{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-10-05T06:38:19.731Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"x-ads","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":1,"coverage":{"cases":1,"countries":0,"languages":1,"unknownLocation":1,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":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-economist-gonzalo-bernardos-ai-images-video-fake-investment-ads-invented-arrest","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'hemos detectado, al menos, 20 anuncios que circularon en X entre el 24 y el 25 de septiembre de 2026 que parecen involucrar al economista español Gonzalo Bernardos en supuestas escenas de corrupción con imágenes generadas con IA'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'En total, fueron vistos más de 400.000 veces'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Maldita.es found at least 20 ads that circulated on X on 24 and 25 September 2026 and that appear to involve Bernardos in supposed corruption scenes through AI-generated images; in total they were seen more than 400,000 times.","causal_attribution":"Maldita.es reports its own count from browsing X; it calls the figure a minimum."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'una imagen que supuestamente muestra a la Policía Nacional registrando la casa de Gonzalo Bernardos'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'puede llevarte a una web que suplanta a El Mundo donde se asegura que Bernardos ha sido “detenido por promocionar una plataforma de inversión”'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"According to Maldita.es, one ad image supposedly shows police searching the home of Bernardos, and the ad link could lead to a page imitating El Mundo that says Bernardos was arrested for promoting an investment platform.","causal_attribution":"Maldita.es describes the ads and landing pages it inspected; it says the image is not real and that there is no trace of the search having happened."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'hemos comprobado que todas las imágenes de los anuncios han sido generadas con inteligencia artificial'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'La herramienta de OpenAI para identificar si un contenido ha sido generado con alguna de sus herramientas ha detectado en todas la marca de agua digital de SynthID'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Maldita.es says it checked that all the ad images were generated with AI and that OpenAI's tool for identifying whether content was generated with one of its tools detected the SynthID digital watermark in all of them.","causal_attribution":"The check is the outlet's own; the images were not inspected by the researcher."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'la supuesta plataforma Norden Core no está autorizada por la Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV) para prestar servicios de inversión'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The pages promoted Norden Core, which Maldita.es says is not authorised by the CNMV to provide investment services.","causal_attribution":"Maldita.es statement about the regulator's register; the register was not consulted."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'a través de un mensaje en X, publicado en la noche del jueves 23 de julio'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Desgraciadamente, hay diversos individuos que están utilizando mi imagen para publicitar inversiones, productos financieros o otros temas. Todos son anuncios fake, utilizando la IA u otras herramientas. Por favor, no hacer caso de ellos.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Marca reported that on the night of 23 July 2026 Bernardos wrote on X that individuals were using the economist's image to advertise investments and financial products, that all were fake ads using AI or other tools, and asked people to ignore them.","causal_attribution":"Bernardos's own statement as quoted by Marca."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'son muchas las personas que hablan con él preguntando por un vídeo donde se ve su imagen anunciando una supuesta inversión financiera'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Bernardos ha explicado que el vídeo se ha creado con inteligencia artificial y que él en ningún momento ha hecho promociones de estas características'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"El Caso reported on 4 October 2026 that Bernardos said on X that many people were asking about a video in which the economist's image announces a supposed financial investment, that the video was created with AI and that Bernardos had never made such promotions.","causal_attribution":"Bernardos's own statement as paraphrased by El Caso; the video was not inspected."}],"effects":[{"label":"AI-made images and video use the economist's likeness in fraudulent investment ads and show invented arrest scenes","claim_id":"c1","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://maldita.es/investigaciones/20261001/twitter-anuncios-bernardos-plataforma-inversi%C3%B3n/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. Maldita.es investigation, 1 October 2026; its own collection and analysis of the ads.","independence_group":"maldita-x-ads-investigation"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.marca.com/tiramillas/economia/2026/07/24/denuncia-gonzalo-bernardos-sobre-imagen-estafas-internet-favor-caso.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. Marca, 24 July 2026; relays the X post of 23 July 2026.","independence_group":"bernardos-own-x-posts"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://elcaso.elnacional.cat/es/noticias/gonzalo-bernardos-ultima-victima-suplantacion-identidad-estafar-personas_1704706102.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"es","translation_note":"Spanish-language body read in the original on 2026-10-05 by the research agent (an AI). Passages are quoted verbatim in Spanish. English assertions are the agent's own translation and no human translator reviewed them. El Caso, 4 October 2026; paraphrases a later X post, which was not read directly.","independence_group":"bernardos-own-x-posts"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["finance","work"],"unknowns":["Who paid for the ads and which tools made the images and the video.","Whether anyone lost money through the promoted platforms.","Whether Bernardos filed a complaint with the police or with X.","When the first AI-made ad using the economist appeared; the earliest dated statement read is the X post of 23 July 2026.","On which platform the video described in October 2026 circulated."],"geography":{"basis":"The ads ran on X in Spanish and imitated a Spanish newspaper, and Maldita.es locates the advertising accounts in the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Lithuania and Turkey, but no body states where the ads were shown or where Bernardos lives. Maldita.es calls Bernardos a Spanish economist, which is nationality alone. No country is inferred.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":[],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a core case: AI-made images and video depicted a named public figure in fraudulent investment ads and invented arrest scenes, and the person has objected publicly twice. Two reporting chains: an independent Maldita.es analysis of the ads, and the person's own X posts relayed by Marca and El Caso. Each claim stays reported because each rests on one chain.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-05"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"Maldita.es states that it checked all the ad images and that OpenAI's detection tool found the SynthID watermark in each; Maldita.es does not say which tool generated the images; Bernardos says the ads use AI or other tools (Marca) and that the video was created with AI (El Caso). No tool is named and the researcher did not inspect the images or the video. The material depicted Bernardos (depicted_or_impersonated).","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"AI-generated images in paid X ads show economist Gonzalo Bernardos in invented arrest and corruption scenes to promote an unauthorised investment platform, and Bernardos says a video made with AI advertises a supposed investment; Bernardos has warned on X since July 2026","summary":"Maldita.es reported on 1 October 2026 that it found at least 20 paid ads on X, circulated on 24 and 25 September 2026, that used AI-generated images to show the economist Gonzalo Bernardos in invented scenes, among them police searching the economist's home. The ads were seen more than 400,000 times and, depending on the device, led to pages imitating El Mundo that said Bernardos had been arrested and promoted Norden Core, a platform not authorised by the CNMV. Marca reported that Bernardos warned on X on 23 July 2026 that individuals were using the economist's image in fake ads made with AI or other tools. El Caso reported on 4 October 2026 that Bernardos said on X that many people were asking about a video advertising a supposed investment, that the video was made with AI and that Bernardos had never made such promotions. No source reports a person who lost money or a complaint to the police.","incidentDate":"2026-01-01","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"year","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-07-24","aiSystem":"AI-generated images in paid ads on X (Maldita.es says OpenAI's tool for identifying content generated with its own tools detected the SynthID digital watermark in all of them) and a video that Bernardos says was created with AI; the generating tools and the operators are not identified","aiProduct":"Unidentified image and video tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"AI-made images in paid ads showed Bernardos in invented arrest and corruption scenes to promote an unauthorised investment platform (Maldita.es), and Bernardos says an AI-made video advertises an investment the economist never promoted and that many people ask about it (Bernardos on X, as paraphrased by El Caso; Marca quotes the earlier warning of 23 July 2026 about fake ads).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"documented_minimum","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, Gonzalo Bernardos, whose image the ads used (Maldita.es; Marca; El Caso). A television presenter shown in one image is not counted because no source carries an account from the presenter. People who saw the ads are not counted because no source reports anyone defrauded. Documented minimum 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"media_coverage","outcomeStatus":"unknown","primarySourceUrl":"https://maldita.es/investigaciones/20261001/twitter-anuncios-bernardos-plataforma-inversi%C3%B3n/","primarySourceLabel":"Maldita.es, 1 October 2026: Gonzalo Bernardos con un bolso lleno de billetes: la campaña de anuncios de Twitter (X)","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-05T03:13:48.285157+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-05T03:13:48.285157+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["deepfakes","celebrity-deepfake","fake-advertisement","investment-scam","x-ads","spanish-language","depicted-or-impersonated"]}]}