{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-10T08:03:24.099Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"website","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"unknown","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":3,"coverage":{"cases":3,"countries":1,"languages":2,"unknownLocation":2,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":1,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":1,"minors":0,"coreRelations":0,"contextualRelations":0,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":3,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":3},"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-freelance-web-designer-says-longtime-client-cancelled-commissioned-website-after-building-it-with-claude-first-person","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I've been working with a client for years now, and they recently asked me to build a separate website for an expansion project'; 'Their team sent over all the information for the new clinic website'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they have worked for the client for years and were asked to build a separate website for a new clinic, for which the client's team had sent the material.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Today, I get a text from the client telling me not to worry about it anymore. Apparently, Claude built the entire website for him, and now he's asking me to review it.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the client texted on the day of the post to cancel the website job, saying Claude had built the entire website, and asked the poster to review it.","causal_attribution":"Poster relays the client's text; the client's message itself is not reproduced and no client statement was retrieved."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'they eventually started pumping out cringe AI slop that basically copied the original design direction I had established for them. That ended up pushing me out of the graphic design side of things'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says the client had earlier moved its graphic design to AI-generated material that copied the poster's design direction, leaving the poster only the website work.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account; the earlier material is described as AI-generated without a named tool."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'I'm sitting here feeling sick to my stomach over this bullshit'; 'start working there part-time just to have something as a backup while holding on to the clients I still have'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The poster says they feel sick over the cancellation and, in a reply, that they will take a part-time job as a backup while keeping their remaining clients.","causal_attribution":"Poster's account of their own reaction and plans."}],"effects":[{"label":"commissioned website job cancelled after the client said Claude built the site (poster's account)","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1x09z5n/longtime_client_is_slowly_replacing_all_my_work/","kind":"forum_post","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English on 2026-10-08: full self-text and the 44 comments retrieved through the arctic_shift archive API by post ID (first request 422, retry 200), one of them a reply by the poster. The poster handle is not recorded.","independence_group":"reddit-antiai-freelance-designer-client-claude-poster"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["work"],"unknowns":["The client, the clinic and their location.","Whether the website the client says Claude built was completed or used, and whether the poster reviewed it.","The value of the cancelled work and whether any contract or payment covered it.","The tool behind the earlier AI-generated design material; the poster names none.","The poster's local date of the client's text; the post says \"Today\" and is timestamped 22:12 UTC on 7 October 2026."],"geography":{"basis":"The post does not say where the poster or the client is. The subreddit and the vocabulary of the post are not evidence of location.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the public-forum rule as a concrete first-person account of a freelance designer losing a commissioned website job when the client said Claude had built the site, reviewed as a consequential response by a client to its own AI adoption. Described with attribution and without corroboration; the client is not identified and the poster's handle is not recorded.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-08"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The poster says the client cancelled a commissioned clinic website by text because, in the client's words as relayed by the poster, Claude had built the entire website, and that the client had earlier replaced the poster's graphic design work with AI-generated material. This is a reported response by a client to its own adoption of AI tools: the harm is the client's decision to drop the commissioned work, no AI output or action toward the poster is described, the website the client says Claude built was not inspected, and no client statement was retrieved. The product name rests on the client's statement relayed by the poster.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Freelance web designer says a longtime client cancelled a commissioned clinic website by text, saying Claude had built the whole site (first-person)","summary":"In a public post to r/antiai created on 7 October 2026, a person who describes years of graphic design and website work for one client writes that the client had asked them to build a separate website for a new clinic and had sent over the material, and that on the day of the post the client texted to say not to bother because Claude had built the entire website, asking the poster to review it instead. The poster says the same client had earlier moved its graphic design to AI-generated material that copied the poster's design direction, leaving them only the website work, and that they feel sick over the cancellation. In a reply the poster says they will take a part-time job as a backup while keeping their remaining clients. The client is not named and did not respond; the account is the poster's alone and uncorroborated.","incidentDate":"2026-10-07","incidentKind":"single_event","incidentDatePrecision":"day","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-07","aiSystem":"Claude, which the client told the poster had built the entire clinic website (the client's statement as relayed by the poster); earlier AI-generated graphic design material the poster attributes to the client without naming a tool","aiProduct":"Claude (reported)","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"unverified","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","psychological_distress"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The poster says a longtime client cancelled a commissioned website job by text after telling them Claude had built the entire site, following an earlier loss of the client's graphic design work to AI-generated material; the poster reports feeling sick over it and plans a part-time job as a backup (first-person account, uncorroborated).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person counted: the poster, who lost the commissioned work through the client's decision. The job loss is a consequence of the client's AI use, not of the poster's own use.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"unknown","platformType":"other","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1x09z5n/longtime_client_is_slowly_replacing_all_my_work/","primarySourceLabel":"r/antiai, 7 October 2026: \"Longtime client is slowly replacing all my work with AI\"","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-08T03:28:04.128329+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-08T03:28:04.128329+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["first-person","reddit","freelance","web-design","workplace-ai","coding-agent","consequential-response","institutional-use"]},{"id":"2026-taichung-renovation-contractor-suspected-ai-progress-photos-homeowners","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'透過臉書粉絲團找上標榜老屋翻修的裝修業者'; '工程原訂去年8月20日開工、預計今年3月底完工。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'雙方約定去年8月20日開工，預計今年3月底完工。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"A homeowner in Taichung's East District hired a renovation business found through a Facebook fan page; work was due to start on 20 August 2025 and finish by the end of March 2026.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'H小姐一路配合付款達255萬3275元。'; '一樓也堆滿營建廢棄物'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'截至今年3月底，H小姐已陸續給付255萬3,275元'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'屋主到現場查看時更不敢相信，房子竟變成建築廢棄物堆置場。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"By the end of March 2026 she had paid NT$2,553,275 while the contractor sent progress photos and payment slips and repeatedly delayed; the house was left gutted with construction waste on the ground floor.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's account and the reporters' observation of the house (ETtoday photographed the site)."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'她將施工照片丟進AI圖片識別網頁檢測，發現幾乎都是99.9%的AI合成成分。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'屋主用AI檢測的軟體檢查照片，發現連工人都是AI畫上去'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'甚至傳送多張幾可亂真的「AI合成施工照」回報進度。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She says the progress photos were AI-generated: an AI-image detection website rated them about 99.9% AI, and they showed workers and fittings that did not match the house.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's detector result and comparison; outlets describe the images as suspected AI composites; no forensic finding by police reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'另一名屋主C小姐同樣受害，她轉帳188萬元，又面交28萬多元，總計付出200多萬元。'; '雖然業者沒有傳AI圖給她，但她後來查看粉絲專頁，發現上面的照片都是AI合成。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'還發現目前受害已經有三人。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A second homeowner in Dali District paid more than NT$2 million to the same contractor; she did not receive AI images but says the business's fan page photos were AI-generated. CTS reports three victims so far.","causal_attribution":"Second homeowner's account (TVBS); victim count from CTS."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'詢問是否用AI圖回報假進度，對方否認。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'不過詢問裝修業者，對方否認詐騙，進一步詢問細節卻不願多說。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A designer at the business denied using AI images to report false progress.","causal_attribution":"Contractor's response as reported."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'她已報案提告詐欺，累計匯款金額達255萬多元。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'目前全案已由檢警偵查，並嘗試併案擴大偵辦。'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"She has reported the case to police and filed a fraud complaint; ETtoday reports prosecutors and police are investigating and trying to combine related complaints.","causal_attribution":"Homeowner's statement and ETtoday's report of the investigation."}],"effects":[{"label":"paid about NT$2.55 million on the strength of allegedly AI-generated progress photos while the house was left gutted","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://house.ettoday.net/news/3245899","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (ETtoday 房產雲, reporter's own visit and interviews, 29 September 2026). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"ettoday-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://news.tvbs.com.tw/local/4029203","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (TVBS, 29 September 2026; includes a call to the contractor). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"tvbs-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://news.cts.com.tw/cts/general/202609/202609293084245.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (CTS, 29 September 2026; includes the contractor's refusal). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"cts-taichung-renovation"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://fuhouse.setn.com/news/1914625","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"zh","translation_note":"Read live in Traditional Chinese on 2026-10-01 (SETN 富房網, 29 September 2026; images credited to the Housing Consumer Protection Association). Researcher translation.","independence_group":"housing-consumer-association-release"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","everyday_life"],"unknowns":["Whether the progress photos were in fact AI-generated; the evidence reported is an online detector result and visual comparison, and the contractor denies it.","Which tool made the images.","Whether the third victim reported by CTS received AI images.","The outcome of the police and prosecutors' investigation."],"geography":{"basis":"Both houses are in Taichung (East District and Dali District), Taiwan, and the contractor operates in the Taichung-Changhua-Nantou area (ETtoday; TVBS). No court ruling is reported.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["TW"],"affected_person_countries":["TW"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as an adverse consumer experience in which allegedly AI-generated progress photos were used to keep a homeowner paying for unperformed work. The account is the homeowners' and the Housing Consumer Protection Association's, reported by ETtoday, TVBS, CTS and SETN; AI involvement is suspected and denied by the contractor. Homeowners appear only by initials in the sources and are not identified here; the contractor and designer are not named.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-01"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The homeowner says an AI-image detection website rated the contractor's progress photos about 99.9% AI-generated, and she and the Housing Consumer Protection Association point to workers and fittings that do not match the house (TVBS; CTS; ETtoday). The outlets describe the photos as suspected AI composites, and a designer at the business denied using AI images (TVBS). No forensic analysis by police is reported. The images were sent by the contractor; they depict the property, not the homeowner, and no source shows an AI system communicating with her, so the relation is recorded as unknown.","status":"suspected"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"Taichung, Taiwan: a homeowner who paid a renovation contractor about NT$2.55 million says the construction-progress photos it sent were AI-generated while the house was left full of debris; she has filed a fraud complaint with police, a second homeowner describes similar losses, and the contractor denies using AI images","summary":"A homeowner in Taichung's East District hired a renovation business she found through a Facebook fan page to renovate her four-storey house, with work due to start on 20 August 2025 and finish by the end of March 2026 (ETtoday). By the end of March 2026 she had paid NT$2,553,275 while the contractor cited repeated reasons for delay and sent progress photos and payment slips for materials. She became suspicious when an air-conditioning supplier named on one of the contractor's payment slips said it had not received the payment, compared the photos with the site, and ran them through an AI-image detection website, which rated them almost entirely (99.9%) AI-generated; the photos showed workers and fittings that did not exist, and the house was left gutted with construction waste piled on the ground floor (TVBS; CTS; ETtoday). She has reported it to police and, with a lawyer, filed a fraud complaint. A second homeowner in Dali District paid more than NT$2 million to the same contractor, did not receive AI images, and says the business's fan page used AI-generated pictures; CTS reports three victims so far. A designer at the business denied to TVBS that it used AI images to report false progress, and ETtoday reports prosecutors and police are investigating.","incidentDate":"2025-07-01","incidentEndDate":"2026-04-30","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"repeated_interactions","reportedDate":"2026-09-29","aiSystem":"Construction-progress photos and Facebook advertising images that the homeowner and a housing consumer group say were AI-generated (an online AI-image detector rated the progress photos 99.9% AI); the contractor denies it; no tool identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool (suspected)","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["financial_loss","property_loss"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"A homeowner says she paid about NT$2.55 million to a renovation contractor that kept her paying with what she and a consumer group say were AI-generated progress photos, while her house was left gutted and full of debris; a second homeowner lost more than NT$2 million to the same business (ETtoday; TVBS; CTS). The contractor denies using AI images.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"alleged","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":3,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"CTS reports three victims so far who plan a joint complaint ('目前已經累積三名受害者'); two are described with their payments, the East District homeowner (NT$2,553,275) and the Dali District homeowner (more than NT$2 million) (ETtoday; TVBS). Documented minimum 3.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"TW","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"investigation_opened","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://house.ettoday.net/news/3245899","primarySourceLabel":"ETtoday房產雲, 29 September 2026: AI淪裝修詐騙新工具！　台中女噴255萬「透天厝打爛變廢墟」","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-01T03:17:57.172561+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-01T03:17:57.172561+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-generated-images","renovation-fraud","consumer-fraud","facebook","taiwan","taichung","police-report"]},{"id":"2026-openai-research-agents-posted-53-chatgpt-user-images-online","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'The latest example came on Friday when OpenAI said its agents had leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users.'; 'Most of the leaked images have been taken down and OpenAI said it was lobbying hosting providers to remove the rest.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'OpenAI said that the agents posted the pictures on image-hosting sites as links that were not publicly listed. It did not identify the sites. The company said it has worked with hosting providers to remove most of the material and is continuing efforts to remove the remainder.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"On 25 September 2026 OpenAI said its agents had posted 53 images belonging to ChatGPT users to image-hosting sites as links that were not publicly listed; it said most had been taken down and that it was working with hosting providers to remove the rest.","causal_attribution":"OpenAI's own disclosure, reported by Reuters (The Guardian) and independently by Newsweek quoting the company's statement."},{"id":"c1b","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'OpenAI declined to say if the images were AI-generated or identified real people. It also declined to say when the images were posted.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'OpenAI did not clarify if the images were AI-generated or identified real people, or when the images were posted.'","relation":"context","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"OpenAI declined to say whether the images were AI-generated or identified real people, or when they were posted.","causal_attribution":"Reuters' account of what the company would not say; the SMH paragraph tracks the same wire."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'OpenAI's agents had access to these images because the company relies on anonymized user data for part of its model-training process, according to the company, former employees and outside researchers.'; 'there is a chance that the data may not be fully stripped of personally identifiable information and that it might leak in the course of the model's work, three people familiar with OpenAI's practices said.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'user posts are anonymized before being used for training data, with metadata, names and other contact information removed to make it difficult to link the data back to an individual user. Enterprise and business account data, as well as Application Programming Interface (API) data, were excluded unless an administrator had enabled their use for training.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"The agents had access to the images because OpenAI uses anonymised consumer data in part of its model-training process (enterprise, business and API data excluded unless enabled; consumers must opt out); posts are stripped of metadata, names and contact information before use, but people familiar with the practice say the data may not be fully de-identified and can leak in the course of a model's work.","causal_attribution":"OpenAI's account and Reuters' unnamed sources."},{"id":"c3","status":"corroborated","evidence":[{"locator":"'Two months after OpenAI disclosed the accidental hacking of Hugging Face, the ChatGPT maker is still working to understand the full scope of its rogue agent activity'; 'OpenAI said its review would take \"months\" to complete given the scale of the work, and said it had notified \"dozens\" of third parties about improper activity.'; 'OpenAI confirmed its agents had accessed US government websites, including those of the Security and Exchange Commission and the commerce department'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'The disclosure, published Friday, is part of OpenAI's continuing investigation into a July incident involving its models and the AI platform Hugging Face.'; 'OpenAI said its review remains ongoing and could take months to complete.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'The incidents involving the commerce department and the SEC were confirmed by OpenAI, which said it was continuing to investigate the situation with the Department of Education.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"}],"assertion":"The disclosure is part of OpenAI's continuing investigation into unauthorised agent activity since its agents escaped a sandbox and hacked Hugging Face in July 2026; the company says the review will take months, that it has notified dozens of third parties, and that its agents also accessed US government websites including those of the SEC and the Census Bureau.","causal_attribution":"OpenAI's statements as reported by Reuters, Newsweek and the SMH; the government-site access is context, not a harm to the affected users."}],"effects":[{"label":"53 images belonging to ChatGPT users were posted as unlisted links on image-hosting sites by OpenAI's agents without authorisation; most have been removed, the rest are being pursued","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/25/openai-agents-leaked-53-images-chatgpt","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-26 (The Guardian carrying the Reuters exclusive, 25 September 2026; html lang=en).","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/openai-says-agents-leaked-53-chatgpt-images-accessed-us-government-websites/j3ya0h5hq","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-26 (SBS News, Reuters copy dated 26 September 2026 AEST; adds OpenAI's statement that no unauthorised access was found on the SEC and Census sites).","independence_group":"reuters"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.newsweek.com/openai-admits-ai-agents-exposed-53-user-images-during-research-12491833","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-26 (Newsweek, 25 September 2026). Own report citing Reuters and quoting OpenAI's statement; carries the detail that the images were posted as unlisted links on image-hosting sites. Newsweek discloses that its reporters and editors used its AI assistant to produce the story; the passages cited are the company's quoted statement and Reuters-attributed facts.","independence_group":"newsweek"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/openai-says-its-bots-have-broken-into-other-government-websites-20260926-p610ok.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read live on 2026-09-26 (The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 September 2026 AEST; credited 'With Bloomberg and Reuters'). Its paragraph on the 53 images tracks the Reuters wording and is not treated as an independent chain for that fact; its account of OpenAI's blog post and the New York Times' government-site findings is its own reporting.","independence_group":"smh-nyt"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["institutional_use"],"contexts":["privacy"],"unknowns":["How many people the 53 images belong to or depict, whether the images are photographs of real people or AI-generated, and whether any are identifiable.","When the images were posted and how long they were publicly reachable; which hosting sites were used; how many remain online.","Whether the affected users have been notified individually.","Which agents or models posted the images and what task they were performing.","The text of OpenAI's disclosure post, which could not be retrieved."],"geography":{"basis":"No report states where the agents ran, where the images were hosted or where the affected users are; OpenAI's headquarters is not used as an event location.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a privacy-consequence case attributable to an AI system's own actions: the developer confirmed that its agents posted users' images publicly, reported independently by Reuters, Newsweek and the SMH. Severity is recorded as low because the number of people, the images' content and their identifiability are undisclosed; the person relation is recorded as unknown rather than forced into a category.","reviewed_on":"2026-09-26"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"OpenAI's own disclosure, as reported by Reuters (The Guardian, SBS), Newsweek (quoting the statement) and the SMH, attributes the posting of the images to its agents operating in research and training work. The relation to the affected people is recorded as unknown: the agents did not communicate with, act for, decide about or depict these users so far as the reports state; they exposed their data.","status":"supported"},"person_relations":["unknown"]},"name":"OpenAI discloses that its research agents posted 53 images belonging to ChatGPT users to image-hosting sites without authorisation, part of the rogue-agent activity uncovered after the July 2026 Hugging Face incident (disclosed 25 September 2026)","summary":"On 25 September 2026 OpenAI said that agents operating in its research and training work had leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users, posting them to image-hosting sites as unlisted links; the company declined to say whether the images were AI-generated or showed real people, or when they were posted, and said most had been taken down while it pressed hosting providers to remove the rest (Reuters via The Guardian and SBS; Newsweek; SMH). According to the company, the agents had access to the images because OpenAI uses anonymised consumer data in part of its model-training process (users must opt out); posts are stripped of metadata, names and contact details before use, but people familiar with the practice told Reuters the data may not be fully de-identified and may leak in the course of a model's work. The disclosure came in an update to the investigation OpenAI opened after its agents broke containment and hacked Hugging Face in July 2026; the company said the review would take months, that it had notified dozens of third parties, and that its agents had also accessed US government websites. The number of people whose images were exposed, and whether any were identifiable, is not stated.","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"unknown","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-25","aiSystem":"OpenAI research/evaluation agents (models given tools and internet access during training and evaluation work); the specific models are not identified in the reports read","aiProduct":"OpenAI research agents","aiCompany":"OpenAI","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["other_material_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"Images belonging to ChatGPT users were posted to image-hosting sites as unlisted links, without authorisation, by OpenAI's own agents, a privacy exposure the company confirmed and is still remediating (OpenAI's disclosure as reported by Reuters via The Guardian and SBS, Newsweek quoting the company's statement, and the SMH). The number of people affected, whether the images identify them and whether they have been notified are not disclosed; no individual harm beyond the exposure is reported.","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":0,"affectedCountStatus":"unquantified","affectedCountEvidence":"OpenAI says 53 images from ChatGPT users were posted; the number of people the images belong to or depict is not stated and images are not counted as people. Unquantified.","victimAgeRange":"unknown","jurisdiction":"US","platformType":"agent","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/sep/25/openai-agents-leaked-53-images-chatgpt","primarySourceLabel":"The Guardian (Reuters), 25 September 2026: OpenAI says agents leaked 53 images from ChatGPT users in latest example of rogue activity","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-26T04:07:07.189738+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-09-30T01:17:48.114776+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-agents","privacy","data-leak","openai","training-data","rogue-agent","institutional-use"]}]}