompting a department investigation and warnings","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462195/impostor-ai-impersonate-rubio-foreign-officials","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). NPR's copy of an Associated Press report; AP had a copy of the cable and spoke to two senior officials.","independence_group":"state-department-cable-3-july-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jul/08/marco-rubio-ai-impostor","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-14 (HTTP 200). The Guardian says it confirmed the cable first reported by The Washington Post; same origin as the AP report.","independence_group":"state-department-cable-3-july-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work","public_services"],"unknowns":["Who sent the messages and which AI tool was used.","How the department established that AI was used.","Whether any recipient replied or shared information; the Guardian subheading and an AP-quoted official differ."],"geography":{"basis":"The cable was sent by the US State Department, and the recipients included foreign ministers and US officials whose locations are not stated; where the messages were sent from or received is not stated, so no event country is recorded. No affected-person country is inferred from the official's office.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published because AP and the Guardian report a State Department cable and officials stating that an impostor used AI-driven voice and text messages to pose as the Secretary of State to senior officials, and that the department investigated and warned all posts and foreign governments.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-14"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"AP reports that two senior State Department officials and the department's 3 July 2025 cable described the attempts to impersonate the Secretary of State as using technology driven by artificial intelligence, and the Guardian reports from the cable that the voice messages and texts mimicked his voice and writing style. The department, which was investigating the incident and whose cable describes the account's creation in mid-June and the Signal voicemails left for at least two targets, is the party making the attribution; it is the impersonated Secretary of State's own department. The AI-generated messages impersonated the Secretary of State toward senior officials, which led to the investigation and the warnings to all posts and foreign governments. The technical basis for the AI attribution is not disclosed in the sources read, and no tool is identified.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"State Department cable says an impostor used AI voice and text messages to pose as Secretary of State Marco Rubio to foreign ministers and US officials","summary":"A State Department cable dated 3 July 2025, sent to all US embassies and consulates and reported by The Washington Post, AP and The Guardian, said an impostor posing as Secretary of State Marco Rubio had contacted at least five senior officials, including three foreign ministers and a US governor, by text, Signal and voicemail, with the aim of gaining access to information or accounts. According to AP, two senior officials and the cable described the attempts as using technology driven by artificial intelligence; the Guardian reports that the messages mimicked Rubio's voice and writing style. The department said it was investigating and advised all employees and foreign governments. One official told AP the attempts had been unsuccessful; the technical basis for the AI description was not disclosed.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentEndDate":"2025-07-03","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-07-08","aiSystem":"AI technology used to send voice and text messages imitating the Secretary of State, as described by State Department officials and a department cable; no tool is identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to a State Department cable and officials quoted by AP and the Guardian, an impostor used AI voice and text messages in the Secretary of State's name to contact senior officials, and the department opened an investigation and warned all diplomatic posts and foreign governments. No recipient is reported to have been deceived.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the Secretary of State, whose identity was used and whose department responded with an investigation and warnings. The at least five officials who received messages are not counted, because no adverse consequence is reported for them (an official said the attempts were unsuccessful).","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.npr.org/2025/07/09/nx-s1-5462195/impostor-ai-impersonate-rubio-foreign-officials","primarySourceLabel":"NPR (Associated Press), 9 July 2025: Impostor uses AI to impersonate Rubio and contact foreign and U.S. officials","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:37.670188+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-14T03:03:37.670188+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["united-states","state-department","signal","voicemail","impersonation","voice-cloning","public-official"]}]}