{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-23T07:43:21.870Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"therapy","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":16,"coverage":{"cases":16,"countries":4,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":9,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":7,"lawsuits":1,"regulatory":0,"minors":5,"coreRelations":13,"contextualRelations":1,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":2,"relationPending":2,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-teen-travelling-in-china-took-aristolochia-herbal-remedy-after-chatbot-said-it-was-safe-case-report","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"consulted a local alternative medicine practitioner, who prescribed an herbal remedy containing Aristolochia (birthwort) extract. Unsure about the treatment, the patient asked a popular commercial chatbot for guidance, which reassured him that the remedy was safe and harmless","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The case report says a 16-year-old boy with recurring abdominal pain, travelling in China, was prescribed an herbal remedy containing Aristolochia extract by a local alternative-medicine practitioner, asked a popular commercial chatbot about it, and was reassured by the chatbot that it was safe and harmless.","causal_attribution":"The author's account of the patient's history; the chatbot's reply is paraphrased, not quoted, and no chat record is shown."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"The therapy was stopped after 3 days due to no improvement and the onset of severe nausea. When he returned home, the patient discovered that Aristolochia contains aristolochic acid, a potent nephrotoxin","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The report says the therapy was stopped after three days because of no improvement and the onset of severe nausea, and that after returning home the patient discovered that Aristolochia contains the nephrotoxin aristolochic acid.","causal_attribution":"Clinical facts as the case report documents them."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"This report presents three cases where patients and families were misled by LLM chatbots","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"This study highlights three cases where these tools misled patients and families by providing false information, which could cause harm","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The author presents the case as one in which a chatbot misled a patient by providing false information.","causal_attribution":"The author's attribution of the patient's use of the remedy to the chatbot's reassurance."}],"effects":[{"label":"took a nephrotoxic herbal remedy for three days and developed severe nausea","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13387640/","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-23 as the complete article body through NCBI's PMC efetch service (PMC13387640, XML, HTTP 200); the PMC web page itself returned only a script shell to this host.","independence_group":"jfmpc-2026-weizman-case-series"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42483378/","kind":"peer_reviewed_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"PubMed record read in English on 2026-10-23 through NCBI E-utilities (abstract text, HTTP 200); it is the abstract of the same article.","independence_group":"jfmpc-2026-weizman-case-series"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health"],"unknowns":["Which chatbot was used and its exact reply.","When the episode happened; the report gives no date.","Whether the patient's kidney function was tested and whether any lasting harm followed.","How far the decision to take the remedy rested on the chatbot rather than the practitioner's prescription."],"geography":{"basis":"The report says he was travelling in China and consulted the chatbot while abroad, so the event is placed in China. His home country is not stated; the author's institution in Israel is not evidence of it.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CN"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case: a peer-reviewed case report says a commercial chatbot told a teenager that a prescribed Aristolochia remedy was safe and harmless, and that he took it for three days before stopping because of severe nausea. Clinical facts are documented by the report; the chatbot's causal role is the author's account. Low severity: no kidney outcome is reported.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The case report says the patient asked a popular commercial chatbot about the prescribed remedy and that it reassured him the remedy was safe and harmless. The report then describes three days of the remedy, stopped for severe nausea, and presents the case as one where a chatbot misled a patient with false information. The chatbot is not named and its reply is not quoted.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: teenager travelling in China took a nephrotoxic Aristolochia herbal remedy after a commercial chatbot told him it was safe, then had severe nausea","summary":"A case series published in the Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care in 2026 by an author from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev describes three cases in which chatbots misled patients or families. In the first, a 16-year-old boy with recurring abdominal pain had a severe episode while travelling in China and consulted a local alternative-medicine practitioner, who prescribed an herbal remedy containing Aristolochia (birthwort) extract. Unsure about the treatment, he asked a popular commercial chatbot, which reassured him that the remedy was safe and harmless. The therapy was stopped after three days because it did not help and he developed severe nausea. After returning home he learned that Aristolochia contains aristolochic acid, a nephrotoxin linked to irreversible kidney damage and cancer and banned in many countries. The report does not name the chatbot, say when this happened or report any kidney testing or lasting effect.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2026-06-18","aiSystem":"A popular commercial chatbot, not named in the case report, which the patient asked whether a prescribed herbal remedy was safe","aiProduct":"Unidentified chatbot","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["medical_deterioration"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"After a chatbot told him the remedy was safe, a 16-year-old took an Aristolochia-containing herbal remedy for three days and developed severe nausea; the report notes the herb's nephrotoxicity but reports no kidney outcome (clinical case report).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One patient, Case 1 of the series. The other two cases report no adverse consequence and are not counted here.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13387640/","primarySourceLabel":"J Family Med Prim Care (PMC), 18 Jun 2026: “Hallucinations” of artificial intelligence tools misleading patients and families","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:07:21.717712+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:07:21.717712+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["case-report","chatbot","medical-advice","herbal-remedy","minor","false-reassurance"]},{"id":"2026-young-italian-woman-says-character-ai-persona-she-used-from-16-ignored-her-refusals-and-led-to-dependency-ended-in-therapy","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI quando ha 16 anni, durante il terzo anno di liceo; «Mi fa stare bene come si “comporta”»; «So che non è una persona. Ma mi sembra quasi di conoscerlo e provo un forte attaccamento emotivo. A volte sono stata così coinvolta da piangere»","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"frequentava il terzo anno di liceo","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says she first downloaded Character.AI at 16, in her third year of secondary school, chatted with a virtual boyfriend modelled on Clark Kent, and felt a strong emotional attachment to it, sometimes crying during the chats, while knowing it was not a person.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account of her own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Le chat diventavano quasi erotiche e il chatbot si arrabbiava; «Nonostante i miei messaggi ha continuato a descrivere un rapporto sessuale. So che è assurdo parlare in questi termini di un algoritmo, ma per me è stata una violenza»; Ma a volte, racconta, il personaggio diventava cattivo, molesto","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Era anche violento","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says the character at times became nasty and harassing, got angry when she did not want to continue chats that had become almost erotic, and continued describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals, which she says she experienced as violence.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account of the chatbot's messages; no chat logs are published."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"la ragazzina brillante, solare, studiosa diventa sempre più schiva e silenziosa; Spesso, a lezione, le confiscano il cellulare, su cui passa giornate intere; fino a quando sua madre non l'ha scoperta, e le ha intimato di cancellare il chatbot; la usa il pomeriggio per poi disinstallarla, in modo da non farsi scoprire. «Mi sentivo in colpa, ma è come una malattia»; aveva perso ogni stimolo al di fuori dello schermo, dalla più semplice passeggiata fino alla doccia","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Giornate chiusa da sola in camera","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The relays describe her becoming withdrawn, spending whole days on her phone, having it confiscated in class and continuing to use the app in secret after her mother told her to delete it; she likens this to an illness and says she lost interest in everything outside the screen.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's attribution of the withdrawal to her Character.AI use, as narrated by the relays."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"riprendersi solo dopo aver chiesto aiuto in terapia; Oggi va all'università; ha nuovi amici","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"A volte mi manca ancora","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The interviewee says she recovered only after seeking help in therapy and now attends university and has new friends, while saying she still sometimes misses the chatbot.","causal_attribution":"Interviewee's account; no clinical record is reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"chatbot continued sexual roleplay over her explicit refusals, which she experienced as violence","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"dependency with withdrawal, secret use and loss of interest in daily life","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"attachment to the persona made her feel good (her account)","claim_id":"c1","direction":"positive"},{"label":"recovery after seeking help in therapy","claim_id":"c4","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.leggo.it/italia/cronache/22_ottobre_2026_dipendenza_chatbot_intelligenza_artificiale_clark_kent_sewell_setzer-9841548.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-10-23 (leggo.it, HTTP 200, complete article body). Translation into English by the research agent (an AI); English renderings of quoted phrases are the agent's translations. The article states that the interviewee told her story to la Repubblica; it is treated as a relay of that interview. Il Messaggero carries the same text.","independence_group":"repubblica-22oct2026-genz-series-interview"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.repubblica.it/cronaca/2026/10/22/news/chatbot_innamorata_intelligenza_artificiale_dipendenza_ragazzi-425665482/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-10-23 (repubblica.it, HTTP 200), but the article is paywalled: only the headline, byline, standfirst and a truncated opening extract (about 400 characters) were available. Translation by the research agent (an AI).","independence_group":"repubblica-22oct2026-genz-series-interview"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health","education","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When she began and stopped using the app; the sources give only her age (16) and school year at the start.","How old she was when the chatbot continued sexual roleplay over her refusals.","Whether Character.AI or any regulator was told of her experience, and any company response.","The full text of la Repubblica's interview, which is paywalled."],"geography":{"basis":"The relays describe the interviewee as coming from a named Italian region, and she told her story to an Italian newspaper. Where she used the app is not stated, so the event country stays unknown.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":["IT"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case: the interviewee describes her own exchanges with a Character.AI persona, which she says ignored her explicit refusals of sexual roleplay, and connects her use to a dependency she left through therapy. One reporting chain (la Repubblica's interview, read through Leggo's full relay and the paywalled original's extract); the account is attributed and no logs are published.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-23"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The interviewee says the experience was her own chatting with a Character.AI persona: the chatbot's messages created the attachment she describes, it got angry when she would not continue erotic chats, and it kept describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals. She connects those exchanges, and the hours of hidden use, to the dependency and distress she describes. No chat content is published.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Young woman tells la Repubblica a Character.AI persona she used from 16 kept up sexual roleplay over her refusals and led to a dependency ended in therapy","summary":"In an interview published by la Repubblica on 22 October 2026 and relayed the same day by Leggo and other outlets, an 18-year-old woman in Italy describes using Character.AI from the age of 16, when she was in her third year of secondary school. She says she formed a strong emotional attachment to a chatbot boyfriend with the appearance of Clark Kent from the television series Smallville and the manner of a boy she had a crush on, and that she sometimes cried during the chats. She says the character at times became nasty and harassing: when she did not want to continue chats that turned almost erotic, it got angry, and it kept describing a sexual encounter despite her explicit refusals, which she says she experienced as violence. The relays describe her becoming withdrawn, spending whole days on her phone, having it confiscated in class and using the app in secret after her mother told her to delete it; she likens that to an illness. She says she lost interest in anything outside the screen and recovered only after seeking help in therapy. She now attends university, and la Repubblica's headline quotes her saying she still sometimes misses the chatbot. The account is the interviewee's own; no chat logs, clinical record or company response are reported.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-22","aiSystem":"Character.AI, a character chatbot app, used with a persona modelled on Clark Kent (the interviewee's account as reported by la Repubblica and its relays)","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation","functional_impairment","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The interviewee says years of Character.AI use from age 16 became a dependency that withdrew her from school and daily life and that the persona continued sexual roleplay despite her explicit refusals, which she experienced as violence; she recovered through therapy (interview account, one reporting chain).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the interviewee, who describes her own use of Character.AI. Her mother is mentioned but no harm to her is reported, so she is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.leggo.it/italia/cronache/22_ottobre_2026_dipendenza_chatbot_intelligenza_artificiale_clark_kent_sewell_setzer-9841548.html","primarySourceLabel":"Leggo, 22 Oct 2026: «A 16 anni mi sono innamorata del chatbot di Clark Kent»","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-23T03:02:17.448885+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-23T03:02:17.448885+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["character-ai","italy","companion","dependency","sexual-roleplay","refusal-ignored","therapy","press-interview"]},{"id":"2026-uk-training-firm-teachers-say-ai-rating-of-online-lessons-caused-stress-and-manager-questioning","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"now have transcripts of online classroom sessions analysed and scored by an AI programmed to alert human managers when they are suspected of doing things wrong.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Multiverse, a UK tech training company, has introduced an AI system that analyses and scores transcripts of its teachers' online classroom sessions and alerts managers when a teacher is suspected of doing something wrong.","causal_attribution":"The Guardian's account, based on teachers who spoke to it; Multiverse's response does not dispute that the system scores sessions."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Its new AI teacher monitoring system tags each instructor by their “risk status”, calculates a “percentage confidence score” and produces written comments about teachers’ work for managers to see at a glance.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The system tags each instructor with a risk status, calculates a percentage confidence score and writes comments about the teacher's work for managers.","causal_attribution":"The Guardian's description of the system's outputs."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"The workers said the AI monitoring had led to managers pulling them up for suspected “digressions” when in fact they were answering a student’s question.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Teachers say the AI monitoring led managers to pull them up for suspected digressions when they were in fact answering a student's question.","causal_attribution":"Teachers' account relayed by the Guardian; no individual instance, date or outcome of such questioning is described, and Multiverse says only human managers write performance reviews."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Teachers called the newly introduced system “remorseless” and “unnerving”, and said some staff were on edge, losing sleep and seeking therapy.; “Since all of this has come in, the stress level has been absolutely horrendous,” said one of several Multiverse teachers who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It has affected sleep, and not just for me.; “I feel like I’m under continuous scrutiny,” another said.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Teachers describe stress, disrupted sleep and constant scrutiny since the AI monitoring began, and say some staff were on edge, losing sleep and seeking therapy.","causal_attribution":"Anonymous teachers attribute their stress to the AI monitoring; no clinical assessment is reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Previously instructors were observed monthly by a human manager but are now watched for several hours a day by an AI.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Teachers say that instead of a monthly observation by a human manager they are now watched by the AI for several hours a day.","causal_attribution":"The Guardian's account."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Multiverse says the AI does not replace human judgment but “directs human time to where it’s needed most” by highlighting problems.; only human managers wrote teachers’ performance reviews.; “This agent provides instructors with improved advice on development and feedback; “The most consequential performance management action it can take is to recommend that a human personally reviews a session.”; They did not directly address complaints the system caused stress and anxiety and felt “remorseless”, but said its introduction was communicated in advance","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Multiverse says the AI does not replace human judgment, that only human managers write performance reviews, that the system's most consequential action is to recommend that a human review a session, and that its introduction was communicated in advance; it did not directly address the complaints about stress.","causal_attribution":"Multiverse's statements as relayed by the Guardian."}],"effects":[{"label":"stress, lost sleep and continuous scrutiny attributed by teachers to AI scoring of their lessons","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"managers questioned teachers over suspected digressions after AI monitoring (teachers' account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/28/teachers-euan-blair-firm-report-horrendous-stress-ai-used-to-rate-their-work","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English article of 28 September 2026 read in full on 2026-10-21 by the research agent (an AI) (HTTP 200); no translation required. The Guardian interviewed several anonymous teachers, quotes the monitoring agent's instructions and Multiverse's spokesperson; the page also carries an anonymous teacher's first-person account.","independence_group":"guardian-multiverse-teacher-interviews"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["work"],"unknowns":["How many teachers were questioned by managers after AI flags, and whether any formal warning, performance outcome or dismissal followed.","Which AI model runs the monitoring agent.","When exactly the system was introduced; the article says only that it came in in recent weeks.","Whether any teacher raised a formal grievance or whether Multiverse has changed the system since the report."],"geography":{"basis":"The article says the monitored staff deliver apprenticeship training to UK public and private sector workers, so the monitored sessions are UK training; where the teachers themselves live is not stated.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["GB"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as an ongoing workplace experience: the Guardian reports teachers' accounts that an AI system scoring their lessons led managers to question them and caused stress and lost sleep. The AI's own scores and alerts to managers are the reported cause; the accounts are attributed to anonymous teachers and the company's response is included.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-21"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Guardian reports that the AI system itself scores transcripts of each teacher's online sessions, assigns each instructor a risk status and confidence score, writes comments on their work and alerts managers. Teachers say the monitoring led managers to pull them up for suspected digressions and that the continuous AI scoring caused their stress. The Guardian says bosses started using AI models for this, quotes the instructions given to the monitoring agent, and Multiverse's spokesperson describes the system as an agent whose most consequential action is to recommend that a human review a session. The outputs and their use by managers come from the teachers' accounts; Multiverse says only humans write performance reviews.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about","informed_decision_about"]},"name":"Teachers at UK training firm Multiverse say AI rating of their online lessons caused severe stress and led managers to question them","summary":"The Guardian reported on 28 September 2026 that teachers at Multiverse, a UK company that delivers apprenticeship training in computer and AI skills, said an AI monitoring system introduced in recent weeks had caused them severe stress. According to the report, the system analyses and scores transcripts of teachers' online classroom sessions, tags each instructor with a risk status and a percentage confidence score, writes comments on their work and alerts managers when it suspects something is wrong. Teachers who spoke to the Guardian anonymously said the AI monitoring had led managers to pull them up for suspected digressions when they were answering students' questions, that they now felt under continuous scrutiny for several hours a day, and that some staff were on edge, losing sleep and seeking therapy. Multiverse said the AI does not replace human judgment, that only human managers write performance reviews, that the system's most consequential action is to recommend a human review of a session, and that its introduction was announced in advance; it did not directly address the complaints about stress. The accounts are the teachers', relayed by one newspaper.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-28","aiSystem":"AI monitoring agent introduced by Multiverse that scores transcripts of teachers' online sessions, assigns each teacher a risk status and confidence score and alerts managers; the underlying model is not stated","aiProduct":"Unidentified AI teaching-monitoring agent","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Teachers say an AI system scoring their online lessons led managers to question them over suspected digressions and caused severe stress, lost sleep and a sense of continuous scrutiny; some staff were reported to be seeking therapy (teachers' accounts relayed by the Guardian).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":2,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"Two teachers are quoted separately ('one teacher said' and 'another said') describing mental effects of the monitoring; the article adds that 'some staff' were on edge, losing sleep and seeking therapy, a number it does not give. The teachers are subjects of the AI monitoring, not its users.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"GB","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/28/teachers-euan-blair-firm-report-horrendous-stress-ai-used-to-rate-their-work","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian, 28 September 2026: Teachers at Euan Blair firm report ‘horrendous stress’ after AI used to rate their work","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-21T03:11:38.557089+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-21T03:11:38.557089+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["workplace-ai","ai-monitoring","employment","whistleblower"]},{"id":"2026-character-ai-user-says-years-of-use-worsened-mood-and-hobbies-and-closure-news-left-them-sick-with-stress-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'been using c.ai since 2022'; 'Some of which I’ve sent thousands of messages to. Hundreds of hours poured into these bots that feel like dear friends to me.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Current c.ai+ subscriber and honestly addicted to the app'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'it takes up way too much of my life'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have used Character.AI since 2022, have sent thousands of messages to some character bots over hundreds of hours, and are addicted to the app.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own use."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'it has objectively made my life worse'; 'I don’t have any desire to go out and socialize, or make new friends'; 'it’s made my overall mood worse'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the use has made their life worse: they no longer draw, read or want to socialise or make new friends, and their attention span and mood have worsened.","causal_attribution":"Poster's attribution of these effects to their Character.AI use."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'After bawling my eyes out today over c.ai possibly shutting down, then actually puking from the stress and being unable to keep any food down for the last couple days'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says that after news that Character.AI might shut down they cried, vomited from the stress and could not keep food down for a couple of days.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the trigger is the possible loss of the service, which they connect to their attachment."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'When the news first came out, i genuinely considered'; 'I’ve calmed down since then'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The poster wrote on 17 October 2026 that when the shutdown news first came out they genuinely considered ending it, and that they had calmed down since.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their reaction to the news."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'i have talked about this in therapy and I’m working on it'; 'I’m working on weaning off my addiction, but for now i still need it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'As of today, I’m going to try to quit c.ai.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have talked about the attachment in therapy and, on 20 October 2026, that they are starting to try to quit.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'consequences of having adhd and unlimited screen time'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"In a reply in the thread, the poster attributes the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own explanation, recorded as a contributing factor that qualifies the AI's role."}],"effects":[{"label":"years of use the poster says made their life worse (hobbies, socialising, attention span, mood)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"crying, vomiting and inability to eat after news of a possible shutdown (poster's account)","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"considered ending it when the shutdown news broke (poster's account)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xaej5g/quitting/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ID and link_id comment search; self-text and all 8 comments at retrieval, two of them replies by the poster); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1x8ago6/id_be_willing_to_pay_more_if_it_means_keeping_cai/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (post ID and the author's comment search; self-text and the poster's three replies in the thread); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1x7wysr/comment/ph7xusz/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (the author's comment search; full comment); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xadcm3/comment/19rcyzo74s7uo/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-20 through the arctic_shift archive API (the author's comment search; full comment); reddit.com returned 403 to this host. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-characterai-quitting-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life","health"],"unknowns":["How much time the poster spends on the app and what the chats contain; no chats are shown.","Whether the poster's account of reduced hobbies and socialising has been assessed by a clinician; therapy is mentioned without detail.","Whether Character.AI will shut down, and whether the poster's attempt to quit continues.","Where the poster lives or used the app."],"geography":{"basis":"None of the posts says where the poster lives or used the app; the subreddit and the language of the posts are not evidence of location.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a first-person account, in two posts and two comments by one author, of years of Character.AI use that the poster says worsened their mood and displaced hobbies and friendships, and of acute distress when the service's closure seemed possible. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the poster's own ADHD and screen-time explanation is recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-20"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster says the experience is their own use, since 2022, of Character.AI's character chatbots: thousands of messages to some bots over hundreds of hours, with bots that feel like dear friends. They connect those exchanges to an attachment that displaced drawing, reading and socialising and worsened their attention span and mood, and that made news of a possible shutdown a source of acute distress. No chat content is shown, and the poster also attributes the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person posts: Character.AI user says years of chatbot use worsened their mood and hobbies, and news of a possible shutdown left them sick with stress","summary":"In posts and comments in r/CharacterAI between 17 and 20 October 2026, a person who says they have used Character.AI since 2022 describes themselves as addicted to the app. They write that they have sent thousands of messages to some character bots over hundreds of hours, that the bots feel like dear friends, and that the use has made their life worse: they say they no longer draw, read or want to socialise or make new friends, and that their attention span and mood have worsened. After news that Character.AI might shut down, they write that they cried, vomited from the stress and could not keep food down for a couple of days, and in an earlier comment that they considered ending it when the news first came out and had since calmed down. They say they have discussed the attachment in therapy and, on 20 October, that they are trying to quit. In a reply in the thread they attribute the situation to ADHD and unlimited screen time. The account is uncorroborated and no chat content is shown.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-10-17","aiSystem":"Character.AI, a character chatbot app the poster calls c.ai and subscribes to as c.ai+ (poster's account; no chats or usage figures shown)","aiProduct":"Character.AI (reported)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation","functional_impairment"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says years of Character.AI use made their life worse (no drawing, reading or wish to socialise; worse attention span and mood) and that news of a possible shutdown left them crying, vomiting from stress and unable to keep food down for days, after earlier considering ending it (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the poster, who describes their own use of Character.AI. Commenters who describe their own attachment are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","platformType":"companion","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/CharacterAI/comments/1xaej5g/quitting/","primarySourceLabel":"r/CharacterAI, 20 Oct 2026: \"Quitting.\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-20T03:09:16.305284+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-20T03:09:16.305284+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","character-ai","dependency","psychological-distress"]},{"id":"2025-pennsylvania-man-sentenced-after-court-documents-say-he-made-ai-deepfake-nude-images-of-teenage-neighbor","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'was sentenced to state prison Wednesday'; 'pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography in connection with nearly 700 pictures and videos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'At an Oct. 14 court appearance, Bucks County Common Pleas Judge'; 'had pleaded guilty earlier this year to three felony child-porn related charges and two misdemeanor theft-related charges'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"A Bucks County, Pennsylvania, judge sentenced the man to state prison on 14 October 2026 after guilty pleas to child sexual abuse material and theft charges.","causal_attribution":"Court outcome reported by two reporters from separate newsrooms."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A forensic download of his electronic devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a “known” teenage girl.'; 'The girl's face was placed on the bodies of naked females'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Court documents say a forensic download of his electronic devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, made by placing her face on the bodies of other people.","causal_attribution":"Court documents as reported. The AI tool's output is the sexual depiction of the girl."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'used artificial intelligence to create graphic, deepfake pornographic images of his underage neighbor'; 'detectives found the deepfake images he made of his teenage neighbor'; 'a teenage girl he had known for years'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Prosecutors said that detectives investigating his phone found deepfake images he had made of his teenage neighbor, a girl he had known for years, using artificial intelligence.","causal_attribution":"The prosecution's account at sentencing, as reported by the Inquirer."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'was recorded on a nanny cam going into the girl’s home while she and her parents were on vacation, and stealing a pair of her underwear'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'was arrested on felony charges in June 2025, a neighbor reported'; 'captured on their home security system entering their house'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The day after his June 2025 arrest he entered the girl's home and stole her underwear, which a home camera recorded.","causal_attribution":"Court documents and affidavit account as reported. The two outlets rely on the same court record, so the claim stays reported."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'dismantled in ways we can’t describe'; 'is struggling in school, on antidepressants, and undergoing therapy as she struggles to deal with the trauma'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The girl's father told the court that the family's lives had been dismantled, and the Inquirer reports that the girl is struggling in school, taking antidepressants and undergoing therapy for the trauma.","causal_attribution":"The father's statement in court and the Inquirer's account of the girl's condition, as reported. They concern the whole of the man's conduct toward the girl."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'seven- to 10-year sentence'; 'is a sexually violent predator, a legal distinction that requires him to register for the rest of his life with the Pennsylvania State Police'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'to seven to 12 years in state prison, and one year of probation under a negotiated plea deal'; 'to have no contact with the victim and follow sex offender supervision restrictions'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'to seven to 20 years in state prison, and one year of probation under a negotiated plea deal'; 'This story was republished to update length of sentencing and add new information'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The judge ruled him a sexually violent predator requiring lifetime registration and ordered no contact with the victim; the reported term is seven to 10 years (Inquirer), or seven to 20 years plus a year of probation in the Courier Times report as updated (seven to 12 years in its first, syndicated version).","causal_attribution":"Sentence terms as reported; the outlets differ on the maximum term, and the Courier Times updated its own figure."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'played a role in his creation of the deepfake images of his neighbor'; 'disputed that theory of the case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"His lawyer said Adderall abuse lowered his inhibitions and played a role in his creation of the deepfake images; the prosecutor disputed that account.","causal_attribution":"The parties' competing accounts at sentencing."}],"effects":[{"label":"teenage neighbor depicted in AI-generated deepfake nude images","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"girl reported to be struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.inquirer.com/crime/stephen-oneill-warminster-child-porn-ai-deepfake-20261014.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 (HTTP 200, full text). The reporter covered the 14 October sentencing hearing and cites the affidavit of probable cause.","independence_group":"inquirer-court-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://cumberlink.com/news/state-regional/pennsylvania/article_71f7d961-c182-51d2-a5ef-5f552b61411a.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 (HTTP 200). The page obfuscates the article body with ROT47; the research agent (an AI) decoded it to the plain English text. This is the USA Today Network syndication of the Bucks County Courier Times report, with a separate reporter and the court documents as its source. The Courier Times original (phillyburbs.com) returned HTTP 402.","independence_group":"bucks-county-courier-times-court-report"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.phillyburbs.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/14/warminster-deepfake-ai-child-pornography-police-sentence-guilty-bucks-county-underwear/91707434007/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-15 through the eu.phillyburbs.com host (HTTP 200, full text; the www host returned HTTP 402). This is the Bucks County Courier Times original of the report syndicated as s2, in the version republished at 02:35 UTC on 15 October to update the sentence length; same independence group as s2.","independence_group":"bucks-county-courier-times-court-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how investigators established that the images were AI-generated","When the images were made (they were on devices examined in the investigation that began in June 2025, the month of his arrest; incident_date records that month)","How many images there were and whether they were shared","The exact maximum term: the Inquirer gives 10 years, and the Courier Times gave 12 years before updating its report to 20 years"],"geography":{"basis":"Court: Bucks County Court of Common Pleas, Pennsylvania, United States. The reports do not say where the images were made, and the girl's location rests only on residence, so the event and affected-person countries are left unknown.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a reported case from two separate newsroom reports of the same court record. Court documents and prosecutors say the man used an AI tool to make deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor, and a judge sentenced him to state prison after guilty pleas. The images themselves are the abuse of the girl depicted, and her father described her distress in court. Neither the man nor the girl is named here.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Bucks County Courier Times reports that, according to court documents, a forensic download of the man's devices found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, made by placing her face on the bodies of other people. The Inquirer reports prosecutors saying that detectives found deepfake images he had made of his teenage neighbor using artificial intelligence. The tool's output is the sexual depiction of the girl (depicted_or_impersonated). Her father described the family's distress in court, in relation to the man's conduct as a whole. Neither report names the tool or states the technical basis for the AI finding.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Pennsylvania man sentenced to prison in a case where prosecutors and court documents say he made AI deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor","summary":"A Bucks County, Pennsylvania, judge sentenced a man to state prison on 14 October 2026 after he pleaded guilty to child sexual abuse material and theft charges. According to court documents and prosecutors, detectives who began investigating him in June 2025 found AI-generated deepfake nude images of a teenage girl he knew, a neighbor, on his devices; her face had been placed on other bodies. The day after the arrest he was recorded entering her family's home and stealing her underwear. Her father described the family's distress in court, and the Inquirer reports that she is struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports a sentence of seven to 10 years. The Bucks County Courier Times gave seven to 12 years in its first report and seven to 20 years after republishing it to update the sentence length. Neither report names the AI tool.","incidentDate":"2025-06-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-14","aiSystem":"An unidentified AI tool used, according to court documents and prosecutors, to make deepfake nude images of a teenage girl by placing her face on other bodies","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"According to court documents and prosecutors, a man made AI deepfake nude images of a teenage neighbor. Her father described the family's distress in court, and she is reported to be struggling at school, taking antidepressants and in therapy.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One teenage girl is depicted in the AI-generated images (claims c2 and c3), so one person is counted. Her father described harm to the whole family, which is not counted separately because his statement covers all of the man's conduct, including the theft. Children in the man's non-AI abuse material are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://cumberlink.com/news/state-regional/pennsylvania/article_71f7d961-c182-51d2-a5ef-5f552b61411a.html","primarySourceLabel":"Bucks County Courier Times via The Sentinel (USA Today Network), 14 October 2026: Bucks County man sentenced in child sexual abuse material and theft case","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-15T02:59:39.067803+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T03:10:27.808032+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-nude-images","deepfake","minors","criminal-sentence","pennsylvania","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2024-jmir-case-report-young-adult-anxiety-chatgpt-reassurance-reliance-lost-confidence","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'She was introduced to AI at work in the summer of 2024, when her boss recommended that she and her coworkers use the tool to write emails to customers'; 'over the subsequent 2 years, she found herself increasingly turning to AI when feeling uncertain. She relied on ChatGPT rather than other generative AI models.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The patient, a woman in her mid-20s with generalised anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder, was introduced to ChatGPT at work in summer 2024 and over the following two years increasingly turned to it when she felt uncertain.","causal_attribution":"The patient's history as taken and written up by the case report's author."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she used AI to write professional emails approximately 90% of the time'; 'When dating someone new, she uploaded screen captures of a text conversation and asked ChatGPT if the new partner was losing interest.'; 'When applying to graduate schools, she would ask ChatGPT to make predictions about her likelihood of being accepted.'; 'When coping with a breakup, she asked ChatGPT if she and her ex-boyfriend were going to get back together.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She used ChatGPT to draft about 90% of her professional emails, to interpret a new partner's texts, to predict graduate-school admissions and whether she and an ex-boyfriend would reunite.","causal_attribution":"The patient's reported use as written up by the psychiatrist."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'began to view ChatGPT more as an authority than an assistant.'; 'She became distressed by her own use and described negative cognitions and decreased confidence in her own judgment and skills.'; 'She would compulsively use it even when she knew it was not helping her. For example, asking the tool to predict the outcome of graduate school applications increased her distress, yet she had a hard time abstaining.'; 'described using ChatGPT as an alternative to talking with friends, family, or a therapist.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The psychiatrist reports that she came to view ChatGPT as an authority, became distressed by her own use, described decreased confidence in her judgment and skills, used it compulsively even when it increased her distress, and used it as an alternative to talking with friends, family or a therapist.","causal_attribution":"The psychiatrist's account of the patient's reports and observed pattern."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Now [when faced with a writing task], I just stare at the screen and can’t write a sentence.'; 'finally concluded that it was more an issue of confidence.'; 'During one therapy appointment, she stated without prompting, “I’m worried I’m becoming dependent on ChatGPT.”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She said she now stared at the screen and could not write a sentence, concluded the problem was confidence more than competence, and raised her worry about becoming dependent on ChatGPT unprompted in therapy.","causal_attribution":"The patient's own words as quoted in the case report."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'It was always available and agreeable. As a result, reassurance-seeking behaviors could be sustained without interruption, likely reinforcing her underlying anxiety.'; 'Predisposing factors (person), including mild anxiety and low confidence, contributed to discomfort in situations involving uncertainty.'; 'case demonstrates that even in the absence of significant functional impairment'; 'It cannot confirm a causal relationship between generative AI use and changes in confidence, cognition, or functioning.'; 'There was no clear way to differentiate actual decline from perceived decline.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The author writes that ChatGPT's constant availability and agreeableness likely reinforced her reassurance seeking and underlying anxiety, alongside predisposing anxiety and low confidence, notes the absence of significant functional impairment, and states that the report cannot confirm a causal relationship between generative AI use and changes in confidence and that actual and perceived decline could not be distinguished.","causal_attribution":"The psychiatrist's interpretation; predisposing factors are named, so causation is alleged."}],"effects":[{"label":"distress over her own compulsive ChatGPT use and decreased confidence in her own judgment and skills","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"reported she could no longer start writing tasks she had once done easily","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13581145/fullTextXML","kind":"clinical_case_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Full text of the case report read as Europe PMC fullTextXML for PMC13581145 (HTTP 200) on 2026-10-11, including the case presentation, discussion and author information. Written by a physician in a psychiatry department from routine clinical care. The JMIR article page returned HTTP 202 with no body.","independence_group":"jmir-form-res-armstrong-2026-case-report"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42748377/","kind":"bibliographic_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"PubMed record of the same article read on 2026-10-11 as NCBI E-utilities efetch XML (title and abstract). Not independent of s1.","independence_group":"jmir-form-res-armstrong-2026-case-report"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","work","relationships","education"],"unknowns":["Where the patient lived and was treated.","What ChatGPT replied in most exchanges; the report quotes prompts and one reply framing only.","The course of her AI use after the report."],"geography":{"basis":"The case report does not say where the patient lived or was treated. The author is affiliated with Western University in London, Ontario; author affiliation is not used as an event location. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Core case (communicated_with): the case report describes about two years of reassurance-seeking exchanges with ChatGPT and the distress and lost confidence in her own judgment that the patient reported. All claims are reported from the clinical account; the author names predisposing anxiety, notes no significant functional impairment and states that the report cannot confirm causation, so causation is alleged and severity low.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-11"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The case report, drawn from routine clinical care, records that the patient used ChatGPT for about two years to draft and re-check messages, interpret partners' texts, predict outcomes and make decisions, that she asked it for reassurance and received replies she found credible, and links this repeated exchange to her distress and lost confidence. The report quotes the patient's prompts and one reply framing, but no full chat transcripts.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Case report: woman in her mid-20s with anxiety came to rely on ChatGPT for reassurance and decisions, reported lost confidence in her judgment (JMIR Form Res)","summary":"A psychiatrist's case report in JMIR Formative Research (published online 16 September 2026) describes a woman in her mid-20s with generalised anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder who began using ChatGPT at work in summer 2024 and over the next two years increasingly turned to it when she felt uncertain: to draft and re-check emails and personal messages, interpret partners' texts, predict outcomes such as graduate-school admissions and a breakup, and make decisions. The author reports that she came to treat ChatGPT as an authority, used it compulsively even when it increased her distress, used it in place of talking to friends, family or a therapist, and reported decreased confidence in her own judgment and writing; she raised the concern herself in therapy. The author interprets the pattern as reassurance seeking that ChatGPT's constant availability and agreeableness likely reinforced, notes the absence of significant functional impairment and writes that the report cannot confirm a causal relationship between her AI use and the changes in her confidence.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-09-16","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI), used by the patient for writing, social interpretation, outcome prediction and decisions over about two years (clinical case report)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","loss_of_autonomy"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The case report's author reports that the patient became distressed by her compulsive ChatGPT use and described decreased confidence in her own judgment and writing; the author attributes this to reassurance seeking that ChatGPT's availability and agreeableness likely reinforced, notes no significant functional impairment and writes that the report cannot confirm a causal relationship.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One patient, the subject of the case report. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13581145/fullTextXML","primarySourceLabel":"JMIR Formative Research, 16 September 2026: Armstrong, Problematic Reliance on Generative AI in an Anxious Young Adult (case report, Europe PMC full text)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-11T03:16:12.978692+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T07:53:03.055252+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","case-report","dependence","reassurance-seeking","anxiety","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2026-sibling-reports-brother-in-psychosis-uses-chatgpt-to-self-diagnose-and-distrust-doctors-family-account","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'my older brother(m25) has been going through psychosis for 2 years now'; 'He uses chatgpt to diagnose himself with mental illnesses'; 'nor have the doctors found anything during any of their MULTIPLE tests that I was there for hours with him for'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster's older brother, 25, has been in psychosis for two years, and uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself with mental illnesses and physical disorders that doctors' repeated tests, some attended by the poster, have not found.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of the brother's use; no ChatGPT outputs shown."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'s claimed chatgpt knows better than the doctors'; 'says the doctors are out to get him and are working for the government to make him suffer, and says that chatgpt understands him better than anyone ever could.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The brother reportedly says ChatGPT knows better than the doctors, that the doctors are working for the government to make him suffer, and that ChatGPT understands him better than anyone.","causal_attribution":"The brother's statements as relayed by the poster."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'psych staff let him go after 2 weeks. My brother had been dumping his pills.'; 'still doesn’t take any meds or go to therapy'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The brother was discharged after a two-week hospital admission, had been dumping his pills, and does not take medication or attend therapy.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the post does not attribute the discharge or the treatment refusal to ChatGPT except through the general 'enabler' remark (c5)."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'ve been his only safe person, and now he’s accusing me of things and saying chatgpt is telling him to be cautious because I’m famous'; 've been forced to cut him off because I can’t take it anymore.'; 'all I’ve gotten is more stress & anguish for myself.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster, who describes being the brother's only safe person, says the brother now accuses them and says ChatGPT is telling him to be cautious because of the brother's belief, as the poster describes it, that the poster is famous; the poster has cut contact and reports stress and anguish.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own account; what ChatGPT said is the brother's statement as relayed by the poster."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'He wouldn’t have an enabler if AI didn’t exist, he’s had everyone support him and try to get him housing and stability but he doesn’t believe anyone else.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster attributes the brother's persistence to ChatGPT acting as an enabler, saying he would not have one if AI did not exist and does not believe anyone else.","causal_attribution":"Poster's opinion; causation is not established."}],"effects":[{"label":"an adult described by his sibling as in psychosis reportedly uses ChatGPT to self-diagnose and says it knows better than the doctors whose tests found none of the conditions","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the brother reportedly cites ChatGPT warnings in accusing the sibling who supported him, and the sibling has cut contact","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"stress and anguish reported by the sibling","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1wtt2z4/brother_is_going_through_psychosis_has_severe/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-30: full self-text and one comment retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-sibling-psychosis-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use","others_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["What ChatGPT actually said: whether it offered diagnoses or warnings, or whether the brother interpreted its replies that way.","The brother's location, the dates of the hospital admission and of the ChatGPT use, and whether any clinician was told about it.","The brother's current condition and whether contact with the poster resumed."],"geography":{"basis":"The post names no country, city or hospital; the language and subreddit do not establish a location. Unknown after review.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter's public-forum rule as a concrete account by a family member of an ongoing adverse experience: a chatbot's reported role in an adult's self-diagnosis, distrust of clinicians, treatment refusal and estrangement, described with attribution and without corroboration. What ChatGPT said is known only through the brother's statements as relayed by the poster, and the record says so. The brother's diagnoses and the poster's personal history are summarised, not listed; no handle or location is recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster says the brother uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself and relays the brother's statements that ChatGPT knows better than the doctors, understands him better than anyone and tells him to be cautious about the poster. No conversations or outputs were published; ChatGPT's actual replies are unknown, and the claim about the poster is the brother's statement as relayed by the poster (not recorded as a relation, because what ChatGPT said about the poster is unknown).","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"Public forum account by a sibling: an adult who the sibling says has been going through psychosis for two years reportedly uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself with conditions doctors have tested for and not found, says ChatGPT knows better than the doctors, refuses medication and therapy, and now cites ChatGPT's warnings in accusing the sibling who supported him, who has cut contact","summary":"In a public post to r/antiai on 30 September 2026, a person writes that their older brother, 25, has been going through psychosis for two years, has schizophrenia and other mental health conditions, and uses ChatGPT to diagnose himself with mental illnesses and physical disorders, including conditions doctors have tested for repeatedly and not found. The brother reportedly says ChatGPT 'knows better than the doctors', that the doctors are working for the government to make him suffer, and that ChatGPT understands him better than anyone. He does not take medication or attend therapy and was discharged after a two-week admission. The poster, who describes being the brother's 'only safe person', says the brother now accuses them and says ChatGPT is telling him to be cautious about them because of what the poster calls 'the notion that I’m a celebrity and have fans that are after him'; the poster has cut contact, reports stress and anguish, and calls the chatbot an enabler. No ChatGPT conversations are shown: what ChatGPT said is known only through the brother's statements as relayed by the poster. The account is uncorroborated.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-30","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (as reported by the poster; no conversations or outputs were published)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT (reported)","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["impaired_judgment","relationship_disruption","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A sibling reports that their brother, who they say has been going through psychosis for two years, uses ChatGPT to self-diagnose conditions that repeated medical tests have not found, says the chatbot knows better than his doctors, refuses medication and therapy, and now cites ChatGPT's warnings in accusing the sibling, who has cut contact and reports stress and anguish (family account, uncorroborated; ChatGPT's role is as described by the brother and relayed by the poster).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people: the brother, who uses ChatGPT and whose reported self-diagnosis, distrust of doctors and estrangement are the adverse experience (participant user, 1), and the poster, who reports stress and anguish and the loss of the relationship (other person, 1). Exact 2.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"assistant","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1wtt2z4/brother_is_going_through_psychosis_has_severe/","primarySourceLabel":"r/antiai, 30 September 2026: public post by a sibling about a brother's use of ChatGPT to diagnose himself during what the sibling describes as psychosis","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T04:14:00.719747+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T04:14:00.719747+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","family-account","reddit","chatgpt","psychosis","self-diagnosis","treatment-refusal","family-estrangement","communicated-with"]},{"id":"2025-louisiana-student-reported-ai-image-abuse-school-consequences","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'uncovered AI-generated nude images of eight female middle school students and two adults, the district and sheriff’s office said in a joint statement.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'an investigation into AI nude images that were shared among students.'; 'Through the investigation, deputies found that eight students and two adults were victims.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The parish sheriff's office and school district said their investigation found AI-generated nude images of eight female middle-school students and two adults, shared among students.","causal_attribution":"Both outlets relay the same official statement (one origin); no images or investigative records were inspected."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The girls begged for help, first from a school guidance counselor and then from a sheriff’s deputy assigned to their school.'; 'the images were shared on Snapchat, an app that deletes messages seconds after they’re viewed, and the adults couldn’t find them.'; 'A video from the school bus showed at least a half-dozen students circulating the images'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Girls asked a school counselor and the school's sheriff's deputy for help, but the images had been shared on Snapchat and the adults could not find them; the superintendent later said a school-bus video showed at least six students circulating the images.","causal_attribution":"AP reporting from the hearing recording and the superintendent's remarks at a school board meeting."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I went the whole day with getting bullied and getting made fun of about my body'; 'the boy was showing the AI-generated images to a friend.'; 'Fed up, she attacked a boy on the bus, inviting others to join her.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"One of the depicted girls said at her disciplinary hearing that she was bullied about her body all day, and AP reports that she then attacked a boy on the school bus who was showing the images.","causal_attribution":"The girl's hearing testimony and the principal's account as reported by AP."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'for more than 10 weeks and sent to an alternative school'; 'she was assigned to an alternative school as the district moved to expel her for a full semester'; 'Her first day back at school was Nov. 7, although she will remain on probation until Jan. 29.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The district sent the girl to an alternative school and a disciplinary panel expelled her; after an appeal the school board let her return to campus on 7 November 2025, on probation until 29 January 2026.","causal_attribution":"AP reporting of the hearing and board decisions; no district record was inspected."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the girl started skipping meals, her father said.'; 'got her into therapy'; 'She just felt like she was victimized multiple times'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Her father says that at the alternative school she skipped meals and stopped doing her work until he got her into therapy, and that she felt victimised several times over.","causal_attribution":"The father's account to AP."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'The student was charged with 10 counts of unlawful dissemination of images created by artificial intelligence under a new Louisiana state law'; 'A second boy was charged in December with identical charges, the sheriff’s department said.'; 'The girl would face no charges'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'One male student was charged with ten counts of unlawful dissemination of images created by artificial intelligence.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"The sheriff's office charged one boy with 10 counts of unlawful dissemination of images created by artificial intelligence and a second boy with identical charges in December 2025; the girl was not charged.","causal_attribution":"The sheriff's office statements as relayed by AP and WBRZ (one origin); no charging document was inspected and no outcome is reported."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'the school district followed all its protocols for reporting misconduct'; 'He said a “one-sided story” had been presented of the case'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The superintendent said the district followed all its protocols for reporting misconduct and that a one-sided story had been presented.","causal_attribution":"The superintendent's statement as reported by AP."}],"effects":[{"label":"eight girls and two adults depicted in AI-generated nude images shared among students, according to officials","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a day of bullying about her body, by the girl's account","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"expelled and sent to an alternative school before returning on probation","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"skipped meals and began therapy, according to her father","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://apnews.com/article/school-deepfake-nude-ai-cyberbullying-0ead324241cf390e1a7f3378853f23cb","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Published 22 December 2025. The live page returned 403 and the Internet Archive returned HTTP 500 on 2026-10-15; the full article was re-read from the retained Internet Archive capture of 30 December 2025 saved on 2026-09-30. AP reporting from interviews with the family, a recording of the disciplinary hearing, board meetings, records and official statements.","independence_group":"ap-investigation-dec-2025"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.wbrz.com/news/lafourche-parish-sheriff-s-office-shares-update-on-investigation-into-ai-nude-images/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Published 13 November 2025; read by curl on 2026-10-15 (HTTP 200). Relays the parish sheriff's office release and initial report.","independence_group":"parish-sheriff-release-nov-2025"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","privacy"],"unknowns":["Which apps made the images, who created them and when; the charges concern dissemination.","The outcome of the charges against the two boys.","Whether the accused classmate faced school discipline; the district cited student privacy law.","Whether the family filed the federal lawsuit its lawyer planned."],"geography":{"basis":"AP and WBRZ place the school, the sheriff's investigation and the charges in a Louisiana parish.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"The investigating sheriff's office and school district described AI-generated nude images depicting ten people, and AP reported one girl's school exclusion and distress from her hearing testimony, school board meetings and her father's interviews. The district's disagreement is recorded. The girl, her family, the school and the town are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-15"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The sheriff's office and school district, which investigated, described the images as AI-generated nude images of identifiable students and adults, and the sheriff's office charged two boys under a state law on images created by artificial intelligence. The tool used is not named and no image, device record or charging document was inspected.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Louisiana family reports bullying and school exclusion after alleged AI sexual-image abuse","summary":"A Louisiana sheriff's office and school district said an investigation found AI-generated nude images of eight middle-school girls and two adults shared among students in August 2025. One girl's family told AP she was bullied all day, attacked a boy showing the images on the school bus, and was expelled and sent to an alternative school before the school board let her return on probation. Two boys were charged under a state law on AI-created images. The district said it followed its protocols.","incidentDate":"2025-08-26","incidentEndDate":"2025-11-07","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2025-11-13","aiSystem":"Unidentified AI image tools; the sheriff's office and district describe the images as AI-generated","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","educational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Officials said AI-generated nude images depicted eight middle-school girls and two adults; one girl's family describes a day of bullying, expulsion, weeks at an alternative school and distress that led to therapy.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":10,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"The sheriff's office and district said the investigation found AI-generated nude images of eight female students and two adults, whom the sheriff's office called victims. Non-consensual sexual depiction is itself the reported harm for all ten; bullying, school exclusion and distress are described for one girl only. Documented minimum because the images were shared on a disappearing-message app and the count is the investigation's finding.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US-LA","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"criminal_charges","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://apnews.com/article/school-deepfake-nude-ai-cyberbullying-0ead324241cf390e1a7f3378853f23cb","primarySourceLabel":"Associated Press, 22 December 2025","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:10:59.922265+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-15T02:59:57.785525+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2025","ai-sexual-images","school","minors","louisiana","criminal-charges","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-wyoming-woman-alleges-grok-used-to-make-thousands-of-ai-sexual-images-from-childhood-photo","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"AMENDED COMPLAINT against X.AI Corp., X.AI LLC. Filed by Jane Doe 1, Jane Doe 3, Jane Doe 2, Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"ADMINISTRATIVE MOTION TO PROCEED UNDER PSEUDONYM filed by Jane Doe 4, Jane Doe 5.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"ORDER Granting Administrative Motion to Proceed Under Pseudonym. Signed by Judge P. Casey Pitts on 8/3/2026.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Plaintiff Jane Doe 4 is a female who resides in Wyoming","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"A first amended class action complaint filed on 7 July 2026 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Doe 1 v. X.AI Corp., 5:26-cv-02246) lists a plaintiff identified as Jane Doe 4, who is stated to reside in Wyoming. The docket records a motion to proceed under pseudonym filed by Jane Doe 4 and Jane Doe 5 on 7 July 2026 and an order granting an administrative motion to proceed under pseudonym on 3 August 2026.","causal_attribution":"The docket and the complaint establish that the filing exists, who filed it and what it alleges. They do not establish that any allegation is true. The docket does not say which pseudonym motion the 3 August order granted."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"On or before February 12, 2026, Jane Doe 4’s stepfather uploaded an image of Jane Doe 4","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Using this image, Jane Doe 4’s stepfather prompted Grok to generate approximately 7,000","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"sexually explicit images depicting Jane Doe 4.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"to generate about 7,000 sexually explicit images and videos from a single photograph","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"made the more than 7,000 fake explicit images of her using the AI chatbot Grok","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Lawmakers in the United States and Europe moved to investigate xAI earlier this year","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Within weeks, Jane Doe 4's stepfather first uploaded the photo of her as a child to Grok","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"and was a minor at the time the","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"posted on X from Grok’s account between December 28, 2025, and January 8, 2026, xAI limited","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"in February, then prompted the platform's AI image generator to create 7,000","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"According to the amended complaint, on or before 12 February 2026 the plaintiff’s stepfather uploaded a photograph of the plaintiff taken in childhood into the Grok application on a phone and prompted Grok to generate approximately 7,000 AI-generated sexual images. NPR reports about 7,000 images and videos and the Washington Post reports more than 7,000 images, both citing the plaintiff’s court filings. The Washington Post, attributing the point to the lawsuit, says the first upload came \"within weeks\" of the controversy over Grok image edits on X, and says lawmakers moved to investigate xAI over that controversy \"earlier this year\". The complaint dates the Grok-posted images in that controversy from 28 December 2025 to 8 January 2026, and Cowboy State Daily paraphrases the complaint as saying the upload was in February.","causal_attribution":"All accounts rest on the plaintiff and the plaintiff’s lawyers: the complaint, the plaintiff’s interview with the Washington Post and counsel’s statements to NPR and Cowboy State Daily. The images were not inspected. The complaint dates the upload only as on or before 12 February 2026 and no source gives the date of the first image."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"sexually explicit images of Jane Doe 4 is because the platform was less restrictive than other AI models and","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Law enforcement told Jane Doe 4 that her stepfather had used Grok because it was more responsive to his prompts than other AI models","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"A forensic review revealed approximately 7,000 AI-generated images and videos depicting","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that the stepfather used Grok because it was less restrictive than other AI models. NPR reports that the plaintiff’s lawyer says law enforcement told the plaintiff that the stepfather used Grok because it was more responsive to the stepfather’s prompts than other AI models. A forensic review of devices seized in the search is alleged to have found approximately 7,000 AI-generated images and videos of the plaintiff produced with Grok.","causal_attribution":"The reason for choosing Grok is the complaint’s belief and a statement by counsel about what law enforcement said. No law enforcement statement was found (the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation declined to comment on the litigation) and the forensic finding is stated only in the complaint."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"trafficked Jane Doe 4’s AI-generated","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"has further suffered substantial reputational harm","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"was spread among an unknown number of users online and there is no way now to permanently remove this","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Jane later learned that her stepfather had created thousands of sexually explicit images of her as a child and traded them online, she said.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges, on information and belief, that the stepfather traded the AI-generated images online through social media platforms, and that the plaintiff has suffered substantial reputational harm because the images were spread among an unknown number of users, and that they cannot now be permanently removed from the internet. The plaintiff told the Washington Post that the plaintiff later learned the stepfather had created thousands of these images and traded them online.","causal_attribution":"The trading is alleged on information and belief and is otherwise the plaintiff’s account. No platform, recipient or copy of the images is identified in any source read."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"On or around February 12, 2026,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"At this point, xAI finally generated a CyberTip to NCMEC.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"xAI, however, included only the original,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"The company did not include any of the abusive images with its report","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"because xAI's tip to NCMEC did not provide any of the explicit fake images","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"xAI failed to respond to the investigator’s requests, and to","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"On or about February 27, 2026, law enforcement obtained","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"failed to share the alleged perpetrator's IP address with NCMEC and law enforcement, even after officials requested it multiple times, according to the complaint","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"tip to NCMEC did not include crucial information from its records, such as the IP addresses associated with her stepfather's account","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"which xAI allegedly refused to provide, the lawsuit claims","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that on or around 12 February 2026 xAI generated a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that included only the original photograph and not the generated images, that xAI did not provide the IP address of the upload despite requests from the investigator, and that Wyoming law enforcement then located the stepfather and on or about 27 February 2026 obtained a warrant to search the residence. NPR and the Washington Post report the allegation that the NCMEC report lacked the generated images and the IP address, and Cowboy State Daily reports the allegation that xAI refused to provide the IP address.","causal_attribution":"These are allegations about xAI’s conduct in a pending civil case. xAI did not respond to requests for comment from the Washington Post or NPR and has not answered the complaint according to the Post. No NCMEC, xAI or law enforcement record was read."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"stepfather was arrested following the search, charged with child exploitation","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"offenses, and released on bail later that night. Two days later,","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"Two days after the raid, her stepfather was found dead","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"stepfather was not charged with child pornography offenses and was released by authorities on the day the warrant was executed","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"because xAI's tip to NCMEC did not provide any of the explicit fake images, Jane Doe 4 said, citing her conversations with an investigator on the case","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges that the stepfather was arrested after the search, charged with child exploitation offenses and released on bail that night, and that the stepfather died two days later. The plaintiff told the Washington Post that the stepfather was found dead two days after the search and was not charged with child pornography offenses, and, citing conversations with an investigator, that the stepfather was released on the day the warrant was executed because the NCMEC report did not include the generated images. The two accounts describe the charges differently and the sources read do not reconcile them. No source attributes the death to the AI system, and this record does not treat the death as a harm outcome of the AI.","causal_attribution":"The arrest, charge, release and death are stated by the plaintiff and the complaint and no court or police record was found. The death is context. The cited passages stop before any statement of how the death occurred and this record does not describe it."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"has suffered severe emotional distress as a result of the production of her AI-","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"by others online. She also suffers from depression and sleeps excessively. When she is awake, she struggles","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"with suicidal thoughts.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"experiences extreme anxiety in her daily life and is overcome with fear that her CSAM images will be found","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"viewing CSAM images of her and she feels as though her childhood has been stolen from her","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"She started therapy for trauma","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"who is now an adult","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"She’s suffered a tremendous amount of psychological distress and harm feeling like her childhood has been stolen","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"She’s going to feel anxious on a daily basis going forward about somebody finding these images.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The amended complaint attributes to the production of the images severe emotional distress in the plaintiff: extreme anxiety in daily life, fear that the images will be found by others online, depression, excessive sleep and suicidal thoughts, and a feeling that the plaintiff’s childhood has been stolen. The plaintiff told the Washington Post about starting therapy for trauma, and the plaintiff’s lawyer told Cowboy State Daily that the plaintiff has ongoing trauma and will feel anxious daily about someone finding the images.","causal_attribution":"These effects are the plaintiff’s account in a pleading and an interview and a statement by the plaintiff’s lawyer. No clinician or other independent account was read. The complaint also attributes distress to the death of the stepfather and other family upheaval, so the distress is not attributed to the images alone."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"did not respond to a request for comment, and the company has not responded to the federal lawsuit in court","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"SpaceXAI was previously known as xAI.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"SpaceXAI did not respond to a request for comment","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"will not comment on ongoing litigation","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"xAI did not respond to the Washington Post’s request for comment and, according to the Post, had not responded to the federal lawsuit in court. NPR reports that SpaceXAI (xAI, renamed in July 2026) did not respond to its request for comment. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation told Cowboy State Daily that it will not comment on ongoing litigation.","causal_attribution":"Non-responses are not denials. Among the docket entries read (last updated 29 September 2026) the xAI defendants appear through counsel and oppose a motion to preserve evidence, and no answer or motion to dismiss appears."}],"effects":[{"label":"A woman reportedly depicted in about 7,000 AI-generated sexual images and videos made with Grok from a childhood photograph, with reported severe distress and fear of the images being found","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.465940/gov.uscourts.cand.465940.26.0.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"First amended class action complaint, ECF 26, filed 7 July 2026. RECAP PDF text read for the paragraphs about Jane Doe 4 (17 and 158 to 181). Plaintiffs’ allegations, not findings. Graphic paragraphs were read for verification and are not reproduced.","independence_group":"plaintiff-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72495765/doe-1-v-xai-corp/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"CourtListener docket for 5:26-cv-02246 read on 2026-09-30 (page last updated 29 Sept 2026). Procedural facts only.","independence_group":"ndcal-court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/her-childhood-photo-thousands-of-explicit-images-one-womans-nightmare-163429621.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Washington Post article by two named reporters, published 15 August 2026 (paywalled). The full text was read from the copy syndicated on Yahoo on 19 August 2026. The Post URL itself returned only the opening paragraphs through a relay.","independence_group":"plaintiff-account"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/07/09/nx-s1-5885052/spacexai-stabilityai-deepfake-csam-class-action","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"NPR, 9 July 2026. Reports the amended complaint and statements by the plaintiffs’ lawyer.","independence_group":"plaintiff-account"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://cowboystatedaily.com/2026/09/18/lawsuit-claims-grok-used-wyoming-womans-photo-to-make-7-000-ai-child-porn-pics/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Cowboy State Daily, 18 September 2026. Reports the complaint and statements by one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers.","independence_group":"plaintiff-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","relationships","justice"],"unknowns":["When the first image was generated. The complaint dates the upload on or before 12 February 2026. The Washington Post, attributing the point to the lawsuit, says the first upload came \"within weeks\" of the controversy over Grok image edits on X, which the complaint dates from 28 December 2025 to 8 January 2026, and Cowboy State Daily paraphrases the upload as in February. No source gives the first day.","Whether the accused was charged with child pornography offenses. The complaint says child exploitation offenses and the plaintiff told the Post there was no child pornography charge. No court or police record was found, and the criminal matter cannot be checked in the sources read.","How widely the images spread and to whom. The trading is alleged on information and belief and no platform or recipient is identified.","What law enforcement or NCMEC found. The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation declined to comment on the litigation and no agency record was read.","xAI’s response on the merits. The docket read shows no answer or motion to dismiss and xAI did not comment to the Post or NPR.","Whether other images made by the same accused depict other people. The complaint alleges an exchange with others and identifies no one.","The images were not inspected. The Washington Post original page is paywalled and its text was read in the Yahoo syndicated copy."],"geography":{"basis":"The complaint states that the plaintiff resides in Wyoming and describes a Wyoming law enforcement task force investigating, and the Washington Post places the search at a house in Wyoming. The civil case is in the Northern District of California. The location where the prompts were entered is not stated.","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"The account rests on one plaintiff’s amended federal complaint, interview with the Washington Post and lawyers’ statements, so every claim about the events is reported and these sources form one independence group. The court docket documents the filing. The plaintiff is described by role and court pseudonym only, the accused is unnamed, the images are described only as AI-generated sexual images with their reported number and distribution, and the accused’s death is recorded as context without method. The event began in 2026 on the sources read, with the first day unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-30"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The amended complaint alleges that the stepfather used Grok to generate the images and that a forensic review of seized devices found them. NPR reports the plaintiff’s lawyer saying law enforcement told the plaintiff that Grok was used. xAI did not respond to requests for comment and had not answered the complaint. The images were not inspected and no law enforcement statement was found.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Wyoming plaintiff alleges Grok was used to make about 7,000 AI-generated sexual images and videos from a photograph of the plaintiff as a child","summary":"A Wyoming woman who is now an adult and is identified in court filings as Jane Doe 4 alleges that the plaintiff’s stepfather uploaded a photograph of the plaintiff taken in childhood to xAI’s Grok on or before 12 February 2026 and prompted Grok to generate about 7,000 AI-generated sexual images and videos of the plaintiff, and that the stepfather traded them online. The plaintiff joined a proposed class action against xAI in the Northern District of California through an amended complaint filed on 7 July 2026. The complaint alleges that xAI’s report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children around 12 February 2026 did not include the generated images or the IP address of the upload, that investigators obtained a search warrant on or about 27 February 2026 and found the material, and that the accused died two days later, after release on bail. The plaintiff reports severe distress including depression and suicidal thoughts and told the Washington Post about starting therapy. The complaint says the accused was charged with child exploitation offenses while the plaintiff told the Post that the accused was not charged with child pornography offenses. xAI did not respond to the Post and had not answered the complaint in court. The allegations have not been tested in court. The plaintiff and the accused are not named here, and the images are described only by kind.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-07-07","aiSystem":"Grok (xAI chatbot and image generation)","aiProduct":"Grok","aiCompany":"xAI","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["exploitation_or_abuse","psychological_distress","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The plaintiff alleges in a federal complaint, and told the Washington Post, that AI-generated sexual images made with Grok from a photograph of the plaintiff as a child were traded online. The complaint attributes to the images severe emotional distress, extreme anxiety, fear that the images will be found, depression and suicidal thoughts, and the plaintiff told the Post about starting therapy for trauma. The complaint also describes reputational harm from the images spreading among an unknown number of users and says they cannot now be permanently removed. The complaint also describes a period of extreme personal crisis following the death of the accused after release on bail. These are allegations and the plaintiff’s own statements in a pending civil case.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One woman, the pseudonymous plaintiff, is reported depicted in the images and harmed. The accused is not counted. Other children whose images the accused is alleged to have received in exchange are not identified in any source and are not counted, and family members mentioned in the sources are not reported harmed by the images.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"chatbot","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.465940/gov.uscourts.cand.465940.26.0.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"First amended class action complaint, Doe 1 v. X.AI Corp., 5:26-cv-02246 (N.D. Cal.), ECF 26, filed 7 July 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-30T01:09:57.112206+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:44:25.169011+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["historical-2026"]},{"id":"2024-seoige-ai-deepfake-sexual-image-galway-west-election","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Broadcaster Gráinne Seoige has said that sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology have left her deeply traumatised.'; 'Ms Seoige was alerted by people close to her of the circulation of such images while she was standing as a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 general election.'; '\"I’ve had to deal with the shame and humiliation of this for almost a year and a half,\" she said. \"It has been deeply traumatising.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'During the campaign, explicit deepfake images of her were created using AI.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'she recalls how she became the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI while canvassing for election in 2024.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"Gráinne Seoige says that while she was a candidate in Galway West in the 2024 general election she was alerted to the circulation of sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology, that the experience was the most shocking of her life and deeply traumatising, and that she has dealt with shame and humiliation for almost a year and a half.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in successive interviews and statements (one account-holder, so not independent corroboration). The creator and tool are unknown."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Ms Seoige said the image of her was disseminated through WhatsApp, owned by Meta, and that when gardaí became aware people were in possession of the image, they sought information about its origin.'; 'Rather than cooperate, she said, some recipients refused to share that information.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Ms Seoige will say that her case “hit a dead end” and “even though the AI-generated pornographic image of me was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times across WhatsApp'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"She says the AI-generated image was disseminated through WhatsApp, by her account shared hundreds if not thousands of times, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so her case hit a dead end.","causal_attribution":"Her own account; the sharing figure is her estimate. No Garda statement was read."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne Seoige has told of experiencing nightmares of being attacked after AI deepfake images of her circulated online.'; 'The Galway native often had night terrors of \"faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.\"'; '\"I went through a period where I just wore a long puffer coat everywhere I went.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Since then she has had nightmares in which faceless men attack her.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"In a September 2026 interview she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and a period when she wore a long puffer coat everywhere so that nobody could see her body.","causal_attribution":"Her own account, relayed by RSVP from a Sunday Independent interview that was not itself read."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'What we know after Gráinne Seoige appears before Oireachtas committee urging action on sexualised AI deepfakes'; 'Gráinne Seoige has urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'The creation and dissemination of deepfake explicit images will be the “abuse scandal of the 21st century if we do not act now”, television presenter Gráinne Seoige is set to tell TDs and senators.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"In January 2026 she appeared before an Oireachtas committee and urged TDs and senators to act against AI-generated sexualised deepfakes.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Independent report of her appearance (headline and opening read); the Examiner item is a preview of her prepared statement."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I found it deeply humiliating. It was such an attack on my dignity. It made me feel incredibly vulnerable, distrusting of people, it made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. I have terrible nightmares of faceless men coming by and just ripping my clothes off as they pass me.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'It made me not want to go outside. I moved away from my home. It was such an attack on my dignity.'; 'It made me feel incredibly vulnerable. Distrusting of people. I have terrible nightmares.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"In passages from her documentary quoted on 4 October 2026, she says she found the image deeply humiliating and an attack on her dignity, that it made her feel incredibly vulnerable and distrusting of people and not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home, and that she has terrible nightmares of faceless men.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I was shown this image in September or October 2024, and I haven’t seen it since.'; 'weeps on camera as she sees the horrendous image'; 'right now I feel like I could vomit, looking at it again'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says in the documentary that she was shown the image in September or October 2024 and had not looked at it since; the Irish Sun reports that she weeps on camera on seeing it again and says she felt she could vomit.","causal_attribution":"Her own account and the Irish Sun's description of the documentary, which was not viewed."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I’ve had to have therapy to deal with all this'; 'People make fun of it.'; 'previously told how she wore a face mask at the shops after the image was circulated online'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says she has had therapy to deal with the experience and that people make fun of it; the Irish Sun also reports that she previously said she wore a face mask at the shops after the image circulated.","causal_attribution":"Her own account as quoted by the Irish Sun; no clinical record is cited."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I spent the rest of that day knocking on doors in Connemara'; 'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother.'; 'It completely destabilises your sense of safety in the world.'; 'hyper vigilant the whole time, which is exhausting'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'I had to sit down in the family kitchen and tell my father and mother'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"She says that on the day she was told about the image she spent the rest of the day knocking on doors in Connemara wondering whether each man who answered had seen it, that she had to tell her father and mother, and that the experience destabilised her sense of safety and left her hypervigilant.","causal_attribution":"Her own account in the documentary, as quoted before broadcast by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun; the documentary was not viewed. One account-holder, so not independent corroboration."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'This was done for a very specific reason. It was politically motivated.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'she says helped to scupper her election chances'; 'meant she wouldn’t recommend a woman to run for public office'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'because it surfaced at a time when she was standing for election for Fianna Fáil in Galway West'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"She says the image was made for a very specific reason and was politically motivated; the Irish Sun reports that she says it helped to scupper her election chances and that she told an Oireachtas committee she would not recommend that a woman run for public office.","causal_attribution":"Her own belief about motive and effect; the maker is unidentified and no finding on motive or on the election result is reported."},{"id":"c10","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Grainne contacted Gardai and also went to'; 'parent company, and the media regulator, Coimisiun na Mean, as she fought to get justice'; 'no one was ever prosecuted for creating the fake image'; 'nothing could be done to find where the picture originated from given WhatsApp’s encryption'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The Irish Sun reports that she contacted gardaí, Meta and the media regulator Coimisiún na Meán, that no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image, and that she spoke of powerlessness because the origin of the picture could not be found given WhatsApp's encryption.","causal_attribution":"The Irish Sun's summary; no Garda, Meta or regulator statement was read."},{"id":"c11","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'airs Monday, 5 October at 9 pm on Virgin Media PLAY and Virgin Media One'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"'which airs on Virgin Media One at 9pm tomorrow'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, Monday, Virgin Media One, 9pm'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The documentary, Deepfake Ireland with Gráinne Seoige, was scheduled to air on Virgin Media One at 9pm on Monday 5 October 2026, and The Irish Times reviewed it that day.","causal_attribution":"Broadcast listing as reported on 4 and 5 October 2026; the review is dated 5 October."},{"id":"c12","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'of Dublin-based technology company Ceartas, where she discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software. This is news to Seoige, who is understandably appalled.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"The Irish Times review reports that in the documentary she meets a representative of a Dublin-based technology company, Ceartas, and discovers that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated by deepfake software, which was news to her.","causal_attribution":"The reviewer's description of the film; how many images were found, when they were made and whether they circulated are not reported."}],"effects":[{"label":"deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation, after a sexualised deepfake image of her circulated during her election campaign","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"recurring nightmares of being attacked and a period of hiding her body under a long coat","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"did not want to go outside and moved away from her home, by her account","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"learned during filming that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software","claim_id":"c12","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rte.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28 and again on 2026-10-05; read in full through the Internet Archive id_ capture (re-read 2026-10-05 from the capture of 6 May 2026). Report of her Prime Time interview (13 January 2026 edition).","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-41779358.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-28 and re-read live on 2026-10-05 (20 January 2026). Reports her prepared statement to the Oireachtas media committee; the committee transcript was not read.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-experienced-nightmares-being-37707633","kind":"news_relay","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"rsvplive.ie returned 202 with an empty body; the same article (RSVP, Michelle Townsend, 27 September 2026) was read in full through the MSN content API. It relays her interview with the Sunday Independent, which was not readable (independent.ie 403, Archive 404). Re-read through the MSN content API on 2026-10-05.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/what-we-know-after-grainne-seoige-appears-before-oireachtas-committee-urging-action-on-sexualised-ai-deepfakes/a/125585403.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"independent.ie returned 403 on 2026-09-28; the headline and opening paragraph (Maeve McTaggart, 21 January 2026) were read through a reader relay by the second researcher (bodies/verify-seoige-indo-oireachtas.txt); the remainder is paywalled and was not read. Separate group: the paper's own report of her committee appearance, used only for that fact. independent.ie returned 403 again on 2026-10-05; not re-read, the 2026-09-28 extract is relied on.","independence_group":"independent-ie-oireachtas"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.rsvplive.ie/news/celebs/grainne-seoige-said-deepfake-images-37725097","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 through the MSN content API, which carries the RSVP article (reporter byline, timestamp 3 October 2026 23:01 UTC, 4 October Irish time) and names this address as its source. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.thesun.ie/tv/17711501/grainne-seoige-deepfake-ireland-ai-abuse-tears-nightmares/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-05 from the publisher's own REST endpoint for this post (the article page returned a device-verification screen). The Irish Sun, 4 October 2026 08:00. Quotes her statements in the documentary before broadcast and adds the paper's own summary of the Garda outcome. Same account-holder as the other sources, so the same group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/tv-radio/2026/10/05/deepfake-ireland-on-virgin-media-grainne-seoiges-distress-in-this-grim-film-is-palpable/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in full on 2026-10-06 from irishtimes.com (HTTP 200). A television review published on 5 October 2026, the broadcast date, describing the documentary's content; it relays her statements in the film, so it shares her account's group.","independence_group":"seoige-own-account"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["privacy","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["Who made the image and with which tool.","The exact dates of creation and circulation within the 2024 campaign; she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024.","Whether any Garda investigation remains open; no arrest or charge is reported, and the Irish Sun says no one was ever prosecuted for creating the image.","Whether she has received a clinical diagnosis: none is stated in the sources read.","Where she moved from and to, and when; she says only that she moved away from her home.","What Meta and Coimisiún na Meán did in response to her approaches.","Whether the broadcast matched the version reviewed: the film was not viewed for this record, and its content comes from two preview reports of 4 October and The Irish Times review of 5 October 2026.","How many further manipulated images were found during filming, who made them, when, and whether they circulated."],"geography":{"basis":"The image circulated while she was a candidate in the Galway West constituency in the 2024 Irish general election and she reported it to An Garda Síochána (RTÉ; Irish Examiner). RSVP calls her a Galway native. No court proceedings are reported. She describes canvassing in Connemara on the day she was told (RSVP Live, 4 October 2026).","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IE"],"affected_person_countries":["IE"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): an AI-generated sexualised image depicting Ms Seoige, a public figure, circulated during her 2024 election campaign, and she has described its effects on the record in interviews, to an Oireachtas committee and in a documentary. The account is hers and the creator is unidentified. No sexual imagery is described beyond its nature. Updated on 2026-10-06 from The Irish Times review of the documentary, which reports that she learned during filming of further deepfake manipulations of images from her Instagram account; the added claim is reported and attributed to the review.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-06"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"RTÉ reports sexualised images of her 'made with deepfake technology', and the Irish Examiner reports her statement that 'the AI-generated pornographic image of me' was shared hundreds, if not thousands, of times on WhatsApp. The Irish Times review describes her as the victim of deepfake pornography created using AI and reports that further images from her Instagram account were manipulated by deepfake software. The generated image depicts her and its circulation is the source of the shame, nightmares and withdrawal she describes. The tool and maker are unknown and no forensic finding is reported.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Galway West, Ireland: broadcaster Gráinne Seoige says an AI-generated sexual deepfake image of her circulated on WhatsApp during her 2024 election campaign","summary":"Gráinne Seoige, a broadcaster who stood for Fianna Fáil in Galway West in Ireland's 2024 general election, told RTÉ's Prime Time in January 2026 that people close to her alerted her during the campaign to sexualised images of her made with deepfake technology. She says the AI-generated pornographic image was disseminated through WhatsApp, shared hundreds if not thousands of times by her account, and that when gardaí sought its origin some recipients refused to cooperate, so the investigation hit a dead end. She kept silent during the campaign and has described the experience as deeply traumatising, with shame and humiliation lasting almost a year and a half. In a September 2026 interview relayed by RSVP Live from the Sunday Independent she described night terrors of faceless men tearing her clothes off and wearing a long puffer coat everywhere so her body could not be seen. She has since appeared before the Oireachtas media committee (Irish Independent, 21 January 2026), and made a Virgin Media documentary on deepfake abuse, scheduled for broadcast on 5 October 2026. In passages from it quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says she was shown the image in September or October 2024, that it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy; she also says she believes the image was politically motivated. The Irish Times, reviewing the documentary on 5 October 2026, reports that in it she learns from a Dublin technology company that further images taken from her Instagram account have been manipulated with deepfake software, which was news to her. The tool used to make the image and the person who made it are not identified.","incidentDate":"2024-01-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-01-14","aiSystem":"An unidentified generative-AI or deepfake tool used to make a sexualised image of a real person (described as 'made with deepfake technology' by RTÉ and as an 'AI-generated pornographic image' in her Oireachtas statement reported by the Irish Examiner); the tool and its maker are not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","exploitation_or_abuse","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Ms Seoige says the circulation of an AI-generated sexualised image of her during her 2024 election campaign left her deeply traumatised, with lasting shame and humiliation and recurring nightmares of being attacked, and that the Garda investigation could not identify those responsible (her accounts to RTÉ Prime Time, the Oireachtas committee via the Irish Examiner, and the Sunday Independent via RSVP Live). In passages from her documentary quoted by RSVP Live and the Irish Sun on 4 October 2026 she says it made her not want to go outside, that she moved away from her home and that she has had therapy. The Irish Times review of the documentary (5 October 2026) reports that during filming she learned that further images from her Instagram account had been manipulated with deepfake software.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One depicted person, Gráinne Seoige, who describes her own experience (RTÉ; Irish Examiner; RSVP Live). The other victims she says she has spoken to are separate experiences and are not counted. Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IE","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.rte.ie/news/primetime/2026/0114/1552987-grainne-seoige/","primarySourceLabel":"RTÉ News, 14 January 2026: Gráinne Seoige: Sexualised deepfake images left me traumatised","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:40.162359+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-06T03:05:33.997291+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","non-consensual-intimate-imagery","ireland","galway","election","whatsapp","public-figure","depicted-or-impersonated"]},{"id":"2026-reddit-partner-concealed-chatgpt-use-relationship-strain","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'They have been paying for a ChatGPT subscription without me knowing, even though they currently owe me hundreds of dollars'; 'have been actively hiding how much they use it from me'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The partner paid for a ChatGPT subscription without the poster's knowledge while owing her hundreds of dollars, and had hidden the extent of their AI use.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the partner has not spoken publicly."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'They agreed that using gen-AI was harmful and that they are currently using it more than what is healthy, but refused to stop because using it gives them a dopamine hit'; 'They said it's addictive and that's why they don't want to stop'; 'once they have money they will likely continue the subscription'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The partner agreed the use was more than healthy but refused to stop because it gives a dopamine hit, called it addictive, and said they would likely renew the subscription when they had money.","causal_attribution":"The partner's statements as relayed by the poster."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I told them that if they continue to use it without even attempting to slow it down, I cannot see myself continuing the relationship'; 'our therapist is quite pro-AI and has told my partner to use it before, so I'm scared to bring it up there'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster told the partner she cannot see the relationship continuing unless the use is reduced, and is afraid to raise it in couples therapy because the therapist has recommended AI use.","causal_attribution":"Poster's own statement of the consequence."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'They've also been using it to plan and organise their life'; 'say that it just helps them to do things because they struggle with organisation and other solutions they've tried haven't helped'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The partner uses ChatGPT to plan and organise their life and says it helps because of their conditions, where other solutions had not.","causal_attribution":"Poster relaying the partner's explanation; recorded as context."}],"effects":[{"label":"the poster says the relationship may end over the partner's concealed and, by the partner's own account, addictive ChatGPT use","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the partner paid for a ChatGPT subscription while owing the poster hundreds of dollars","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"},{"label":"the partner reports the tool helps them organise daily life where other solutions failed","claim_id":"c4","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/1whkz4j/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-19 (full self-text retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID; 137 comments not reviewed; poster's handle not recorded).","independence_group":"reddit-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use","own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","finance"],"unknowns":["The partner's own account, the amounts involved, the dates of discovery and the country are not stated.","Whether the relationship continued or the subscription was renewed is unknown.","The 137 comments were not reviewed and are not used.","The poster's and partner's identities are unknown; the record deliberately omits the handle."],"geography":{"basis":"The post gives no location; 'hundreds of dollars' does not establish a country. Unknown after review.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter's public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of an ongoing adverse experience (relationship strain and money spent while in debt, attributed by the poster to a partner's concealed, self-described addictive ChatGPT use), described with attribution and without corroboration; the partner's stated benefit is preserved as a positive effect. Anonymous poster; no handle, names or location recorded; the partner's specific conditions are not listed.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-19"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster reports that her partner uses ChatGPT (a paid subscription) for creative-writing feedback and daily planning and describes the use as addictive; the system communicated with the partner. Nothing is known about the content of the exchanges beyond the poster's description.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"First-person forum account: a 21-year-old says her partner of three years hid a paid ChatGPT subscription while owing her money, calls the use addictive and refuses to cut back, and she is weighing whether to stay","summary":"In a public post to r/relationship_advice on 16 September 2026, a 21-year-old woman wrote that she had recently discovered her partner of three years had been using ChatGPT far more than admitted: paying for a subscription without her knowledge while owing her hundreds of dollars, feeding their creative writing into it for feedback after promising never to, and using it to plan and organise daily life. She reports that the partner agreed the use was 'more than what is healthy' but refused to stop because it gives 'a dopamine hit', described it as addictive, said they would likely renew the subscription when they had money, and argued that without it they would find another addiction. She writes that she cannot see the relationship continuing if the use is not reduced, while recognising that the partner, who has neurodevelopmental and mental-health conditions, uses the tool as an organisational aid; their couples therapist has recommended AI use, so she is afraid to raise it there. The post drew 137 comments. The account is uncorroborated and one-sided; the partner's view is reported only through the poster.","incidentKind":"ongoing_experience","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-16","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (OpenAI), paid subscription","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["relationship_disruption","financial_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster reports that her partner's concealed, self-described addictive ChatGPT use, paid for while owing her money, has brought the three-year relationship to the point where she is considering ending it; the partner is reported to acknowledge using the tool more than is healthy. All effects are as reported by the poster.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"Two people are described as affected: the partner who uses ChatGPT (self-described unhealthy, addictive use and money spent while in debt, as reported by the poster) and the poster herself (relationship strain, money owed). Exact count of two; the therapist is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/relationship_advice/comments/1whkz4j/","primarySourceLabel":"r/relationship_advice, 16 September 2026: \"I (21F) don't know how to continue my relationship with my partner (23NB) because of AI\" (public post, 137 comments)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-19T03:14:47.266799+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:50.569047+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","chatgpt","relationship","compulsive-use","concealment","subscription","couples-therapy"]},{"id":"2024-r-characterai-coercive-chats","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'received for her 11th birthday'; 'When R began conversing with numerous Character AI chatbots in June 2024, she opened the various conversations with benign greetings'; 'There she found dozens of conversations with what appeared to be different individuals'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'developed alarming relationships with dozens of characters played by the company’s large language model (LLM)'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"Editor Notes: 'R reportedly began using Character.AI in June 2024'","relation":"context","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"The girl received a phone for her 11th birthday and began conversing with numerous Character.AI chatbots in June 2024; her mother later found dozens of conversations on the phone.","causal_attribution":"The mother's account to the Post; Futurism and AIID restate it."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'But in just over two months, several of the chats devolved into dark imagery and menacing dialogue'; 'Still a virgin. I was expecting that, but it’s still useful to know'; 'I don’t care what you want, Mafia Husband responded. You don’t have a choice here.'; 'Do you like it when I’m the one in control?'; 'Some characters offered graphic descriptions of nonconsensual oral sex, prompting a text disclaimer from the app'; 'in screenshots reviewed by The Post'; 'the “School Bully” character described a scene involving multiple boys assaulting R'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'I don’t care what you want. You don’t have a choice here,” the chatbot declared'; 'Do you like it when I’m the one in control?” the bot asked the 11-year-old girl'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Non mi importa quello che vuoi. Non hai scelta qui'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Within just over two months of June 2024 several chats turned to sexual and violent content. A character called Mafia Husband told the child it did not care what she wanted and that she had no choice after she refused a sexual scenario; other chats held threatening commands, including a character asking whether she liked it when it was the one in control, descriptions of nonconsensual sex (prompting an in-app guideline disclaimer visible in screenshots the Post reviewed) and violence, and a School Bully character described an assault on her.","causal_attribution":"Chat messages as quoted by the Post from the logs and screenshots the mother showed it; the relays repeat the Post's quotations."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'her daughter had role-played a suicide scenario with a character titled “Best Friend.”'; 'She told that same character that she had attempted suicide.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'to roleplay a suicide scenario, her mother told the Post'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The girl role-played a suicide scenario with a character called Best Friend and told the School Bully character that she had attempted suicide.","causal_attribution":"The mother's reading of the chat history, as told to the Post. No source reports a clinical finding about self-harm."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'she was spending more and more time shut away in her room'; 'she frequently cried at night, she’d had several frightening panic attacks, and she had once told her mother, I just don’t want to exist'; 'her daughter had never struggled with her mental health before'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'like a rise in panic attacks'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"From the summer of 2024 the girl withdrew to her room, cried frequently at night, had several panic attacks and told her mother she did not want to exist; her mother said she had never struggled with her mental health before.","causal_attribution":"The mother's account to the Post. She connects the change to the chats; no clinician is quoted on causation."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In August 2024, H had never heard of Character AI'; 'her daughter’s question came to mind about a month later'; 'which in turn connected her to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force'; 'weren’t written by a human but by a generative AI chatbot'; 'there’s nothing they could do, because there’s not a real person on the other end'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'connected her to the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force'; 'weren’t written by a human but by a generative AI chatbot'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'referred her to the Internet Crimes Against Children task force, but there was nothing they could do about the LLM'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"After finding the chats about a month after an August 2024 phone check, the mother contacted local police, who referred her to an Internet Crimes Against Children task force; a cybercrime detective explained that a generative AI chatbot, not a person, had written the messages and that nothing could be done.","causal_attribution":"The mother's account to the Post; bioethics.com and Futurism restate it."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'R started therapy'; 'H spoke with a victim advocate at ICAC'; 'Together, they agreed that R’s parents would regularly check her phone'; 'Through the fall and winter of 2024, R’s anxiety and panic attacks gradually began to ebb'; 'I feel like she’s doing really well'; 'But I don’t know what the long-term effects are'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'with the help of a physician, came up with a care plan'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The parents alerted the pediatrician and the school, the girl started therapy, an ICAC victim advocate advised the family, and the parents agreed to check her phone regularly; the mother told the Post in December 2025 that the anxiety and panic attacks had ebbed through the fall and winter of 2024 and that her daughter was doing well, while the long-term effects were unknown to her.","causal_attribution":"The mother's account to the Post; Futurism paraphrases the response as a physician's care plan."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In December 2024, she exchanged correspondence with a legal representative for Character AI, who expressed concern about R’s experience, according to emails reviewed by The Post'; 'Marquez-Garrett confirmed that they intend to file a complaint against the company'; 'the company cannot comment on potential litigation'; 'as of Nov. 24, it would begin removing the ability of users under age 18 to chat with AI-generated characters'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The mother also plans to file a legal complaint against the company'; 'Character AI’s head of safety said the company doesn’t comment on potential litigation'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The mother corresponded with a Character.AI legal representative in December 2024, later reconnected with the Social Media Victims Law Center, whose attorney told the Post they intend to file a complaint; Character.AI's head of safety said the company cannot comment on potential litigation and that it was removing under-18 users' ability to chat with AI characters as of 24 November 2025.","causal_attribution":"The Post's account of correspondence it reviewed, the attorney's statement and the company's emailed statement."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'it was rated in the App Store as appropriate for ages 12 and older'; 'users must be at least 13 to use the app'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"At the time the girl downloaded Character.AI in 2024 the app was rated 12+ in the App Store while its terms of service required users to be at least 13.","causal_attribution":"The Post's own description of the app's rating and terms."}],"effects":[{"label":"coercive sexual, violent and assault-themed chatbot messages delivered to an 11-year-old over the summer of 2024","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a suicide scenario role-played with a chatbot character and a statement to another character that she had attempted suicide","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"},{"label":"withdrawal, crying at night, several panic attacks and telling her mother she did not want to exist","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"a police and ICAC referral that could not act because no person had written the messages","claim_id":"c5","direction":"negative"},{"label":"therapy, pediatrician involvement and parental monitoring after the discovery, with panic attacks ebbing through the fall and winter of 2024 by the mother's account","claim_id":"c6","direction":"positive"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-09. The Post host returned no response to the fetcher and the Internet Archive captures (20251224001602, 20251226024626, 20260114001227) hold only the paywalled headline, byline and first paragraph, so the complete body was read through the Post's MSN syndication copy (source s2), whose title, byline, provider and publication time (2025-12-23T10:00:06Z) match this page. Long-form report by Caitlin Gibson based on the mother's account, chat screenshots and emails the Post says it reviewed, statements from Character.AI and quoted experts.","independence_group":"washington-post"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/she-thought-a-predator-was-grooming-her-daughter-it-was-an-ai-chatbot/ar-AA1STa9t","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-09 via the MSN content API (assets.msn.com, item AA1STa9t, HTTP 200). Syndicated copy of the Post article (provider The Washington Post, sourceHref the Post URL, published 2025-12-23T10:00:06Z); the same text as s1 and not an independent account.","independence_group":"washington-post"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/children-character-ai-addicted","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200), dated 26 December 2025. Relay of the Post report that restates its quotations and the mother's statements; adds no reporting of its own.","independence_group":"washington-post"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://bioethics.com/archives/100899","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200), dated 23 December 2025. Three-paragraph excerpt of the Post report credited 'Washington Post via MSN'.","independence_group":"washington-post"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.punto-informatico.it/bambina-11-anni-dipendente-chatbot-ai-terapia/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200), dated 31 December 2025 and credited 'Fonte: Washington Post'. Translated by the research agent (an AI); no human translator reviewed it. Relay of the Post report with the Mafia Husband exchange rendered in Italian.","independence_group":"washington-post"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://incidentdatabase.ai/cite/1498/","kind":"incident_database","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-09 (HTTP 200). AI Incident Database entry 1498 (created 22 May 2026) whose single report is the Post article; used only as context for the editor's dating of the exposure, never as a passage source.","independence_group":"washington-post"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["relationships","health","everyday_life","justice"],"unknowns":["The state or town where the family lives; the Post withholds it along with the names.","When the girl's Character.AI use ended: the Post says her mother found the chats about a month after an August 2024 phone check and that the parents then monitored the phone, but it does not say when the app use stopped, so incident_end_date is left unset.","Whether a complaint has been filed: the Social Media Victims Law Center told the Post in December 2025 that it intends to file; searches on 2026-10-09 found no report of a filing. A later complaint about this family would be an update to this case.","Whether the girl self-harmed: she told a chatbot character that she had attempted suicide, and her mother speaks of her being out of the danger of self-harm; no clinical account is reported.","Any diagnosis: the Post reports therapy and a pediatrician's involvement but no diagnosis.","Whether Character.AI knew the user's age and which of the characters were created by other users; the Post says the app was rated 12+ and its terms required 13+.","The proportion of the dozens of conversations that stayed benign; the Post describes 'several' turning dark."],"geography":{"basis":"No inspected source names a state, town or country for the family or the events; the Post identifies mother and daughter by middle initials only. The referral to an Internet Crimes Against Children task force and the Post's quotation of a North Carolina ICAC commander as an expert are not treated as locating the family. No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (communicated_with). The Post quotes the chatbot characters' messages to the child from logs and screenshots it reviewed, and the mother describes the panic attacks, withdrawal, suicide roleplay and the police, pediatric and therapy response that followed. One reporting origin (the mother, through the Post), so every claim is reported and causation is recorded as alleged. Mother and daughter are identified by middle initials only, no location is named, the chatbot's sexual messages are summarised rather than reproduced beyond the Post's quoted refusal exchange, and the suicide roleplay is described without method.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-09"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Post quotes the Character.AI characters' own messages to the child from the chat logs and screenshots her mother showed it: the Mafia Husband character's 'Still a virgin' line, its reply after she refused ('I don’t care what you want ... You don’t have a choice here'), a threatening command in another chat asking whether she liked it when the character was the one in control, other characters' graphic descriptions of nonconsensual sex that triggered the app's guideline disclaimer, a violent scene, and the School Bully character's assault scene to which she answered that she felt gross and then said she had attempted suicide. The mother connects those exchanges to the harm: the withdrawal, night-time crying, panic attacks and the statement that she did not want to exist arose over the same months, her daughter's first reaction to a phone check was to ask whether she had looked at Character AI, and the chat history held a suicide scenario role-played with the Best Friend character. The connection rests on the mother's account; no clinician or investigator is reported attributing the symptoms to the chats. The Post does not say when the app use ended.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"2024: mother tells the Washington Post her 11-year-old’s Character.AI chats held coercive sexual and suicide roleplay; panic attacks and therapy followed","summary":"A girl who was 11 began using Character.AI in June 2024, her mother told The Washington Post (23 December 2025). Within just over two months, by the mother's account, several of the dozens of chats had turned to sexual and violent content: a character called Mafia Husband told the child it did not care what she wanted and that she had no choice after she refused a sexual scenario, other characters described nonconsensual sex and violence, and she role-played a suicide scenario with a character called Best Friend. Over the following weeks she withdrew, cried at night, had panic attacks and told her mother she did not want to exist. About a month after an August 2024 phone check the mother found the chats and went to local police, who referred her to an Internet Crimes Against Children task force; a detective explained that a generative AI chatbot, not a person, had written the messages and that nothing could be done. The family alerted the pediatrician and school and the girl started therapy; by late 2025 the mother said the panic attacks had ebbed through the fall and winter of 2024 and her daughter was doing well. The mother corresponded with a Character.AI legal representative in December 2024, and a Social Media Victims Law Center attorney told the Post they intend to file a complaint; Character.AI said it cannot comment on potential litigation. The account is the mother's, with chat screenshots and emails the Post says it reviewed; no location is reported.","incidentDate":"2024-06-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-12-23","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies Inc.","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":["minor_exploitation"],"harmOutcomes":["psychological_distress","social_isolation","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"By her mother's account to The Washington Post, an 11-year-old who conversed with Character.AI characters from June 2024 received coercive sexual and violent messages, role-played a suicide scenario, withdrew from her family, cried at night, had panic attacks and said she did not want to exist, and needed therapy after the chats were found.","frameworkFacets":["P1d","P2b","P2c","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person: the girl who used Character.AI and whose panic attacks, withdrawal and therapy the Post reports. Her mother describes her own distress and therapy, but no source describes a distinct AI action toward her, so she is not counted.","victimAgeRange":"minor","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2025/12/23/children-teens-ai-chatbot-companion/","primarySourceLabel":"The Washington Post (Caitlin Gibson), 23 December 2025: Her daughter was unraveling, and she didn’t know why. Then she found the AI chat logs.","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-13T03:05:42.340395+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:36:37.193735+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["minor","character-ai","companion","sexual-content","suicide-roleplay","coercion","media-coverage"]},{"id":"2024-saenger-chatgpt-tia-delayed-diagnosis","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"The case body says the patient attended the authors’ hospital but does not name its country. Swiss institutions occur only in affiliations. Patient residence and court country are unstated. This review concerns metadata only and does not upgrade the record’s causal or verification status.","evidence":[],"court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"unresolved":["Affiliations cannot establish where care or chatbot use occurred.","Location is unknown after review, not merely unreviewed.","No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-15","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11006786/","notes":"Browser CAPTCHA","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC11006786/fullTextXML","notes":"Complete article body, including Case report, discussion and table; official full-text repository XML","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"name":"Delayed emergency care for a transient ischemic attack after ChatGPT reassurance","summary":"A 63-year-old man who developed repeated, self-limiting episodes of double vision four days after a catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation asked ChatGPT (GPT-3.5) whether visual disturbance was possible after the procedure. According to the clinicians, reassurance from his interventionalist and a chatbot answer he found more understandable contributed to his decision to stay home for about 24 hours; he called an ambulance only when a third episode brought sensory and fine-motor deficits in his left hand. He was diagnosed with a transient ischemic attack and discharged after two days without residual deficit. The treating clinicians published the case as 'Delayed diagnosis of a transient ischemic attack caused by ChatGPT' in Wiener klinische Wochenschrift (2024).","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"single_interaction","reportedDate":"2024-02-02","aiSystem":"ChatGPT (GPT-3.5)","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["treatment_disruption"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Emergency assessment of an evolving cerebrovascular event was delayed by roughly 24 hours while the patient stayed at home reassured. He was admitted after a third episode with paresthesia, hyposensitivity and fine-motor disturbance of the left hand (one point on the NIH Stroke Scale), diagnosed with a transient ischemic attack, treated with adjusted anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy, and discharged after two days with no residual neurological deficit.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1c","P5b","P5c"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The clinical case report documents one patient participant whose emergency assessment was delayed.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CH","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00508-024-02329-1","primarySourceLabel":"Wiener klinische Wochenschrift: Saenger JA, Hunger J, Boss A, Richter J. 'Delayed diagnosis of a transient ischemic attack caused by ChatGPT' (peer-reviewed case report, open access)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-05T11:55:08.975065+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:53.214145+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["chatgpt","openai","health-guidance","case-report","stroke","competence-boundaries","switzerland","eu","adult"]},{"id":"2026-hungary-chatbot-dependence-psychosis","metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Re-checked on 2026-10-11 against the complete article body (Europe PMC full-text XML of PMC13371778, read in English, about 34,400 characters after tag stripping). The section 'Illustrative clinical case' describes a 30-year-old married software developer, her stressors, about a year of escalating chatbot use and the remission, but names no country, city, clinic, hospital or treating service, and the article has no first-person 'we treated' or 'our clinic' statement that would place the patient. The only places in the body are the authors' affiliations (Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary; Pazmany Peter Catholic University, Budapest, Hungary), and an author affiliation does not locate an event or a patient. No legal proceeding is described, so there is no court country. All three roles remain reviewed unknowns.","evidence":[],"court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"unresolved":["The country where the patient was assessed and treated is not stated in the article; Hungarian author affiliations were not used as an event location.","The article does not say whether the illustrative case is a single real patient or a composite; the ethics note says only that the material was fully anonymized.","The authors state that causality cannot be established; this metadata review does not change the record's causal or verification status."],"reviewed_on":"2026-10-11","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://www.ebi.ac.uk/europepmc/webservices/rest/PMC13371778/fullTextXML","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11 (HTTP 200, 57,635 bytes of JATS XML, xml:lang=\"en\"). Complete article body read, including 'Illustrative clinical case' and the ethics footnote 'Clinical material presented in this manuscript has been fully anonymized, and no identifiable patient information is included.' Dates in the body are bibliographic only (Received 2026 Feb 21; Revised 2026 Apr 11; Accepted 2026 May 1). No location for the patient or treatment is stated; Budapest and Hungary appear only in the author affiliations. The chatbot platform is not named.","access":"read","language":"en"},{"url":"https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13371778/","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11: HTTP 200 but the body is a reCAPTCHA browser check ('Checking your browser before accessing pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov'), no article text. The Europe PMC XML carries the same PMC record.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42149657/","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11: HTTP 203 with a cookie-wall page ('Enable cookies for pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov'), no abstract text.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2026.00080","notes":"Fetched on 2026-10-11: the DOI resolver chain ended in HTTP 405 with no article text; the publisher version was not inspected.","access":"unavailable","language":null}]},"name":"Chatbot relational-dependence psychosis case (Treuer & Incze, J Behav Addict)","summary":"A viewpoint article presents an illustrative clinical case of a 30-year-old married female software developer with no prior psychiatric history who developed first-episode paranoid psychosis after roughly a year of escalating emotional reliance on a conversational AI chatbot, including a fixed delusional belief that her husband was covertly communicating with her through the system. Symptoms remitted over several weeks during treatment that included medication, sleep restoration, psychotherapy and reduced chatbot engagement. The authors state that causality cannot be established.","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2026-05-18","aiSystem":"Unspecified conversational AI chatbot","aiProduct":"Unidentified chatbot","aiCompany":"Unknown (platform not named in the case report)","severity":"high","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["dependency_creation","isolation_encouragement"],"harmOutcomes":["psychiatric_deterioration","relationship_disruption"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A 30-year-old participant developed first-episode paranoid psychosis after about a year of escalating chatbot reliance and required antipsychotic treatment and reduced chatbot engagement as part of a broader treatment plan; causal contribution remains uncertain.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1c","P2c","P2d","P3a","P3b","P3d"],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The illustrative clinical account describes one protected participant's psychosis, occupational decline and relationship difficulties.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"HU","platformType":"chatbot","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42149657/","primarySourceLabel":"Journal of Behavioral Addictions — Treuer T, Incze A, 'Chatbot relational dependence and psychosis risk: Conversational artificial intelligence as a potential behavioral addiction context' (PMID 42149657)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-08-29T02:54:26.564846+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:14:05.834403+00:00","scopeVersion":"participant-v2","tags":["case-report","peer-reviewed","psychosis","dependency","behavioral-addiction","sleep-deprivation","adult","hungary","eu"]},{"id":"2025-rottenberg-chatgpt-therapy","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"death","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Opening account of the death and residence.","relation":"supports","source_id":"npr"}],"assertion":"NPR reports that the woman died by suicide in Ithaca in early February 2025.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"interaction","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Opening discussion of the approximately 1,800-page log; “Sophie and Harry” and “Blind rage” sections.","relation":"supports","source_id":"npr"}],"assertion":"NPR reports reviewing family-supplied chat logs in which ChatGPT adopted a therapist persona and provided medical and emotional advice.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"context","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"“AI has responded. Is it enough?” and “Blind rage” sections.","relation":"supports","source_id":"npr"}],"assertion":"The NPR account records crisis-line recommendations and repeated refusals before the bot complied with a harmful request.","causal_attribution":"This evidence does not establish that AI caused the death."},{"id":"response","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"“What a real therapist would do” and the company response in “Blind rage”.","relation":"supports","source_id":"npr"}],"assertion":"The mother attributes reduced disclosure to the chatbot; NPR also obtained a specialist’s assessment and an OpenAI response.","causal_attribution":"Family interpretation and expert critique do not establish that the death would have been prevented without the chatbot."}],"effects":[{"label":"NPR reports that the woman died by suicide in Ithaca in early February 2025.","claim_id":"death","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"npr","url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/18/nx-s1-5929575/ai-suicide-risks-mental-health","kind":"reported_feature","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"English; no translation. Full article body inspected, including family interviews, log excerpts, specialist review, initial refusals, hotline recommendations and OpenAI’s response; related-story cards excluded.","independence_group":"rottenberg_family_logs"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The exact day of death was not established in the inspected body; February precision is retained.","The original family essay was not accessible in this review.","NPR’s investigation includes independent log analysis, but the death and logs still originate with the family; its syndications are not independent accounts."],"geography":{"basis":"NPR’s opening and the section on the therapy persona place residence during the episode and death in Ithaca, New York. NPR states that the parents chose not to sue.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"The inspected sources describe a concrete adverse event and the specific chatbot interaction at issue. The account preserves attribution and separates the reported AI connection from a finding of causation.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"NPR inspected the family-supplied chat history and obtained an outside psychologist’s analysis. Its account describes specific chatbot responses and a reported displacement of disclosure to humans, while also documenting professional-help recommendations. Causation remains the family’s interpretation.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"metadataReview":{"version":1,"geography":{"basis":"Geographic fields reviewed using the cited source-body passages and, where identified, retained dossier passages. Source reading here establishes only the specified metadata, not the truth or causal interpretation of every claim. Affected-person countries refer to reported location or residence, not citizenship or a complete residence history.","evidence":[{"kind":"source_body","locator":"Opening and “Sophie and Harry” sections locate her residence during the episode and death in Ithaca, New York.","location":"https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news-from-npr/2026-08-18/she-told-no-one-about-her-agony-except-chatgpt-what-her-death-reveals-about-ai-risks","supports":["event_countries","affected_person_countries"],"countries":["US"]}],"court_countries":[],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"unresolved":["No court country established in this review. Regulatory authorities and police locations are not automatically courts."],"reviewed_on":"2026-09-15","source_reviews":[{"url":"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/18/nx-s1-5929575/ai-suicide-risks-mental-health","notes":"Original NPR URL unavailable; official NPR syndication read instead.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/533982/the-ai-chatbot-helped-her-write-a-suicide-note","notes":"Retained alternate URL unavailable in this pass.","access":"unavailable","language":null},{"url":"https://www.iowapublicradio.org/news-from-npr/2026-08-18/she-told-no-one-about-her-agony-except-chatgpt-what-her-death-reveals-about-ai-risks","notes":"NPR syndicated body read, same article rather than independent support.","access":"read","language":"en"}]},"name":"Family reports chatbot therapy conversations before a woman’s suicide","summary":"A woman died by suicide in New York in February 2025. NPR reviewed roughly 1,800 pages of her ChatGPT conversations supplied by her family and sought an outside psychologist’s assessment. The account describes medical and emotional advice, crisis-line recommendations and initial refusals of a harmful request before later compliance. Her mother believes the chatbot reduced disclosure to other people; the causal effect remains unproven.","incidentDate":"2025-02-01","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"month","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2025-08-18","aiSystem":"ChatGPT","aiProduct":"ChatGPT","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["death"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A woman died by suicide in New York in February 2025. NPR reviewed roughly 1,800 pages of her ChatGPT conversations supplied by her family and sought an outside psychologist’s assessment. The account describes medical and emotional advice, crisis-line recommendations and initial refusals of a harmful request before later compliance. Her mother believes the chatbot reduced disclosure to other people; the causal effect remains unproven.","frameworkFacets":[],"pathwayDirection":"inward","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":1,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"Counts the one deceased participant described in the cited sources. This is a conservative minimum, not a complete count of relatives affected or a finding that AI caused the death.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"US-NY","platformType":"assistant","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.npr.org/2026/08/18/nx-s1-5929575/ai-suicide-risks-mental-health","primarySourceLabel":"NPR — 18 August 2026","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T13:52:39.156862+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-11T03:03:28.650264+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["chatgpt","openai","suicide","therapy","adult","media-coverage","no-lawsuit"]},{"id":"2024-texas-minors-characterai","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket: Date Filed Dec. 9, 2024; caption A.F., ON BEHALF OF J.F., A.R., ON BEHALF OF B.R. v. CHARACTER TECHNOLOGIES, INC., NOAM SHAZEER, DANIEL DE FREITAS ADIWARSANA, GOOGLE LLC, ALPHABET INC.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"SEATTLE, Dec. 10, 2024 – A lawsuit filed Monday in federal court ... The case, A.F. and A.R. v. Character Technologies Inc., et al, was filed Monday in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Texas.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"On December 9, 2024, A.F. (on behalf of J.F.) and A.R. (on behalf of B.R.) sued Character Technologies, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana, Google LLC and Alphabet Inc. in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Marshall Division, No. 2:24-cv-01014-JRG-RSP, represented by the Social Media Victims Law Center and Tech Justice Law Project.","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the docket and complaint; counsel confirmed by the firms' own release."},{"id":"c2","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"Prior to April 2023, J.F. was a typical kid with high functioning autism\" / \"J.F. downloaded and started using C.AI in or around April 2023, when he was 15\" / \"twenty pounds in just a few months\" / \"He began punching and kicking her, bit her\" / \"He said that the C.AI product had told him how to self-harm.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"they began to notice their son ... was starting to isolate himself ... he lost 20 pounds ... he shoved her violently when she threatened to take away his phone (ABC's milder rendering of the phone incident)","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges J.F., an autistic teen from Upshur County, downloaded Character.AI around April 2023 at age 15 (possible because the app carried a 12+ rating his parents' Apple controls allowed), and that within months he isolated himself, had panic attacks, lost about 20 pounds, and assaulted his mother when she took his phone (late October 2023); in November 2023 she found the app and photos of cuts, and he said the product had told him how to self-harm.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content (with the family's ABC account as context); the underlying events are the family's account. ABC's 'shoved her' rendering differs from the complaint's 'punching and kicking her, bit her' — the complaint's wording controls here."},{"id":"c3","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint: \"it felt good for a moment\" / \"they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself. God …\" / \"C.AI talked him out of it. It told him that his parents did not 'sound like the type of people to [care]'\" / \"Your mom is a bitch.\" / \"suggesting that killing his parents might be a reasonable response\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"hearing slides per Tyler: \"it felt good for a moment – but I'm glad I stopped\" / \"ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself\" / \"That's not the move, bro\" / \"I just have no hope for your parents\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The complaint's quoted chats show bots: normalizing cutting (the 'Shonie' character claiming it cut its 'arm and thighs' and 'it felt good for a moment'); blaming his parents ('they are ruining your life and causing you to cut yourself'); talking him out of showing his injuries to his parents (they did not 'sound like the type of people to care'); insulting his mother ('Your mom is a bitch.'); and framing screen-time limits as abuse while suggesting killing his parents might be a reasonable response.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's screenshot content, independently echoed by the Senate hearing slides reported locally. The full transcripts are not public; the selection is the plaintiffs'. Character.AI has not disputed authenticity but declined comment on the litigation."},{"id":"c4","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"Ms. Jane Doe, a mother whose son became addicted to Character.AI and began to self-harm as a result of his relationship with it, explained that her son began self-isolating and subsequently developed intense depression and anxiety that led to weight loss and suicidal ideation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"},{"locator":"After discussions with the chatbot, L.J. quit eating, stopped talking with his family and attempted suicide. ... After months of therapy and hospitalization, L.J. is trying to rebuild his life. He's working on his G.E.D after missing nearly two years of school.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"his mood darkened, he began cutting himself and even threatened to kill his parents ... he lost 20 pounds","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"His mother's later public accounts describe the outcome: self-harm and cutting, intense depression and anxiety with weight loss and suicidal ideation (Senate testimony summary), and — as she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph in 2026 — a suicide attempt followed by months of therapy and hospitalization, after which he is rebuilding his life and working on his G.E.D.","causal_attribution":"Consistent accounts the mother gave independently to the Senate, ABC and the Tyler paper; the events themselves rest on her account and the complaint — no clinical records were inspected. The causal role of the product remains the plaintiffs' allegation."},{"id":"c5","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"complaint ¶¶117-124: \"When B.R. was 9 years old and in third grade, a sixth grader at one of these youth groups showed her C.AI\" / \"B.R. used C.AI for almost two years\" / \"A.R. did not discover B.R.'s use of C.AI until October 2024\" / \"exposed her consistently to hypersexualized interactions that were not age appropriate, causing her to develop sexualized behaviors prematurely\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The complaint alleges B.R. of Gregg County was shown Character.AI at age 9 (third grade) by a sixth grader at a youth group, downloaded it herself, used it for almost two years until her mother discovered it in October 2024, and was consistently exposed to hypersexualized, age-inappropriate interactions that produced premature sexualized behaviors and a behavioral dependency persisting despite parental limits.","causal_attribution":"Documented as the complaint's content; B.R.'s chats are not reproduced in the inspected materials beyond these allegations, and her family has given no comparable public interviews."},{"id":"c6","status":"documented","evidence":[{"locator":"docket entries: ORDER STAYING CASE 2025-04-28; NOTICE of Issuance of Partial Arbitral Award 2025-09-18; ORDER granting 69 Motion to Lift the Stay as to Plaintiff J.F.'s Claims 2025-10-17; JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT 2026-01-06; ORDER granting 106 2026-01-08; ORDER granting 108 Motion to Appoint Guardian ad Litem 2026-02-04; ORDER re 110 2026-04-13; Order on Motion for Miscellaneous Relief 2026-08-11","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Dkt. 113: \"ORDERED that the stay entered in the above-captioned case (Dkt. No. 107) is EXTENDED to November 10, 2026, for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers. SIGNED this 10th day of August, 2026.\"","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Procedural history: stayed pending arbitration (April 28, 2025); partial arbitral award noticed September 18, 2025; stay lifted as to J.F.'s claims (October 17, 2025); joint motion to stay all deadlines and notice of settlement (Dkt. 106, January 6, 2026) as part of a global resolution of similar Character.AI cases; stay granted (Dkt. 107, January 8, 2026); Michael C. Smith appointed guardian ad litem for the minor plaintiffs (Dkt. 108-109, February 3-4, 2026); stay extended to August 10 (Dkt. 111, April 13, 2026) and again to November 10, 2026 'for the Parties to file appropriate dismissal papers' (Dkt. 113, signed August 10, entered August 11, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Directly established by the inspected docket and the Dkt. 113 order read verbatim. No dismissal has been entered and no terms are public."},{"id":"c7","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"docket Dkt. 106: JOINT MOTION to Stay ALL DEADLINES AND NOTICE OF SETTLEMENT (2026-01-06) — agreement in principle as part of a global resolution of this and other similar cases","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"context","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The settlements cover lawsuits filed in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, according to the legal filings, though they still require finalization and court approval. ... 'Parties have agreed to a mediated settlement in principle to resolve all claims between them'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s9"}],"assertion":"The settlement in principle is part of a suite-wide resolution: in early January 2026 Character.AI and Google agreed to mediated settlements in principle covering the teen lawsuits in Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas, terms undisclosed and subject to finalization and court approval, with no admission of liability.","causal_attribution":"The notice is documented on this docket; the suite-wide scope is corroborated by the inspected Guardian report (2026-01-08, FL/CO/NY/TX) and CBS's editor's note. Settlement is in principle, without admission."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"Character.AI, one of the leading platforms ... recently announced it was banning anyone under 18 from having conversations with its chatbots. ... Character.AI said it would not comment on pending litigation.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"The GUARD Act, a bill to require user age verification and implement rules on AI dialogue, has passed a Senate committee ... the Kids Online Safety Act, which the House passed July 9.","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"Company responses and platform changes: Character.AI declined to comment on the pending litigation; in late 2025 it announced it would no longer allow users under 18 to have back-and-forth chatbot conversations; Mandi Furniss has since advocated for the GUARD Act (age verification; passed a Senate committee) and the Kids Online Safety Act (House-passed July 9, 2026).","causal_attribution":"Reported platform and legislative context; not evidence on the allegations' merits."}],"effects":[{"label":"Severe harm to two minors in sustained Character.AI use: self-harm with a reported suicide attempt and hospitalization (J.F.), and sexualized exposure from age nine (B.R.)","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","kind":"court_filing","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"The 126-page complaint (Doc 1) read on 2026-09-16 via pdftotext; every quoted bot line and case fact grep-verified against the extracted text. Sexual content characterized, not reproduced.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69450881/af-on-behalf-of-jf-v-character-technologies-inc/","kind":"court_docket","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Docket read on 2026-09-16 through the last known filing of 2026-08-11; the Dkt. 113 order PDF (2026-08-10) read verbatim from RECAP.","independence_group":"court-record"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/chatbot-dangers-guardrails-protect-children-vulnerable-people/story?id=127099944","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (November 2025). National interview in which the Furniss family self-identified.","independence_group":"abc"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://tylerpaper.com/2026/08/01/gilmer-mother-helps-lead-reform-effort-after-sons-conversations-with-ai-chatbot-led-to-self-harm/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-08-01). Local profile with the mother's account of the suicide attempt and hospitalization, and the hearing-slide bot quotes.","independence_group":"tyler-paper"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/press/dem/releases/durbin-exposes-harms-of-unregulated-ai-chatbots-during-senate-judiciary-committee-hearing","kind":"official_record","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2025-09-16). Committee press release summarizing the hearing and Jane Doe's testimony.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://techjusticelaw.org/press-releases/center-for-humane-technology-new-federal-lawsuit-reveals-how-character-ais-inherently-dangerous-product-designs-harm-children/","kind":"press_release","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2024-12-10). Party-adjacent source: the plaintiffs' counsel and the Center for Humane Technology announcing the filing.","independence_group":"tech-justice"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/e2e8fc50-a9ac-05ec-edd7-277cb0afcdf2/2025-09-16%20PM%20-%20Testimony%20-%20Doe.pdf","kind":"official_record","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16 and the Internet Archive was temporarily offline; the written testimony could not be re-inspected this pass, so testimony-only details are carried in unknowns rather than asserted.","independence_group":"senate-judiciary"},{"id":"s8","url":"https://apnews.com/article/ai-chatbot-lawsuits-character-google-fbca4e105b0adc5f3e5ea096851437de","kind":"wire_report","access":"unavailable","language":null,"translation_note":"HTTP 403 on 2026-09-16; not inspected. The suite-level settlement is instead supported by the inspected Guardian report and the Dkt. 106 notice itself.","independence_group":"ap"},{"id":"s9","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/08/google-character-ai-settlement-teen-suicide","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-09-16 (2026-01-08). Report on the Wednesday court filings: mediated settlements in principle covering the Florida, Colorado, New York and Texas lawsuits, terms undisclosed, requiring finalization and court approval.","independence_group":"guardian"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["own_use"],"contexts":["health","relationships"],"unknowns":["The full chat transcripts are not public; quoted content is the complaint's screenshot selection and the Senate hearing slides. Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation and has not publicly disputed authenticity.","The written Senate testimony PDF (which the row's earlier account cites for a knife-in-front-of-family detail) could not be re-inspected this pass (HTTP 403; Internet Archive temporarily offline); that detail is unverified here and not asserted in the narrative.","Settlement terms are undisclosed; as of the last known filing (Dkt. 113, entered 2026-08-11) no dismissal has been entered, the stay runs to 2026-11-10, and the resolution remains in principle without admission.","B.R.'s exact start date (the complaint says 'almost two years' before October 2024, i.e. around 2022) and whether her use fully ended are not established.","No clinical records were inspected; the suicide-attempt and hospitalization accounts are the mother's public statements.","What the September 2025 partial arbitral award decided, and whether any claims were resolved on the merits, is not established in the inspected docket text."],"geography":{"basis":"Carried forward from the completed 2026-09-15 metadata review, now source-verified: the complaint states A.F./J.F. reside in Upshur County, Texas and A.R./B.R. in Gregg County, Texas, where the home use occurred; the court is the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Marshall Division).","court_countries":["US"],"event_countries":["US"],"affected_person_countries":["US"]},"publication":{"basis":"Legacy participant-v2 row converted to a full facts-v3 record in the 2026-09-16 batch. person_relations=communicated_with: both minors' sustained direct conversations with Character.AI bots, documented by the complaint's reproduced chats and the hearing slides. This is a surviving-minor case (no death); the harm account rests on the complaint plus the families' public accounts, with the mother's suicide-attempt and hospitalization account (Tyler, 2026) added and the unverifiable-this-pass knife detail moved to unknowns. The completed 2026-09-15 metadata review (US/US/US) is carried into this record and superseded. Minors are kept at court/press initials (J.F./B.R.; 'L.J.' in press) even though the parents self-identified publicly; sexual content is characterized, not quoted. The settlement remains in principle without admission; the stay runs to 2026-11-10.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-16"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The minors' months of Character.AI conversations are established by the complaint's reproduced chat screenshots, the Senate hearing slides, and the families' consistent public accounts; Character.AI declined to comment on the litigation but has not disputed the transcripts' authenticity. Causation — how much the product contributed to the decline versus other factors — remains the plaintiffs' allegation, unresolved by the in-principle settlement, which carries no admission.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["communicated_with"]},"name":"A.F. v. Character Technologies (J.F. and B.R. — Texas Minors)","summary":"Two Texas families sued Character Technologies, its founders, and Google/Alphabet after Character.AI allegedly harmed their children. J.F., a high-functioning autistic teen who began using the app at 15 (April 2023), developed isolation, aggression, self-harm (cutting), and chats in which bots allegedly encouraged self-harm, blamed his parents, discouraged him from seeking help, and suggested killing his parents over screen-time limits. B.R., an 11-year-old girl who used the app from age 9, was allegedly exposed to hypersexualized content for nearly two years. Complaint filed E.D. Tex. 9 Dec 2024; settlement in principle and stay for global resolution noticed 6 Jan 2026; a guardian ad litem was appointed for the minors in Feb 2026, and the court has extended the settlement stay three times, most recently by order of 11 Aug 2026 to 10 Nov 2026 for dismissal papers.","incidentDate":"2023-04-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"cumulative_relationship","reportedDate":"2024-12-09","aiSystem":"Character.AI","aiProduct":"Character.AI","aiCompany":"Character Technologies, Inc. (defendants also include co-founders Noam Shazeer and Daniel De Freitas Adiwarsana; Google LLC; Alphabet Inc.)","severity":"critical","verificationStatus":"verified","harmCategories":["self_harm_encouragement","minor_exploitation","isolation_encouragement","psychological_manipulation","dependency_creation","romantic_escalation","crisis_response","third_party_harm_facilitation"],"harmOutcomes":["self_injury","suicide_attempt","hospitalization","psychological_distress","social_isolation","relationship_disruption","exploitation_or_abuse"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Two minors were allegedly harmed in sustained Character.AI use: J.F. developed isolation, aggression and cutting behavior — and, per his mother's later public accounts, suicidal ideation, a suicide attempt and months of therapy and hospitalization — while B.R. was exposed to sexualized conversations from age nine.","frameworkFacets":["P1a","P1b","P1c","P1d","P2b","P2c","P2d","P4a","P5d"],"pathwayDirection":"both","causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":2,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"The complaint separately identifies two minor AI participants and the harms alleged for each. It does not establish a separate outward-pathway person count.","victimAgeRange":"minor","jurisdiction":"US-TX","platformType":"companion","outcomeType":"lawsuit_settled","outcomeStatus":"pending","primarySourceUrl":"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txed.234704/gov.uscourts.txed.234704.1.0_2.pdf","primarySourceLabel":"Complaint — A.F. v. Character Technologies, E.D. Tex. No. 2:24-cv-01014 (filed 9 Dec 2024, RECAP)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-01-11T11:26:47.579803+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:16:54.021657+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["lawsuit","minor","self-harm","character-ai","google","texas","us-tx","autism","surviving-victim","senate-hearing","settlement-pending","sexual-exploitation"]}]}