{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-09T06:34:49.416Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"voice_cloning","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"core","evidence":"","year":"unknown","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":1,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-marche-town-parish-priest-voice-cloned-in-ai-voice-messages-requesting-money-mayor-alert","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'È l’allarme lanciato dal sindaco Mauro Sclavi durante la seduta di ieri del consiglio comunale, dopo che in città si sono registrati alcuni tentativi di truffa.'; 'ad altre sono arrivati messaggi vocali nei quali venivano avanzate richieste di denaro utilizzando la voce e il nome di don Ariel Valentin Veloz, parroco dell’Unità pastorale numero 8.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Alcuni cittadini hanno, infatti, ricevuto telefonate da persone che si sono presentate come carabinieri di Macerata oppure messaggi vocali nei quali, attraverso una voce artificiale, venivano avanzate richieste di denaro a nome del parroco della chiesa di San Francesco.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"At the council session of 24 September 2026 the mayor of Tolentino reported that some residents had received voice messages requesting money that used the voice and name of the parish priest, and that others had been called by people posing as carabinieri from Macerata.","causal_attribution":"Both papers report the mayor's statement at the same council session (one origin)."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'A rendere particolarmente insidiosi i messaggi è l’utilizzo dell’intelligenza artificiale, che ha consentito di riprodurre in maniera fedele anche il tipico accento sudamericano del sacerdote'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Secondo quanto riferito dal sindaco, i truffatori avrebbero utilizzato strumenti di intelligenza artificiale per riprodurre in maniera estremamente fedele la voce e il tipico accento sudamericano del sacerdote'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"According to the mayor, as reported by both papers, the voice messages were made with artificial intelligence, which reproduced the priest's voice and his South American accent faithfully.","causal_attribution":"The AI description is the mayor's, relayed by both papers; no tool or technical examination is reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'«Non cadete nelle trappola, non sono io».'; '«L’altro giorno un fedele mi ha chiamato dicendomi che la madre aveva ricevuto un simile messaggio e gli ho detto che era una truffa».'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The priest said a parishioner had called him saying the parishioner's mother had received such a message, that he told him it was a scam, and he warned parishioners that the voice was not his.","causal_attribution":"The priest's own statements to Corriere Adriatico; the parishioner and his mother are not otherwise described."}],"effects":[{"label":"voice and name used in AI-made messages requesting money from residents; had to warn parishioners publicly","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.corriereadriatico.it/macerata/intelligenza_artificiale_allarme_truffe_messaggi_vocali_la_voce_di_don_ariel-9783721.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Reports the mayor's council statement and adds the priest's own statements to the paper; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tolentino-council-session-24-sep-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://picchionews.it/cronaca/tolentino-sono-don-ariel-ma-e-una-truffa-la-voce-del-parroco-clonata-dall-intelligenza-artificiale","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"it","translation_note":"Read in Italian by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-09 and translated by the research agent (an AI) into English; no human translator or reviewer was involved. Reports the same council statement by the mayor; HTTP 200.","independence_group":"tolentino-council-session-24-sep-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["everyday_life"],"unknowns":["When the messages were sent, how many residents received them and through which messaging service.","Who produced the messages and with what tool; no examination confirms the AI description.","Whether anyone paid money or filed a complaint.","Whether the fake-carabinieri calls and the voice messages came from the same people."],"geography":{"basis":"Both papers place the messages, the recipients and the parish in Tolentino, Marche, Italy, and the alert at the town council. Where the messages were produced is not stated. No court proceeding is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["IT"],"affected_person_countries":["IT"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated, communicated_with) at low severity: a town mayor, speaking at a council session reported by two local papers, described voice messages made with artificial intelligence that reproduced the parish priest's voice and accent and used his name to request money from residents; the priest confirmed a parishioner's mother had received one and publicly warned parishioners it was not him. The priest is a public community figure named in both headlines; no recipient is identified, no payment or loss is reported and no tool is named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-09"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The mayor of Tolentino, as reported by Corriere Adriatico and Picchio News from the council session of 24 September 2026, described voice messages counterfeited with artificial intelligence that reproduced the parish priest's voice and South American accent and used his name to request money from residents. That generated imitation is the reported harm: the priest's identity was used toward his parishioners, one parishioner's mother received a message, and the priest publicly told parishioners the voice was not his. No tool is named, no examination is reported and the research agent did not hear the messages.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated","communicated_with"]},"name":"Mayor of an Italian town reports AI-made voice messages in the parish priest's voice asking residents for money; the priest warns parishioners it is not him","summary":"At the Tolentino (Marche, Italy) council session of 24 September 2026 the mayor, Mauro Sclavi, reported attempted scams in the town: some residents had been telephoned by people posing as carabinieri from Macerata, and others had received voice messages requesting money that used the voice and name of the parish priest of the town's pastoral unit. According to the mayor, as reported by Corriere Adriatico and Picchio News, the messages were made with artificial intelligence, which reproduced the priest's voice and his South American accent faithfully. The priest told Corriere Adriatico that a parishioner had called him saying the parishioner's mother had received such a message, that he had told him it was a scam, and he warned parishioners: 'Non cadete nelle trappola, non sono io'. No payment, loss or identified victim is reported; the mayor asked residents to verify callers and report attempts to the police.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-24","aiSystem":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool, described by the mayor of Tolentino (as reported by Corriere Adriatico and Picchio News) as artificial intelligence used to reproduce the parish priest's voice and accent in voice messages requesting money","aiProduct":"Unidentified voice-cloning tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The parish priest's voice and name were used, according to the mayor's council statement as reported by Corriere Adriatico and Picchio News, in AI-made voice messages asking residents for money; a parishioner's mother received one, and the priest publicly warned parishioners that it was not him. No payment or loss is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the parish priest whose voice and name were used in the money-request messages (Corriere Adriatico, Picchio News). Residents who received the messages are described only as 'alcune persone' (Corriere Adriatico) and 'alcuni cittadini' (Picchio News), with one parishioner's mother mentioned by the priest; they are intended targets of the money requests, no harm to any recipient is described, and they are not counted, so the count is complete at one. People called by fake carabinieri are a separate method and not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"IT","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.corriereadriatico.it/macerata/intelligenza_artificiale_allarme_truffe_messaggi_vocali_la_voce_di_don_ariel-9783721.html","primarySourceLabel":"Corriere Adriatico, 25 September 2026: artificial intelligence, scam alarm in Tolentino too: voice messages with the voice of don Ariel","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-09T03:23:01.414399+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-09T03:23:01.414399+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["voice_cloning","impersonation","phone_scam","religious_community","italy"]}]}