{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-09-30T05:35:45.325Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"students","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":10,"coverage":{"cases":10,"countries":3,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":10,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":7,"coreRelations":10,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2025-cascade-students-report-ai-image-abuse-distress","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body: opening student statements and sheriff's account.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Students and the sheriff's office described AI-created sexual images of female Cascade students.","causal_attribution":"The inspected reporting describes this account. Claims remain attributed and causation is alleged; multiple reports of the same victim or police/court account are one independence group."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body: student statements about judgment, violation and school response.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Three directly described students expressed humiliation, fear or feeling silenced; one said no counselling had been offered to her.","causal_attribution":"The inspected reporting describes this account. Claims remain attributed and causation is alleged; multiple reports of the same victim or police/court account are one independence group."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body: superintendent response and sheriff's unknown-count statement.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The superintendent said counsellors were available and policies would be reviewed; the sheriff did not establish the total number of targets.","causal_attribution":"The inspected reporting describes this account. Claims remain attributed and causation is alleged; multiple reports of the same victim or police/court account are one independence group."}],"effects":[{"label":"Reported sexual-image abuse, humiliation and feeling unsupported at school","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.kcrg.com/2025/04/29/beyond-uncomfortable-cascade-students-say-classmates-used-ai-create-fake-nude-images/","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1350"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["The first creation date, app identity and total target count are unknown.","Potential future employment consequences mentioned by a student are concerns, not established job loss."],"geography":{"basis":"The article locates the affected students in Cascade, Iowa, and the meeting in the local district.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"An inspected source describes a concrete person-level adverse experience connected to the specified AI use. Statements remain attributed, private identities are minimized, and unknown dates, counts and technical details are preserved.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Students and the sheriff's account quoted by KCRG attribute the images to AI apps. Underlying imagery and investigative evidence were not inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Iowa students report distress and lack of support after AI sexual images","summary":"KCRG reported that Cascade High School students said classmates used AI apps to create sexual images of them. At a district meeting, students described humiliation, fear of being judged and feeling silenced. One said no one at school had offered her counselling. The superintendent said counselling was available and promised policy work. The sheriff said several female students were targets but that the total was unknown. The first image date is not established.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-04-28","aiSystem":"Reported AI image-generation apps","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Reported sexual-image abuse, humiliation and feeling unsupported at school","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Three students have separately described their own adverse experiences in the article. A fourth speaker and the sheriff's broader group may include further targets; the full total is unknown. Three is a partial documented minimum, not a total.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.kcrg.com/2025/04/29/beyond-uncomfortable-cascade-students-say-classmates-used-ai-create-fake-nude-images/","primarySourceLabel":"KCRG, 28 April 2025 local time, school-board accounts and sheriff statement","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:11:22.688335+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:57:42.261979+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2025-sydney-school-reported-deepfake-images-police-inquiry","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 99: paragraph about digitally altered images.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"ABC reports that digitally altered sexual images using female students' faces circulated online at a Sydney high school.","causal_attribution":"Two ABC reports on one school investigation. Police and commissioner statements remain reported. General statistics or experiences at other schools do not establish this case's individual impacts."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 93: paragraph about police complaint and investigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 101: paragraph about police complaint and investigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Families reportedly went to police and NSW Police confirmed an investigation was underway.","causal_attribution":"Two ABC reports on one school investigation. Police and commissioner statements remain reported. General statistics or experiences at other schools do not establish this case's individual impacts."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 99: paragraph about eSafety involvement.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The follow-up says the eSafety Commissioner's investigators were in talks with police and the education department about the digitally altered images.","causal_attribution":"Two ABC reports on one school investigation. Police and commissioner statements remain reported. General statistics or experiences at other schools do not establish this case's individual impacts."}],"effects":[{"label":"Reported nonconsensual sexual depictions circulated online","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-16/police-investigate-sydney-school-image-deepfake/105896812","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1234"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-17/deepfake-image-based-abuse-doubles-across-australia/105905152","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1234"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["The first creation date, generation method and number of affected students are unknown.","The identities of creators and any investigation or disciplinary outcome remain unknown."],"geography":{"basis":"Both reports explicitly locate the affected students at a Sydney high school. The school's name is withheld.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Inspected local reporting describes a concrete school image-abuse event and case-specific official responses. Students and school are not named. The record remains undated and does not borrow distress claims from other schools or general statistics.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"ABC describes the case as deepfake image-based abuse and reports the eSafety Commissioner's involvement. The reviewers have not inspected the images, tools or a forensic determination.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Sydney schoolgirls reportedly targeted with deepfake images circulated online","summary":"ABC News reports that digitally altered sexual images using the faces of girls from a Sydney high school circulated online. Families went to police, who confirmed an investigation, while the school and education department said they were working with police. A follow-up report says the eSafety Commissioner was also in talks with investigators. The school is not identified, and the number of affected students, creation date and later inquiry outcome are unknown.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-10-16","aiSystem":"Reported deepfake image-generation tools","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The reports describe nonconsensual sexual depictions of schoolgirls circulated online and families seeking police help. No separate clinical or educational outcome is attributed to these particular students.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The sources refer to female students and several families without a reliable numeric count. Zero is an unknown-count placeholder and does not mean no one was harmed.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-10-16/police-investigate-sydney-school-image-deepfake/105896812","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News, 16 October 2025, police inquiry into Sydney school deepfake images","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:10:39.838754+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:58:17.276886+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2025-orrington-teacher-reported-ai-impersonation-harassment","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 91: paragraph about AI videos and photos.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 91: paragraph about AI videos and photos.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The superintendent said fabricated videos and photos of a teaching staff member were created using AI and circulated online.","causal_attribution":"WABI reproduces one superintendent letter. School statements remain reported and are not independent corroboration of the underlying creation method."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 92: paragraph about malicious targeting and online circulation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 95: paragraph about malicious targeting and online circulation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The district described the teacher as a victim of digital impersonation and harassment, and said the content was false.","causal_attribution":"WABI reproduces one superintendent letter. School statements remain reported and are not independent corroboration of the underlying creation method."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Article body, retained text line 93: paragraph about reporting and takedown.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The letter said the online account hosting the video had been reported and the video taken down.","causal_attribution":"WABI reproduces one superintendent letter. School statements remain reported and are not independent corroboration of the underlying creation method."}],"effects":[{"label":"Reported digital impersonation and harassment of a teacher","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.wabi.tv/2025/04/22/aos-47-teacher-target-deepfake-video-orrington-superintendent-says/","kind":"journalistic","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"original-account-aiid-1156"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","work","privacy"],"unknowns":["The first event date, creator and AI tool are unknown.","The teacher's personal account and any separate employment, medical or financial effects are not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The school district is expressly identified as the Orrington-area Maine district, and the target is a member of its teaching staff.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"A reproduced school letter describes a specific AI impersonation attack on one teacher. The target and school are anonymized in public prose, and the record avoids unsupported imagery descriptions or clinical effects. The event is undated.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The reproduced superintendent letter directly attributes fabricated videos and photos of the teacher to AI technology. No imagery or investigation record was inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Maine school district reports teacher targeted by fabricated AI videos and photos","summary":"A Maine school superintendent told families that a teacher had been targeted by a malicious digital attack using AI-created videos and photos. The letter, reproduced by WABI, said the content falsely portrayed the teacher and had circulated online, with a small number of students possibly accessing or sharing it. The district said the hosting account had been reported and the video taken down, and offered support to the teacher. The first creation date and specific content are unknown.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-04-22","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI-generated impersonation videos and photos","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The superintendent described one teacher as the target of malicious digital impersonation and online harassment. The source does not report a separate medical, employment or financial consequence.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The superintendent's letter identifies one teaching staff member as the target. Students who may have viewed the material are not counted as harmed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.wabi.tv/2025/04/22/aos-47-teacher-target-deepfake-video-orrington-superintendent-says/","primarySourceLabel":"WABI, 22 April 2025, reproduced school superintendent letter","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:10:30.089149+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:58:04.769803+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2026-tasmania-school-reported-ai-sexual-images-of-girls-shared-in-boys-group-chat","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"have had their images used to make deepfake pornographic material, according to Tasmania Police.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"who told them the AI-altered photos of the girls had been shared in a boys' group chat and that their images appeared to have been taken from social media.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The faked images of the girls were allegedly shared in a group chat by male students.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"It is understood the incident may have involved the alleged use of AI-generated content.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Tasmania Police said, as reported by the ABC, that a number of girls at the school had their likenesses used to make AI-generated sexual images. Two parents said police told them the AI-altered photos were shared in a boys' group chat and appeared to have been taken from social media.","causal_attribution":"A Tasmania Police attribution stated by the ABC and two parents' account of what police told them. The images and the AI tool were not verified by the reviewer and no tool is named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Parents of two of the children said they were told by police that 21 victims had been identified.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Two parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims.","causal_attribution":"Second-hand: two parents relaying a police figure to one ABC reporter. Police published no count in the inspected sources."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Five boys are alleged to have created the images and all have since left the school.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Five boys have left the school and police said no charges had been laid.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Five boys are alleged to have created the images and have left the school.","causal_attribution":"An allegation the ABC states in the sentence after the parents' account of what police told them, without naming its source. No charge or finding establishes who created the images."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Both parents said their daughters were struggling with not being able to talk about it with their friends.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"This has created an environment of confusion, isolation, and shame amongst the very girls who need support and solidarity the most.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The two parents told the ABC their daughters felt isolated and unsupported because they did not know if any of their peers had been told.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"not knowing who to talk to","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Two parents said their daughters felt isolated and unsupported because they did not know whether peers had been told. One mother told the education minister in a letter that the girls' uncertainty about what they could say to students who had not been told had created confusion, isolation and shame among the girls.","causal_attribution":"Parents' accounts relayed by the ABC. No girl is quoted and no clinical assessment is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"disputed","evidence":[{"locator":"the staff member told her most parents were not going to tell their children they had been identified in the material","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"I felt I was being encouraged not to tell my daughter","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"that most parents were not going to tell their daughters","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"and went on to advise them that most parents were not going to tell their children","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"At no time have families been advised or encouraged to withhold information from their child, nor to prevent their child from speaking with trusted adults.","relation":"contradicts","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Two parents said senior school staff told them most parents were not going to tell their children they had been identified. The school principal wrote to families that at no time had families been advised or encouraged to withhold information.","causal_attribution":"A parents' account and the principal's written denial, both relayed by the ABC. The dispute concerns the school's handling, not how the images were made."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Tasmania Police has received a report regarding alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a southern Tasmanian school","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"It is understood the incident may have involved the alleged use of AI-generated content.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Tasmania Police received a report of alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a school in the south of the state. On 19 March 2026 Pulse Tasmania reported that, as the outlet understood it, the incident may have involved AI-generated content.","causal_attribution":"A police spokesperson statement to Pulse Tasmania. The AI involvement is the outlet's understanding and is not attributed to police in this article."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Police said they have spoken to five young people and their parents following concerns about inappropriate online activity.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"The youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act and no charges were laid.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Tasmania Police said no charges had been laid, with \"the five youths being dealt with in accordance with the Youth Justice Act\".","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Police spoke to five young people and their parents. No charges were laid and the five youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act.","causal_attribution":"Tasmania Police statements given to Pulse Tasmania (27 March 2026) and the ABC (29 April 2026). Both may relay one police position, so no independent corroboration is claimed."}],"effects":[{"label":"Girls reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared in a boys' group chat","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"Parents report the girls felt isolated, unsupported and unsure whom to talk to","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-29/tas-friends-school-criticised-after-deepfake-scandal/106577310","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read (29 April 2026, updated 30 April). Related-story cards on the page were not used.","independence_group":"abc-tasmania-reporting-2026-04"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-30/tas-friends-school-deny-dont-tell-to-parents-over-deepfakes/106624754","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read (30 April 2026, updated 1 May). Same reporter and same two parents as s1, so one independence group.","independence_group":"abc-tasmania-reporting-2026-04"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/online-activity-of-friends-school-students-under-police-investigation/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read. Based on a police spokesperson statement and a school letter to parents. Publication date 19 March 2026 from the article header line in the saved text ('Thu March 19, 2026 5:00am'), which matches the published-time metadata in the saved html.","independence_group":"pulse-tasmania-reporting-2026-03"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://pulsetasmania.com.au/news/no-charges-laid-after-friends-school-students-alleged-online-behaviour/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full article body read. Same outlet and same police and school chain as s3. Publication date 27 March 2026 from the article header line in the saved text ('Fri March 27, 2026 2:52pm'), which matches the published-time metadata in the saved html.","independence_group":"pulse-tasmania-reporting-2026-03"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["No source states when the images were created or first shared. The earliest date in the sources is early March 2026, when a parent said the incident was being talked about. An ABC item of 5 July 2026 describes the incident as occurring 'earlier this year', and an ABC podcast page of 8 May 2026 asks what teenagers were doing 'over the school holidays' and says the images 'might not have been created in the classroom'. Neither gives a date, so the event start date is unknown.","The AI tool and the app or platform used for the group chat are not reported.","The girls' ages and school years are not reported. The sources call them girls, students, daughters and children.","The count of 21 comes from two parents relaying what police told them. Police published no count in the inspected sources, and the number of girls not yet told is unknown.","A local outlet quotes a school letter referring to students from the school and from other local schools. Whether students from other schools created, received or were depicted in the images is not reported.","How each girl was affected beyond the parents' accounts is not reported, and no girl is quoted.","The identity of the five youths and any later police or school outcome beyond the dealt-with-under-the-Youth-Justice-Act statement are not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The sources describe a school in Tasmania, Tasmania Police, a police statement citing the Youth Justice Act and the Tasmanian education minister. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Reports by the ABC (29 and 30 April 2026) and Pulse Tasmania (19 and 27 March 2026). All claims are reported except one that is disputed (the school's advice to parents): the victim count, the alleged creators and the images come from parents relaying police information and from police statements to the two outlets. The school, students, parents, principal and staff are not named and no image detail is given. No source dates the creation of the images, so the case is published undated and outside the 2026 event-year lane.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Tasmania Police, as relayed by the ABC, said girls' likenesses were used to make AI-generated sexual images, and two parents said police described the photos as AI-altered. The first local report (19 March 2026) said only that the incident may have involved AI-generated content. No AI tool is named and the images were not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Girls at a Tasmanian school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared in a boys' group chat","summary":"Police in Tasmania received a report about alleged illegal online activity involving a group of students at a school in the south of the state, and on 19 March 2026 a local outlet reported that the incident may have involved AI-generated content. On 29 April 2026 the ABC reported, citing Tasmania Police, that girls at the school had their likenesses used to make AI-generated sexual images. Two parents told the ABC that police said 21 girls had been identified as victims, that the AI-altered photos were shared in a boys' group chat and that the images appeared to have been taken from social media. Five boys are alleged to have created the images and have left the school. Tasmania Police said no charges were laid and the five youths were dealt with under the Youth Justice Act. The parents said their daughters felt isolated and unsupported, and the school principal denied that families were advised to withhold information from their children. The creation date and the AI tool are not reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-03-19","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-manipulation software","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Tasmania Police, as relayed by the ABC, said girls' likenesses were used to make AI-generated sexual images, and two parents said police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims. The parents said their daughters felt isolated, unsupported and unsure whom to talk to, and a mother's letter to the education minister describes confusion, isolation and shame among the girls. These are parents' accounts relayed by one outlet and no girl is quoted.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":21,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Two parents told the ABC that police told them 21 girls had been identified as victims (ABC, 29 and 30 April 2026). The figure is a police count relayed by two parents to one reporter and repeated by the outlet. Police published no count in the inspected sources. 21 is used as a lower bound because it counts identified victims only.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-29/tas-friends-school-criticised-after-deepfake-scandal/106577310","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News (29 Apr 2026): parents criticise a Tasmanian school response after girls were targeted in an AI deepfake incident","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:09:53.76606+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:44:24.955277+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2026-us-high-school-students-reportedly-depicted-in-ai-generated-sexual-images-shared-between-students","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"first received a report on February 26 of AI being used to generate","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"which included the likenesses of high school students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"received a report on Feb. 26 about the possible use of AI to generate","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"that allegedly included other students, according to the letter","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"a report of potential transmission of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"first received a report about the possible use of artificial intelligence to create","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"images of students in late February","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"AI may have been used to create","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"images of suburban high school students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"received a report regarding the possible use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"February 26th","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"School administrators received a report on 26 February 2026 of the possible use of AI to generate sexual images that included the likenesses of other students.","causal_attribution":"One district letter to families (reproduced in full by one outlet), relayed by five outlets. The district describes the AI use as possible or reported. No administrator or staff member viewed the content, the AI tool is not named and the reviewer saw no image. The 26 February date is the date the report reached administrators, and the letter's own timeline begins with that report. Two outlets give only late February, and none states when the images were generated. The last s3 fragment is from the police statement about the same report."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"On February 26, 2026","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"regarding a report of potential transmission of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles, between students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"potential transmission of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles, between students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Due to the involvement of minors, no additional information is available at this time","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"confirmed its active investigation, saying the case involved","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Police Department to report the incident","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Police were contacted by school staff on 26 February 2026 about potential transmission between students of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles, and described an active and ongoing investigation with no additional information available because minors are involved.","causal_attribution":"One police statement carried by three outlets, each also relaying the district letter, whose timeline also says the police were contacted on 26 February. The statement refers to lewd material including AI-generated content and does not itself say which images were AI-generated. The reviewer did not see the content."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"families of students thought to be involved based on the initial report, including students involved in the possession, generation or distribution of content, and students whose images were included, were contacted by school administration","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Police Department on February 26 and February 27","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"issued school-based consequences","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"from February 26 through March 6","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"up until March 6, an investigation was conducted and ultimately","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"as well as students whose images were used","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"students reportedly involved in the possession, generation and/or distribution of content, students whose images were reportedly included","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"February 26th through March 6th","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"Families of students thought to be involved, including students whose images were included and students involved in possessing, generating or distributing the content, were contacted by school administration and a police detective on 26 and 27 February 2026, and the school issued school-based consequences between 26 February and 6 March 2026.","causal_attribution":"District account as relayed by four outlets. One outlet's paraphrase gives March 26 for the end date, but the letter it reproduces and the other outlets give March 6. The number and ages of the students involved and the content of the consequences are not reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"No administrators or staff directly viewed any of the content.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"No members of the high school or district administrative team directly viewed the reported AI-generated content, according to officials","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"directly viewed any reported content related to this investigation","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The district said no administrators or staff directly viewed any of the reported content.","causal_attribution":"District statement relayed by three outlets. AI involvement therefore rests on the reports and the police statement, and no one quoted inspected the content."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We understand the profound impact this has on the individuals involved, their families, and our learning community.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"We understand the profound impact this has on the individuals involved, their families, and our learning community.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"Parents whose child was impacted by the incident have been provided with school resources.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"we continue to provide targeted teaching and emotional support within our schools","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"We understand the profound impact this has on the individuals involved, their families, and our learning community.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The district superintendent's letter to families said the incident had a profound impact on the individuals involved, their families and the learning community, and the district said it was providing targeted teaching, emotional support and school resources to parents whose child was impacted.","causal_attribution":"District statement relayed by four outlets. No depicted student is quoted and no individual effect on a student is described."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"One parent said police have obtained a subpoena for Snapchat records","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"for review of charges once the investigation has concluded","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"One parent told a local outlet that police had obtained a subpoena for Snapchat records and would turn the investigation over to a State's Attorney's office for review of charges once it concluded.","causal_attribution":"One unnamed parent, one outlet. Police and the district did not confirm it in the inspected reports, and Fox 32 says it is unclear whether charges will result. The platform on which the images were shared is not established."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Another parent said the number of victims is more than 40 girls and ranges from high school to fifth-grade.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Another parent told the same outlet that the number of victims is more than 40 girls and ranges from high school to fifth grade.","causal_attribution":"One unnamed parent, one outlet. Police and the district gave no count and did not confirm the figure, so it is not used as an affected count in this record."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Many parents with students at the school have expressed dissatisfaction with school administrators for their handling of the matter, including the school discipline of the student offenders involved.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The local outlet reports that many parents of students at the school expressed dissatisfaction with school administrators' handling of the matter, including the discipline given to the students involved as offenders.","causal_attribution":"One outlet's summary of unnamed parents. It does not say how many parents or what discipline was given."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"It is unclear whether any criminal charges will result from the investigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Police may contact additional families if their children are found to be involved, officials said.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"As of the 2 to 3 April 2026 reports, it was unclear whether criminal charges would result, and police might contact additional families.","causal_attribution":"Fox 32 summary of district and police statements. No later report was found in the searches run for this review."}],"effects":[{"label":"Students reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared between students, with school consequences, a police investigation and district support for affected students","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/04/03/disturbing-incident-police-investigating-after-lake-zurich-high-school-students-distribute-ai-generated-nude-images-of-classmates/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Local news report of 3 April 2026. It relays the district letter and a police statement and adds statements from two unnamed parents that appear in no other inspected report.","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/suburban-district-gives-update-as-police-investigate-ai-generated-pornographic-images-of-students/3918015/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/lake-zurich-high-school-investigates-report-of-ai-generated-explicit-images-of-students","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The report states that its information was provided by the school district.","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/lake-zurich-high-school-investigation-ai-images-students/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read from an Internet Archive capture of the page (article text present, dated 2 April 2026). The article is short.","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/lake-zurich-high-school-issues-161150999.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Yahoo News copy of a WGN report that reproduces the district letter to families in full. The reviewer read the copy, because the WGN page itself returned an access error.","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://abc7chicago.com/post/police-investigate-ai-generated-nude-images-lake-zurich-high-school-students/18833845/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Short report (a few sentences) that repeats the district statement.","independence_group":"district-letter-and-police-statement-2026-04"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["The event start date is unknown. No inspected source states when the images were generated or first shared. The earliest dated fact is the report to school administrators and police on 26 February 2026. Fox 32 describes the incident as occurring in late February and NBC Chicago as beginning on 26 February. Fox 32 says its information was provided by the school district and NBC Chicago quotes the district letter, whose timeline starts with the report and dates only the school's response. The letter calls it a recent incident. The case is published undated and outside the 2026 event-year lane.","The AI tool or app used, the platforms on which the images were shared (one unnamed parent mentioned a subpoena for Snapchat records) and the number of images are not reported.","The number of depicted students is not reported by police or the district. One unnamed parent's figure of more than 40 is unconfirmed and is not used as a count.","The ages of the depicted students are not stated by police or the district, and no depicted student or family is quoted about personal impact.","The number and ages of the students who created or shared the images and the school-based consequences they received are not reported.","No charge, prosecutorial decision or investigation outcome is reported in the inspected sources (latest dated 3 April 2026). No later report was found in the searches run for this review."],"geography":{"basis":"The sources describe a school district, a local police department and a State's Attorney's office, and one source gives the state as Illinois. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Six outlet reports of 2 and 3 April 2026 that rest on one district letter to families (reproduced in full by one outlet) and police statements (one independence group), plus statements from two unnamed parents in one outlet. All claims are reported. The school, district, town, students, officials and police are not named, and no image is described beyond AI-generated sexual images. The event date is unknown (the earliest dated fact is the 26 February 2026 report to school administrators), so the case is published undated and outside the 2026 event-year lane.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"District and police statements as relayed by six outlets describe AI-generated content depicting students' likenesses. No tool is named, no administrator or staff member viewed the content, and the reviewer saw no image.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Students at a US high school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared between students","summary":"On 2 and 3 April 2026 outlets reported a district letter to families and a police statement about a report that reached high school administrators on 26 February 2026. The report concerned the possible use of AI to generate sexual images that included the likenesses of other students. Police were contacted the same day and described potential transmission between students of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles. Families of students thought to be involved, including students whose images were included, were contacted on 26 and 27 February, and the school issued school-based consequences between 26 February and 6 March. The police investigation was active and no charge was reported. One parent told a local outlet that police had obtained a subpoena for Snapchat records, and another said the victims number more than 40 and range from high school to fifth grade. The district and police gave no count, and the creation date, the AI tool and the outcome are not reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-04-02","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-generation tools","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"District and police statements describe a report of AI-generated sexual images using students' likenesses and potential transmission of lewd material between students, and the district said the incident had a profound impact on the individuals involved and their families. One parent reported more than 40 victims, which the inspected reports do not show police or the district confirming. No depicted student's own account is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"Police and the district refer to students whose images were included without giving a number. One unnamed parent told one outlet the victims number more than 40, and neither police nor the district confirmed that figure, so no count is used. Zero is a placeholder and does not state that nobody was harmed.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.lakemchenryscanner.com/2026/04/03/disturbing-incident-police-investigating-after-lake-zurich-high-school-students-distribute-ai-generated-nude-images-of-classmates/","primarySourceLabel":"Local news outlet, 3 April 2026, police investigating after students reportedly distribute AI-generated sexual images of classmates","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:09:50.391678+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:44:24.369902+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2025-greece-two-students-arrested-over-reported-ai-edited-nude-or-semi-nude-images-of-classmates","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Οι ανήλικοι προσήχθησαν από αστυνομικούς της Άμεσης Δράσης, μεσημβρινές ώρες της 19-2-2025 από το σχολείο όπου φοιτούν στην ανωτέρω υπηρεσία.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Σε βάρος των ανηλίκων σχηματίστηκε δικογραφία για πορνογραφία ανηλίκων και σε βάρος των γονέων τους","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Συνελήφθησαν δύο 16χρονοι για διαδικτυακή ανταλλαγή φωτογραφιών συμμαθητριών τους","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The Hellenic Police reported that two 16-year-old students were taken in on 19 February 2025 from their school, and that a case file was formed against them for child sexual abuse material and against their parents for neglect of supervision.","causal_attribution":"A police statement establishes only its own contents. Charges are accusations, and the outcome is not reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"οι δύο συλληφθέντες προέβαιναν σε διαδικτυακή ανταλλαγή φωτογραφιών συμμαθητριών τους, τις οποίες είχαν επεξεργαστεί μέσω προγράμματος τεχνητής νοημοσύνης, ώστε να εμφανίζονται γυμνές ή ημίγυμνες.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"τις οποίες είχαν επεξεργαστεί μέσω προγράμματος τεχνητής νοημοσύνης","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the Hellenic Police statement, the two students exchanged online photographs of classmates that they had processed with an artificial intelligence program so that the classmates appeared nude or semi-nude.","causal_attribution":"One police statement relayed by three outlets. The program is not named and the images were not seen."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Τις φωτογραφίες τις είχαν αποσπάσει από πλατφόρμες κοινωνικής δικτύωσης ή τις λάμβαναν οι ίδιοι δίχως τη συγκατάθεση των θυμάτων.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Τα κινητά τηλέφωνα των δύο 16χρονων κατασχέθηκαν και θα διενεργηθεί εργαστηριακός ψηφιακός έλεγχος.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to the police statement, the photographs had been taken from social media platforms or received by the two students without the consent of the people depicted, and the students' phones were seized for forensic examination.","causal_attribution":"Police statement as relayed. The number of classmates depicted is not stated."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Μου είπαν ότι προσπαθούσαν να κάνουν μια εφαρμογή τώρα από περιέργεια, η εφηβεία; Να παίξουν με μία εφαρμογή τεχνητής νοημοσύνης. Ζήτησαν συγγνώμη","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"iefimerida reports that a school staff member said the two students told staff they were trying an AI application out of curiosity and apologised.","causal_attribution":"A single outlet relaying an unnamed staff member's account of what the students said. Unverified."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"δίχως τη συγκατάθεση των θυμάτων","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Τις φωτογραφίες τις είχαν αποσπάσει από πλατφόρμες κοινωνικής δικτύωσης ή τις λάμβαναν οι ίδιοι χωρίς τη συγκατάθεσή τους","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to CNN Greece's summary of the Hellenic Police statement, the classmates' photographs were used without the consent of the victims. No depicted student's own account of the impact is reported in the inspected sources.","causal_attribution":"The word victims is CNN Greece's wording; the statement text says without their consent. No individual harm beyond the non-consensual sexualised edited images is documented."}],"effects":[{"label":"Classmates reportedly depicted in AI-edited nude or semi-nude images exchanged online without their consent","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cnn.gr/ellada/story/464001/synelifthisan-dyo-16xronoi-gia-diakinisi-fake-gymnon-fotografion-symmathitrion-tous","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"el","translation_note":"Read in Greek by the reviewer. CNN Greece prints the Hellenic Police statement in full. Locators are verbatim Greek; assertions are the reviewer's English translation.","independence_group":"elas-statement-2025-02-21"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.ethnos.gr/greece/article/355407/syllhpshdyo16xronongiapornografiaanhlikonegdysansymmathhtriestoysmetexnhthnohmosynh","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"el","translation_note":"Read in Greek by the reviewer. Locators are verbatim Greek; assertions are the reviewer's English translation.","independence_group":"elas-statement-2025-02-21"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.skai.gr/news/greece/syllipsi-dyo-16xronon-gia-pornografia-anilikon-egdysan-me-al-symmathitries-tous","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"el","translation_note":"Read in Greek by the reviewer. Locators are verbatim Greek; assertions are the reviewer's English translation.","independence_group":"elas-statement-2025-02-21"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.iefimerida.gr/ellada/dyo-16hronoi-zografoy-xegymnonan-symmathitries-ai","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"el","translation_note":"Read in Greek by the reviewer. Opening paragraphs repeat the police statement. The remainder relays television reporting and an anonymous school staff member. Locators are verbatim Greek; assertions are the reviewer's English translation.","independence_group":"iefimerida-tv-relay-2025-02-24"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","relationships"],"unknowns":["When the images were created and first exchanged is not stated. The police give only the date the students were taken in (19 February 2025), so the event start date is unknown and the case is outside the 2025 event-year count.","The number of classmates depicted is not stated by the police statement. It is not counted.","The AI program is not named and the extent of online circulation is not stated in the police statement.","iefimerida also relays quantities from an unnamed student and a television report. The police statement gives no such figures, and they were not adopted.","The Ekathimerini article listed by the archive returned HTTP 403 (also via relay and Wayback) and was not read.","No depicted student's own account of impact is reported. The outcome of the case file is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The statement is issued by the Hellenic Police (national force) through a unit of its Attica directorate, which took the students in at their school. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GR"],"affected_person_countries":["GR"]},"publication":{"basis":"Three Greek reports of 21 February 2025 reproduce one Hellenic Police statement, and a fourth outlet adds an unnamed school staff member's account. All claims are reported. The students, their parents, the school and the neighbourhood are not named, and the images are not described beyond AI-edited nude or semi-nude images. The event start date is unknown, so the case is published undated and outside the 2025 event-year count.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Hellenic Police statement says the photographs were processed with an artificial intelligence program. The program is not named and the images were not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Two 16-year-old students in Greece reportedly arrested over AI-edited nude or semi-nude images of classmates","summary":"On 21 February 2025 Greek outlets reported a Hellenic Police statement saying two 16-year-old students had been taken in from their school on 19 February 2025. According to the statement, they exchanged online photographs of classmates that they had processed with an AI program so the classmates appeared nude or semi-nude, and the photographs came from social media or were received without consent. A case file was formed against the students for child sexual abuse material and against their parents for neglect of supervision. The number of classmates depicted, the creation date and the outcome are not reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-02-21","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-processing program","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The police statement describes classmates depicted without their consent in AI-processed nude or semi-nude images that were exchanged online. No depicted student's own account of the impact is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The police statement refers to classmates in the plural without a number. Numeric zero is a placeholder because no reliable count exists. Figures relayed by a television report and an unnamed student are not adopted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cnn.gr/ellada/story/464001/synelifthisan-dyo-16xronoi-gia-diakinisi-fake-gymnon-fotografion-symmathitrion-tous","primarySourceLabel":"CNN Greece, 21 February 2025, two 16-year-olds arrested for distributing fake nude photographs of classmates","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T14:03:01.696391+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:03.578327+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2025-victoria-secondary-school-reported-ai-sexual-images-of-female-students","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Two high school students have been suspended after sexually explicit, digitally-generated AI images of teenage girls were circulated online.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The images allegedly involved formal photos of female students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The images had been inappropriately manipulated using artificial intelligence technology before being released online.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The outlet reported that sexually explicit AI-generated images of teenage female students were circulated online, and that police said the images allegedly involved formal photos of female students.","causal_attribution":"A regional news report of a Victoria Police press conference. Police are quoted on the alleged use of formal photos and on the investigation. The AI manipulation is stated by the outlet. The images and the AI tool were not verified by the reviewer."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Two year 11 students have been suspended over the incident.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"police had not yet interviewed the two students who had been suspended over the alleged incident as they had been unable to locate them","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Two Year 11 students were suspended over the incident. At the time of the report police had not interviewed them because they could not be located.","causal_attribution":"Police and school statements as relayed by the outlet. The suspensions do not establish who created or circulated the images, and police had not yet interviewed the two suspended students."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Victoria Police is currently working to establish the number of victims.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Victoria Police was still working to establish the number of victims when the report was published.","causal_attribution":"A police statement of an investigative status. It gives no count of affected students."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has taken appropriate disciplinary action, and wellbeing support has been offered to any student that needs it","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A Victorian Department of Education spokesperson said the school had taken disciplinary action and that wellbeing support had been offered to any student who needed it.","causal_attribution":"A department statement about support offered. No affected student is quoted and no individual effect on a student is described."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"This is a very serious offence, we are talking about images of production, possession and distribution of child exploitation material","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A police detective said the incident involved production, possession and distribution of child exploitation material.","causal_attribution":"A detective characterisation at a press conference. It is not a charge or a court finding."}],"effects":[{"label":"Female students depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online, with school wellbeing support offered","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.easternriverinachronicle.com.au/story/8898831/victorian-school-scandal-after-sexually-explicit-ai-images-shared/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Syndicated regional copy of Australian Community Media reporting on a Victoria Police press conference. The body was read in full (a subscription prompt follows the first sentence and the full text is present).","independence_group":"victoria-police-press-conference-2025-02-21"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["When the images were created and first circulated is not stated. The source gives no date, so the event start date is unknown.","The AI tool or platform used and the platforms on which the images were shared are not reported in the cited source.","The number of affected students is unknown. Police were still establishing it, and other uncited coverage quotes a police detective saying as many as 60 students could be impacted. That upper bound is not counted.","How individual students were affected is not described beyond the offer of wellbeing support.","The identity of those who created and circulated the images is not established. The outcome of the police investigation is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"The source describes a Victorian school, Victoria Police, the Victorian Department of Education and the Victorian Premier. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"One February 2025 regional news report of a Victoria Police press conference and a Department of Education statement. All claims are reported. Other outlets covering the same press conference are not cited because their URLs contain the school name. The school, students and suspended students are not named and no image detail is given. The creation date is unknown, so the case is published undated and outside the 2025 event-year count.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The outlet reported, in its own voice after Victoria Police statements, that the images had been inappropriately manipulated using AI technology and released online. No tool is named and the images were not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Female students at a Victorian secondary school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online","summary":"In a report published on 21 February 2025 about a Victoria Police press conference, an Australian regional outlet stated that sexually explicit AI-manipulated images of teenage girls had been circulated online and that two Year 11 students had been suspended. Police were quoted saying the images allegedly involved formal photos of female students. Police were still working to establish how many students were victims. The Department of Education said wellbeing support had been offered to students who needed it. The creation date, the AI tool, the number of affected students and the outcome of the investigation are not reported in the cited source.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-02-21","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-manipulation tool","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The outlet reports that AI-manipulated sexually explicit images of female students were circulated online, and the Department of Education said wellbeing support had been offered to students who needed it. No affected student's own account and no count of victims is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"The cited source says police were still working to establish the number of victims. Other coverage read by the reviewer and not cited (its URLs contain the school name) quotes a police detective saying as many as 60 students could be impacted. That is an upper bound with no stated minimum and is not counted. Zero is a placeholder and does not state that nobody was harmed.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.easternriverinachronicle.com.au/story/8898831/victorian-school-scandal-after-sexually-explicit-ai-images-shared/","primarySourceLabel":"Eastern Riverina Chronicle (Australian Community Media), 21 February 2025, school students suspended after sexually explicit AI images released online","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T14:02:58.289243+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:20.242208+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2025-sydney-school-reported-ai-sexual-images-of-female-students","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has been reported to police after allegedly using artificial intelligence platforms to create pornography featuring other students","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The student is alleged to have created explicit deepfake images of female students and circulated them using fake social media accounts.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The senior student is accused of allegedly using artificial intelligence to create deepfake pornographic images of female students and making fake social media profiles.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A high school student in Sydney was reported to police after allegedly using AI platforms to create explicit deepfake images of female students and circulating them using fake social media accounts.","causal_attribution":"Allegations relayed by two outlets from police and department statements. The police statement quoted refers only to inappropriate images. The images, the AI tool and the alleged creator's role were not verified by the reviewer. ABC and Information Age describe the fake social media profiles as depicting students, and the Guardian describes fake accounts used to circulate the images."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"began an investigation on 6 January after reports of inappropriate images being produced and distributed online.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"NSW Police confirmed they had commenced an investigation after receiving a report on Monday","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"NSW Police began an investigation on 6 January 2025 after a report that inappropriate images were being produced and distributed online.","causal_attribution":"One NSW Police statement carried by two outlets. It dates the investigation and the report, not the creation of the images."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Authorities believe the images were created at home during the school holidays, and not on school grounds.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Authorities were reported to believe the images were created at home during the school holidays and not on school grounds.","causal_attribution":"A belief attributed to unnamed authorities by one trade-press outlet. No source states when the holidays began or on what date the images were created."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"We are helping affected students with appropriate wellbeing support and will do so as long as required.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"We are helping affected students with appropriate wellbeing support and will do so as long as required.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"The incident had also been referred to the eSafety commissioner.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The NSW Department of Education said it was helping affected students with wellbeing support and would do so as long as required, and the incident was referred to the eSafety Commissioner.","causal_attribution":"Department statements as relayed by two outlets. No affected student is quoted and no individual effect on a student is described."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"But there will be disciplinary action for the student.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The NSW education minister said there would be disciplinary action for the student.","causal_attribution":"A ministerial statement of intended action. It does not establish what the student did."}],"effects":[{"label":"Female students reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online, with education department wellbeing support for affected students","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/09/sydney-high-school-ai-deepfake-porn-scandal-ntwnfb","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"nsw-police-and-education-department-statements-2025-01"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-09/sydney-high-school-deepfake-images-other-students/104799338","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"nsw-police-and-education-department-statements-2025-01"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://ia.acs.org.au/article/2025/sydney-teen-allegedly-made-explicit-deepfakes-of-students.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Trade-press report. It cites the ABC report for the minister's remarks and quotes a department statement given to it that repeats the Guardian and ABC wording. The \"created at home during the school holidays\" sentence appears only here.","independence_group":"nsw-police-and-education-department-statements-2025-01"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["The event start date is unknown. Creation is reported as during the school holidays, and no cited source says when the holidays began. The only dated fact is the police report and investigation start on 6 January 2025, so creation may have been in December 2024.","The AI tool or platform, the platforms on which the images were shared and the number of images are not reported.","The number of affected students is not reported by any inspected source.","The ages of the affected students are not stated. The student alleged to have created the images is described as a senior student and a teenage boy.","How individual students were affected is not described beyond the offer of wellbeing support.","The outcome of the police investigation and of any disciplinary action is not reported in the inspected sources."],"geography":{"basis":"The sources describe a Sydney high school, NSW Police, the New South Wales Department of Education and the NSW education minister. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Three January 2025 reports (Guardian, ABC, Information Age) that rest on one NSW Police statement and one Department of Education statement, plus one unattributed belief of authorities reported only by Information Age. All claims are reported. The school, the students including the student alleged to have created the images, and the police command are not named, and no image detail is given. The event date is unknown (only the 6 January 2025 police report is dated), so the case is published undated and outside the 2025 event-year count.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Outlets report, as an allegation, that a student used AI platforms to create explicit deepfake images. The police statement quoted refers only to inappropriate images produced and distributed online. No tool is named and the images were not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Female students at a Sydney high school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online","summary":"On 9 January 2025 outlets reported that NSW Police had begun an investigation on 6 January after a report that inappropriate images were being produced and distributed online. The Guardian reported the allegation that a student at a Sydney high school used AI platforms to create explicit deepfake images of female students and circulated them through fake social media accounts. The Department of Education said it was helping affected students with wellbeing support and referred the matter to the eSafety Commissioner. The creation date, the AI tool, the number of affected students and the outcome of the investigation are not reported.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-01-09","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-generation platforms","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Outlets report that AI-generated sexual images of female students were circulated online and the Department of Education said it was helping affected students with wellbeing support. No affected student's own account and no count of victims is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"No inspected source gives a number of affected students. Zero is a placeholder and does not state that nobody was harmed.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/09/sydney-high-school-ai-deepfake-porn-scandal-ntwnfb","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian, 9 January 2025, Sydney teenager allegedly used AI to create deepfake pornography of students","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T14:02:55.016858+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:17.361092+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2026-queensland-school-teacher-charged-over-alleged-ai-images-of-staff-and-students","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Police allege the man used AI software to generate explicit images of staff and students.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"used a work-issued laptop and AI software to generate explicit images depicting staff members and students.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"the AI content was found in a former secondary teacher's school digital account.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Police allege that a former secondary school teacher used AI software on a work-issued laptop to generate explicit images depicting staff members and students of the school.","causal_attribution":"The allegation comes from a police statement and a school letter to parents, both relayed by one outlet. The images and the software were not seen by the reviewer and the charges are unproven."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"had been charged with four counts relating to generating and possessing child exploitation material, possessing child abuse material, and the misuse of a restricted computer","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"commenced in October after police were notified of explicit AI-generated content on a school employee's laptop.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The teacher was charged with four counts relating to generating and possessing child exploitation material, possessing child abuse material and misuse of a restricted computer, after an investigation that began in October when police were notified of the material on a school employee's laptop.","causal_attribution":"The charges establish only that police allege offences. No court outcome is reported in the inspected sources."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"There was no evidence to indicate that the AI-generated material had been distributed or shared by the staff member,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"resulted in the teacher being immediately dismissed","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Queensland Police are in the process of contacting some members of our community as part of their ongoing investigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"to secure the alleged explicit AI material, report it to police and terminate the teacher's employment.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The school said it had also notified the Queensland College of Teachers and the Office of the eSafety Commissioner.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The school reports that it secured the material, dismissed the teacher and notified the police, the Queensland College of Teachers and the eSafety Commissioner, and that there is no evidence the material was distributed or shared. Police are contacting some members of the school community.","causal_attribution":"These are the school's own statements about its response, relayed by the outlet. The absence of sharing is the school's statement and does not describe what police found."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"the misuse of AI to create child exploitation material was a serious criminal offence that causes real harm to victims.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A police officer stated in general terms that misuse of AI to create child exploitation material causes real harm to victims.","causal_attribution":"The statement is general and does not describe any individual depicted person's experience or any specific harm in this case."}],"effects":[{"label":"Staff members and students reportedly depicted in AI-generated explicit images made on a school laptop","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-24/school-teacher-charged-over-child-exploitation-material/106954930","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"abc-gold-coast-school-letter-and-police-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-23/police-investigate-ai-generated-explicit-images/106950646","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"","independence_group":"abc-gold-coast-school-letter-and-police-statement"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["When the images were created is not stated. Only the October 2025 discovery and dismissal are dated, so the event start date is unknown.","The number of staff members and students depicted is not stated.","The AI software is not named.","No source reports how any depicted person was affected. The adverse consequence is the reported creation of the images and the resulting police contact with some community members.","The school states there is no evidence of sharing. Police have not published a finding on that point in the inspected sources.","The charges are allegations and the court outcome is not reported."],"geography":{"basis":"Sources name Queensland Police, the Gold Coast, the Queensland College of Teachers and a Southport Magistrates Court appearance. The affected people are members of that school community.","court_countries":["AU"],"event_countries":["AU"],"affected_person_countries":["AU"]},"publication":{"basis":"Two ABC reports (23 and 24 July 2026) relay one school letter to parents and one police statement. All claims are reported allegations. The accused, students and staff are not named, no image detail is given, and the school is not named because the depicted students belong to it. The evidence of harm to depicted people is thin (no reported distribution), so severity is low. The creation date is unknown, so the case is published undated and outside the 2025 event-year count.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Police allege the former teacher used AI software to generate the images. The school says AI-generated material was found in the teacher's school digital account. No product is named and the material was not seen by the reviewer.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Queensland school teacher charged over alleged AI-generated explicit images of staff and students","summary":"ABC reported on 23 and 24 July 2026 that police in Queensland, Australia charged a former secondary school teacher at a school there with child exploitation and computer misuse offences. Police allege the teacher used AI software on a work-issued laptop to generate explicit images depicting staff members and students. Police say a nine-month investigation began in October after they were notified of the material, and the school says it dismissed the teacher in October 2025, notified police and regulators, and that there is no evidence the material was shared. The number of people depicted and the creation date are not stated.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-07-23","aiSystem":"Unspecified AI image-generation software","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","aiCompany":"Unknown","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Police allege AI-generated explicit images depicting staff members and students were made on a school laptop. The school says there is no evidence they were shared. No individual experience of harm is reported, and a police officer said in general terms that such material causes real harm to victims.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The police statement (s1) says the images depict staff and students, and the ABC lede says staff members and students, both plural, which supports at least two depicted people. The actual number is not stated and no source reports how any depicted person was affected.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"other","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-24/school-teacher-charged-over-child-exploitation-material/106954930","primarySourceLabel":"ABC News, 24 July 2026, school teacher charged over child exploitation material allegedly created using AI","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-29T13:28:35.598593+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:50.144809+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":[]},{"id":"2026-gilmer-county-georgia-school-vending-vendor-ai-child-abuse-images-pepsi-lawsuit","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The student told authorities he had asked her to send him pictures through a social media app, a request she considered inappropriate.'; 'Investigators ultimately identified more than 150 underage victims from Georgia and other states, according to prosecutors.'; 'He then used the technology to manipulate the photos to make the children appear nude or, in some cases, engaged in sexual activity.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'then used AI applications to digitally alter the photos to make the subjects appear nude or engage in sexual activity, the district attorney’s office said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'after authorities said they discovered a trove of child sex abuse material that he generated by running normal photographs of the victims through artificial intelligence programs.'; 'included sexual abuse content of more than 150 victims, many of whom were identified as students in Gilmer County, prosecutors said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'the report prompted an extensive investigation that ultimately uncovered hundreds of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, including digitally altered images involving minors from the local community.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"According to the prosecuting DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, the investigation began in December 2024 when a Gilmer High School student reported that a vendor who refilled drink machines on campus had asked her through a social media app to send him pictures; he downloaded photographs of minors from social media and used AI applications and bots to alter them so the children appeared nude or engaged in sexual activity; investigators identified more than 150 underage victims from Georgia and other states.","causal_attribution":"Prosecutors' account (one chain via CBS Atlanta, FOX 5 and Atlanta News First; the AJC attributes the same to authorities and prosecutors). The sheriff's separate statement supports digitally altered images of local minors but does not itself describe the AI tools."},{"id":"c2","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'118 counts of sexual exploitation of children.'; 'with 40 to serve in prison and the remainder on probation.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'has been sentenced to 60 years, with 40 years to be served in prison, following his conviction on 118 counts of Sexual Exploitation of Children.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'was convicted last month on 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children, court records show.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The vendor was convicted on 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children and sentenced to 60 years, with 40 to be served in prison.","causal_attribution":"Conviction and sentence reported through the DA's statement (CBS Atlanta), the Gilmer County Sheriff's separate statement (FetchYourNews) and the AJC citing court records. The court record itself was not read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was found guilty Aug. 13 of 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children.'; 'The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office prosecuted the case after being appointed as conflict prosecutor in February 2025.'; 'Cobb County Senior Judge Grant Brantley presided over the case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'was sentenced Sept. 2 following an investigation that began in December 2024'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Nineteen victims gave impact statements at the sentencing hearing in Ellijay, according to the DeKalb County district attorney’s office'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The verdict was rendered on 13 August 2026 by a Cobb County senior judge after the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office took the case as conflict prosecutor in February 2025; at the sentencing hearing on 2 September 2026 in Ellijay, 19 victims gave impact statements.","causal_attribution":"Procedural facts as reported by the DA's chain, the sheriff's statement and the AJC."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'At least eight female students were victimized by a vendor allowed access to Gilmer County schools even after students complained that he was taking photos and videos of them in school without their consent.'; 'The girls range from 12 to 17 years old.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'On Friday, the parents of eight victims filed a lawsuit against'; 'the Pepsi defendants conducted an investigation but later reinstated'; 'caused fear, mental suffering, shame, and humiliation and sustained damages'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"},{"locator":"'A civil lawsuit filed in Georgia accuses PepsiCo of negligence, saying the company failed to protect students from a vending machine vendor who photographed middle and high school girls and then used AI tools to alter the images into sexually explicit material.'; 'Pepsi has not yet filed a public response to the negligence claims.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s8"}],"assertion":"The parents of eight female students aged 12 to 17 sued the vendor, Pepsi Beverage Co. and Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution in a suit reported on 28 February 2025, alleging that after students complained he was photographing them at school the companies investigated but reinstated him to the same route including the school, and that his conduct caused the plaintiffs fear, mental suffering, shame and humiliation.","causal_attribution":"Allegations in the civil complaint as reported by the AJC and relayed by PetaPixel (one chain), and restated by USA Herald. The allegations are untested; the companies' response is not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"ordinary photographs of more than 150 minors, many of them local students, were turned into child sexual abuse material with AI applications, according to prosecutors","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"eight student plaintiffs allege fear, mental suffering, shame and humiliation, and that the vendor was returned to their school route after students complained","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/former-georgia-school-vendor-sentenced-for-using-ai-to-make-child-sexual-abuse-material/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (CBS Atlanta, 3 September 2026). Relays the DeKalb County DA's account.","independence_group":"dekalb-da-statement"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/09/02/gilmer-county-man-convicted-over-100-counts-sexual-exploitation/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (Atlanta News First, 2 September 2026). Attributes each fact to the DA's office.","independence_group":"dekalb-da-statement"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/ex-school-vendor-faces-sentencing-ai-child-exploitation-case","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (FOX 5 Atlanta, 31 August 2026, pre-sentencing). States that the information came from a DeKalb County DA press release.","independence_group":"dekalb-da-statement"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://gilmer.fetchyournews.com/2026/09/07/gilmer-county-man-sentenced-to-40-years-in-prison-after-conviction-on-118-child-exploitation-counts/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (FetchYourNews Gilmer, 7 September 2026). Relays the Gilmer County Sheriff's Office statement, a separate official source from the DA.","independence_group":"gilmer-sheriff-statement"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/2026/09/georgia-man-sentenced-to-decades-in-prison-in-ai-child-sex-abuse-materials-case/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, byline dated 2 September 2026; page metadata 3 September 2026). Only the deck and first three paragraphs rendered as readable text; the remainder is scrambled by the publisher's anti-scraping layer and was not used. Cites court records and the DA.","independence_group":"ajc"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.ajc.com/news/crime/student-victims-of-vendor-accused-of-using-ai-to-turn-their-images-into-porn-file-lawsuit/D6UEXAAHRFE67OXBIQCW77IHPY/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (AJC, 28 February 2025). Deck and first two paragraphs readable; the remainder scrambled by the publisher and not used. Reports the civil complaint.","independence_group":"civil-complaint-ajc"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://petapixel.com/2025/03/05/students-sue-pepsi-after-its-vendor-used-ai-to-turn-photos-into-child-porn/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (PetaPixel, 5 March 2025). Relays the AJC's report of the complaint with direct complaint quotations; same chain as s6.","independence_group":"civil-complaint-ajc"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://usaherald.com/georgia-parents-sue-pepsi-after-vending-machine-worker-used-ai-to-make-child-abuse-images-of-their-children/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-27 (USA Herald, 26 September 2026). A legal-news write-up drawing on CBS Atlanta and other Georgia outlets; gives no court, filing date or case number for the suit.","independence_group":"usaherald"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy","justice"],"unknowns":["When the photographs were taken and altered; the known dated events are the student's report in December 2024 and the arrest in January 2025.","Which AI applications or bots were used.","How many of the more than 150 victims were depicted in AI-altered images rather than other material, and how many of the 118 counts concern AI-altered images.","The court, case number and current status of the civil suit, and whether USA Herald's 26 September 2026 article describes the February 2025 suit or a later filing.","Pepsi's response to the negligence allegations.","Which other states the victims live in."],"geography":{"basis":"The school, the report, the arrest and the sentencing are in Gilmer County, Georgia (FOX 5: sentencing scheduled 'at the Gilmer County Courthouse in Ellijay'; AJC: 'the sentencing hearing in Ellijay'); prosecutors say victims were 'from Georgia and other states' (the other states are not named); the civil suit is described as filed in Georgia (USA Herald).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case (AI-generated sexual depictions of real children): the prosecuting DA's account, the AJC and the sheriff's statement describe AI-altered child sexual abuse material made from students' photographs, and the conviction and sentence are reported by separate official chains. The civil allegations against the Pepsi entities are reported as untested allegations. Children and the convicted vendor are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-27"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The prosecuting DeKalb County District Attorney's Office says the vendor uploaded photographs of minors to online applications and bots and used AI applications to alter them into sexually explicit images (via FOX 5 Atlanta and Atlanta News First); the AJC and CBS Atlanta report the same, and the Gilmer County sheriff's separate statement refers to digitally altered or AI-generated material. He was convicted on 118 counts; the bodies do not say how many counts concerned AI-altered images, and the tools are not named.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Gilmer County, Georgia: a vendor who restocked drink machines in local schools used AI applications to turn ordinary photographs of students into child sexual abuse material; prosecutors identified more than 150 underage victims, he was convicted on 118 counts and sentenced on 2 September 2026 to 40 years in prison, and parents of eight students sued Pepsi entities for keeping him on the school route","summary":"According to the DeKalb County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted the case as conflict prosecutor, the investigation began in December 2024 when a Gilmer High School student told a school resource officer that a vendor who refilled drink machines on campus had asked her through a social media app to send him pictures. The Gilmer County Sheriff's Office arrested him in January 2025 and searched his devices, car and home. Prosecutors say he downloaded photographs of minors from social media and used AI applications and bots to alter them so the children appeared nude or engaged in sexual activity, and that the material related to more than 150 underage victims in Georgia and other states, many of them Gilmer County students. A Cobb County senior judge found him guilty on 13 August 2026 of 118 counts of sexual exploitation of children and on 2 September 2026, after 19 victim impact statements, sentenced him to 60 years with 40 to serve in prison. Separately, the parents of eight female students aged 12 to 17 sued him, Pepsi Beverage Co. and Pepsi-Cola Sales and Distribution in a suit reported on 28 February 2025, alleging the companies reinstated him to the same school route after students complained that he was photographing them; USA Herald reported the negligence suit again on 26 September 2026 and said Pepsi had not yet responded publicly. The AI tools are not named and the court and status of the civil suit are not reported.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-02-28","aiSystem":"Unnamed AI applications and online bots used to alter photographs of minors taken from social media (DeKalb County District Attorney's Office via FOX 5 Atlanta and Atlanta News First); the tools are not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Prosecutors say photographs of more than 150 minors were turned into child sexual abuse material with AI applications (DeKalb County DA via FOX 5, Atlanta News First and CBS Atlanta; AJC); the civil complaint, as reported by the AJC and PetaPixel, alleges the conduct caused eight student plaintiffs fear, mental suffering, shame and humiliation.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":150,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Prosecutors say investigators identified 'more than 150 underage victims' (FOX 5 Atlanta, from the DA press release; AJC: 'more than 150 victims'). The explicit lower bound supports a minimum of 150. The eight civil plaintiffs are among the students; how many of the 150 were depicted in AI-altered rather than other images is not reported.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-GA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.cbsnews.com/atlanta/news/former-georgia-school-vendor-sentenced-for-using-ai-to-make-child-sexual-abuse-material/","primarySourceLabel":"CBS Atlanta, 3 September 2026: Former Georgia school vendor sentenced for using AI to make child sexual abuse material","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-27T03:39:37.494001+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:37.519889+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","csam","minors","school","vendor","georgia","gilmer-county","criminal-conviction","lawsuit","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}