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NOPE · AI and people

AI incidents

Reports of AI-related harm and adverse experiences affecting people’s safety, wellbeing, rights and livelihoods. Explore what happened and the evidence available.

NOPE’s core concern is when AI communicates with a person, acts on their behalf, or depicts or impersonates them. The tracker also records consequential decisions, claims and privacy harms involving AI. Each case needs a described connection between AI use and the harm, including private information recorded into or disclosed to an AI service. Each account is reviewed for publication; claims may remain uncorroborated or disputed. How we review and count cases

In this selection

Published cases
309
Countries with reported events
43
Located 265 of 309 cases · 44 unknown
Languages in checked sources
40
Recorded for 309 of 309 cases

11 cases have no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 4 not yet reviewed and 7 reviewed as unknown. Show these cases

These figures describe the cases collected by NOPE. Coverage varies with discovery, reporting and available evidence. They do not estimate how often AI-related harm occurs.

Response counts currently use each case’s principal recorded outcome. Further proceedings may be described in its account.

Cases in this selection, counted once in their first known event year. A series may continue beyond that year. Reporting and collection dates are excluded. NOPE has searched recent events more thoroughly than earlier years, so bar heights also reflect collection effort.

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309 of 1099 published cases · page 9 of 16

Sept 2026ParaguayUnidentified image tool

Asunción, Paraguay: students of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción report an anonymous website sharing intimate images of students, teachers and staff without consent, some altered or generated with AI; police cybercrime investigators and a prosecutor open an investigation, reported 21 to 24 September 2026

According to Hoy (21 September 2026) and El Nacional (22 September), students of the architecture faculty of the Universidad Nacional de Asunción reported an anonymous website that shared intimate images of students, teachers and staff without authorisation, including real photographs and material altered with AI. El Nacional reports that at least about twenty students complained, that some posts used photographs taken from social media, and that related content later appeared in Telegram and WhatsApp groups. The Minister of Women said her ministry had seen messages in which UNA students raised concern about content of them held without consent, and that in some cases AI-generated images of sexual content were shared (La Nación, 22 September). La Tribuna, reporting the findings of the police cybercrime department, describes the portal as used for the non-consensual distribution of intimate photographs and AI-altered content; according to a memorandum signed by the head of the department, a Paraguay section exposes full names, images and phone numbers of students (24 September). The university referred the case to prosecutors and police, and police suggested that prosecutors seek a court order to block the site in Paraguay. No person responsible has been publicly identified.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 05/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image and video tool

Ambad, Jalna district, Maharashtra: a woman active in the Maratha reservation agitation complained to police that obscene photos and videos of her, which Pudhari and Divya Marathi report were made with AI, were posted on Facebook with rape and death threats after she publicly criticised the agitation's leader; Ambad police registered an FIR against five named profile holders and five to six others, reported on 2 October 2026

According to Pudhari and Divya Marathi (both 2 October 2026), a 35-year-old woman from Ambad who had been active in the Maratha reservation agitation publicly criticised the stance of its leader, Manoj Jarange Patil, in remarks to the media on 26 September. According to Pudhari's account of her complaint, some of his supporters then targeted her on social media: obscene photos and videos of her made with AI were posted on Facebook, and posts abused her in obscene language and threatened rape and death. Divya Marathi reports that her face was placed on obscene pictures and videos with AI deepfake technology and that the material spread on Facebook, WhatsApp and Telegram. She went to Ambad police station on 1 October with screenshots, saying she had been defamed and that she and her family were in danger. Police registered an FIR against five named profile holders and five to six others under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 67 of the Information Technology Act. No arrest is reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 05/10/2026

Event date unknownColombiaUnidentified video tool

Colombia: police dismantle a ring in Ibagué accused of defrauding people in seven countries with fake US visas, using AI to alter faces and voices in video calls and pose as consular officials

Colombian police (Dijín) and prosecutors announced in July 2026 that they had dismantled a ring in Ibagué accused of defrauding citizens of seven countries with fake visas and residence permits for the United States. Five people were captured during three searches. The Dijín director said members altered their faces and accents during video calls to pose as consular officials and members of US government agencies; police also described chatbots for first contact, voice cloning and manipulated videos. Semana and El País (Cali) report that more than 500 people are said to have been defrauded, and El País says the ring demanded payments of between 500 and 2,000 dollars. Three of those captured were charged, according to Caracol Radio.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 05/10/2026

2026Event location unknownUnidentified image and video tool

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

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.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 05/10/2026

Event date unknownThailandUnidentified video and voice-cloning tool

Thailand: cyber police say an illegal gambling website, KFC888, used AI to fake the face and voice of luk thung singer Hai Arpaporn Nakhonsawan in advertising clips that urged people to sign up, as if she endorsed it; two Bangkok premises searched and a company representative summoned to acknowledge charges, reported 1 to 2 July 2026

Manager Online reported on 2 July 2026, citing the Royal Thai Police and its Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, that cyber police had moved against a large online gambling network after finding that it used AI to fake the face and voice of Hai Arpaporn Nakhonsawan, a well-known luk thung singer, in advertising clips that urged people to join the website. The clips gave the false impression that she recommended the site, although she had no involvement. Police traced the clips to the website KFC888, which offered online lottery, foreign stock-index lottery and sports betting, with turnover estimated at about 120 million baht a month. They searched two locations in Bangkok, a residence believed to be linked to the site's executives and an electronic payment-gateway company, seized computers and documents, and summoned an authorised person of the company to acknowledge charges including a Computer Crime Act offence over AI-created images that may damage others. Komchadluek reported on 1 July that the singer went to the cyber police after Facebook Reels clips altered with AI used her face and voice without her consent.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownEgyptUnidentified image tool

Giza, Egypt: police say a man took photos of young women from social media, altered them with AI apps and ran pages posing as a woman offering paid sexual services, switching off his phone once people had transferred money; arrest in the Munira police district reported on 2 October 2026

According to an Interior Ministry statement relayed by Egypt Telegraph on 2 October and Youm7 on 3 October 2026, investigations by the ministry's General Administration for the Protection of Morals found that a man was running social media pages that defrauded people by making them believe he was a young woman and advertising paid sexual services. Police arrested him in the Munira police district of Giza with four mobile phones that held evidence of the activity. In the ministry's account he admitted taking photos of young women from social media, altering them with AI applications and reposting them on his pages so that followers would believe he was a woman, asking for money and switching off his phone once it was transferred. The reports do not give the number of people deceived, the amounts taken or the number of women whose photos were used.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

May 2026ChinaUnidentified video tool (suspected)

China: Shanghai woman loses 800,000 yuan to a fake army officer met on a matchmaking platform; Pudong police point to a sign of AI synthesis in her screenshot of him

In May 2026 a 50-year-old woman in Shanghai met a man on a matchmaking platform who said he was an army regiment commander about to retire and sent officer and identity card photos. He also made a video call on his own initiative, in which he quickly covered his face with his hand to show he was not using AI face-swap. He then steered her into a fake investment platform, and within about a month she put in 800,000 yuan, almost all of it borrowed, and could not withdraw it. A Pudong police anti-fraud officer said that AI synthesis could still be detected and that in her screenshot the man's thumb was clearly longer than a normal person's. The report gives no direct statement that face-swap software was used. The case was under further investigation.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 04/10/2026

Sept 2026Event location unknownUnidentified video tool

South Korea: deepfake composites and sexual-harassment posts target a Korean streamer after a PUBG tournament stream-sniping dispute; publisher Krafton promises takedown requests and legal support

At the PUBG Asia Stars 2026 tournament, which opened on 17 September 2026, two players on the Vietnam team were found to have used other participants' live broadcasts or outside information during play, including to locate a Korean streamer in game. Hansbiz reports that the streamer was then targeted with deepfake composites and sexual-harassment posts, and Newspost reports that members of the Vietnamese gamer community spread deepfake videos made from Korean team streamers' photos. On 23 September 2026 the publisher Krafton apologised to the streamer and said it would request deletion and blocking of false claims, mockery and illegal composite posts and would cooperate with legal action; Hansbiz reports the promised support as covering criminal complaint proceedings. No complaint filing or police action is reported in the sources read.

Core concern Low reported severity Internal Action

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 04/10/2026

Event date unknownBrazilUnidentified video tool

Paraíso das Águas, Mato Grosso do Sul: a farmer lost more than R$700,000, including a R$360,000 loan, after a video call in which scammers used AI to simulate the Viva Sorte prize-draw presenter

Three Mato Grosso do Sul outlets, all crediting BNC Notícias, reported on 10 April 2026 that a rural producer from Paraíso das Águas fell for the so-called Viva Sorte scam. In a video call, scammers used AI deepfake technology to simulate the image and voice of Renato Ambrósio, the presenter of the Viva Sorte prize draws, told the farmer a prize had been won and set out steps to release it: Pix transfers, sending the CPF tax number and sharing the phone screen while the banking app was open. The farmer followed the instructions and took out a R$360,000 loan; with interest, the total loss exceeded R$700,000. One report says the farmer gave this account to the police. The farmer is not identified, no date is given and no arrest is reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Oct 2026VietnamUnidentified image and video tool

Thanh Hóa, Vietnam: police say nearly 20 people were threatened with fabricated sexual images of themselves unless they paid; one demand was 1.5 billion dong

Thanh Hóa provincial police said on 3 October 2026 that their cybersecurity and high-tech crime division had, since the start of October, received reports from nearly 20 people threatened with extortion using sexual images and videos spliced from their own photos, which senders threatened to publish unless money was transferred. One victim was asked for as much as 1.5 billion dong, and officials, including commune-level leaders, were among the targets. The police release says the material was made with technology; Báo Thanh Hóa, reporting information compiled from the same police division, says the senders used AI and deepfake technology to put victims' faces onto sexual images. No payment, arrest or named victim is reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

2026Event location unknownUnidentified video tool

AI-altered video of the Devara song Chuttamalle depicting actor Janhvi Kapoor in a sexually explicit manner circulates on X; she and co-star Jr NTR say legal action will be taken

An AI-generated, manipulated version of the song Chuttamalle from the 2024 Telugu film Devara: Part 1 circulated widely on X in the days before 3 October 2026. Hindustan Times, ThePrint and The News Minute report that it altered Janhvi Kapoor's appearance from the original footage to depict her in a sexually explicit manner. On 3 October her co-star Jr NTR called it "disgusting, sick and shameless" on X and said he would take every possible legal action against those who made and spread it. The News Minute reports that Kapoor posted on X that it was disturbing to see AI-generated fake videos circulated and that legal action would be taken. Hindustan Times reports the video was taken down after circulating. No police complaint or arrest is reported in the sources read.

Core concern Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 8 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 04/10/2026

Mar 2022 to Aug 2026South KoreaUnidentified image and video tool

Seoul police officer indicted in custody after prosecutors charge the officer with using AI to make about 400 nude composites of acquaintances

Korean outlets reported on 4 October 2026, citing police, that a serving police officer in Seoul was arrested in September 2026 on charges including making and distributing fake sexual videos and possessing sexual exploitation material. According to police, from March 2022 to July 2026 the officer used an AI application to make about 400 fake videos compositing acquaintances' bodies as nude, and from August 2025 to April 2026 spread some of them in Telegram chat rooms. Busan police identified the officer after an undercover investigation of a Telegram room that began in December 2025. Busan Ilbo reports that the source photographs had been posted publicly on social media and that about 50 of the videos were spread. The acquaintances are not identified and their number is not reported. Dong-A Ilbo reported on 5 October 2026 that Busan police said the officer had been referred to prosecutors in detention on 18 September 2026. On 7 October 2026 Kukmin Ilbo, MBN and JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Busan District Public Prosecution Office had indicted the officer in custody the previous day on six charges, including editing fake sexual videos under the sexual violence punishment act. The prosecution office dates the making to March 2022 to August 2026, says about 50 of the videos were distributed or provided, and says the officer had received an education-conditional suspended indictment for illegal filming in 2021 before joining the police in April 2024; earlier police-derived reports gave 2020 and December 2023.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 15 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 04/10/2026

Sept 2026IndiaUnidentified video tool

Jamui, Bihar: police registered a case in September 2026 against a social media user over AI-generated videos of a minor girl who had been sexually harassed and her friend, saying the videos were fake and revealed the girl's identity

A minor girl was sexually harassed and her male friend assaulted by a group in Jamui district, Bihar, on 19 September 2026; a video of the incident spread on social media two days later and the police apprehended several of the accused. According to a Jamui police statement issued on 25 September and reported by the Press Trust of India, the police then registered a case at the cyber police station against a social media user for uploading several AI-generated videos of the girl and her friend. The police called the videos misleading and fake and said they revealed the girl's identity and could affect social harmony; the case was registered under the BNS, the POCSO Act, the Juvenile Justice Act and the IT Act. Separately, The Quint reported finding dozens of AI-generated recreations of the assault on Instagram, almost all revealing identifying details, and quoted the Jamui superintendent of police as saying that some people were making AI-generated content. No outcome of the case against the uploader has been reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 03/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified video tool

Meghalaya: a video described as an AI deepfake, showing Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong and East Khasi Hills police chief Vivek Syiem drinking and surrounded by money, circulates amid truck-extortion allegations; police call it fabricated and weigh legal action

Shillong newspapers reported on 1 and 2 October 2026 that a video described as an AI-generated deepfake was circulating on social media, linking Meghalaya's Deputy Chief Minister in charge of Home (Police), Prestone Tynsong, and East Khasi Hills Superintendent of Police Vivek Syiem to allegations that police were illegally collecting money from trucks on a highway. Highland Post reported that the video shows the two laughing, drinking alcohol and surrounded by money, and that it appears to have been created with AI and is crudely made. Syiem called it a serious matter and said police would examine the video and decide on legal action after reviewing it; police describe it as fabricated. Posters targeting the two officials appeared in Shillong the next day. Who made the video is unknown and no complaint or arrest is reported.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 03/10/2026

Event date unknownIndonesiaUnidentified voice-cloning tool

Malang, East Java: the head of the financial regulator's local office says a resident lost Rp80 million after a caller used an AI clone of a close friend's voice to ask for a transfer

Malang Post reported on 2 October 2026 that the head of the Malang office of Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK), speaking on a Radio City Guide FM talk show that day, described the latest case to befall a resident of Malang. According to the report, the perpetrator used AI to clone the voice of the victim's close friend very precisely and called the victim from a new number to ask for a money transfer; the victim believed the voice and lost Rp80 million. No date, police report or arrest is given. The account is the OJK official's as reported by one outlet; the call was not heard and the victim is not identified.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 03/10/2026

13 Jan 2026IndiaUnidentified image tool

Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh: a woman is arrested and later refused bail after a railway officer's wife complained that she sent an AI-made objectionable image of the officer, demanded ₹15 lakh and threatened to circulate pictures of women in the family

Jhansi police arrested a 27-year-old woman in Prayagraj in September 2026 on charges of editing photos with AI, blackmail and extortion, after the wife of a senior railway officer living in Jhansi filed an FIR on 2 August 2026. According to the complaint as relayed by Aaj Tak, UP Tak, Dainik Bhaskar and Amar Ujala, the woman threatened to circulate objectionable pictures of women in the family, demanded ₹15 lakh and threatened to kill the family, and out of fear the family paid her ₹40,000 in total on different dates between January and June 2026. On 31 July she sent an objectionable image of the officer to his wife's phone, an image police say she made with AI. Aaj Tak places the ₹15 lakh demand after that image; Dainik Bhaskar reports the complaint as dating the demand and a death threat to the woman's visit to the family's government house on 2 June. Police recovered two phones and a laptop, and Amar Ujala reports that police will have the images examined forensically. On 1 October 2026 an Additional Sessions Judge in Jhansi rejected the woman's bail plea. In police custody after her arrest she said the FIR against her was fake. The images were not inspected.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 03/10/2026

10 Sept 2026India, CanadaUnidentified video tool

Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh: police arrest four people accused of recording a Canada-based NRI on a video call from a fake Facebook profile, making AI obscene videos and demanding $50,000 under threat of circulating them

Ghaziabad crime branch police announced on 2 October 2026 that they had arrested four members of a sextortion and cyber-fraud gang. According to the police account relayed by the Times of India, Aaj Tak, Navbharat Times and ETV Bharat, the gang contacted a non-resident Indian living in Brampton, Canada, through Facebook Messenger from a fake profile in a woman's name, recorded the person on a video call on 10 September 2026, then demanded $50,000 and threatened to upload the footage and AI-made obscene videos if the money was not paid. The victim was given a bank account in Ghaziabad and reported the extortion to the city's cybercrime team on 17 September. Police registered an FIR under the BNS and the IT Act, said the phone number was linked to 40 cyber-fraud complaints on the national portal and said AI sextortion videos were found on the accused's phones. Police said the gang had operated since 2023; other members were absconding. The account is the police's; the videos were not inspected, and the reports disagree on the victim's gender.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 03/10/2026

Sept 2026Event location unknownUnidentified video tool (suspected)

Malaysia: footage of former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad mourning his wife was edited, in what sources believe was AI manipulation, to add dancing, and posted on TikTok in September 2026; the communications regulator MCMC said it was examining content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of him in mourning

Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali, wife of former Malaysian prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, died on 28 September 2026 aged 100. BuzzKini reported on 30 September that a TikTok account had posted a video of Mahathir grieving beside her body, edited to show a woman dancing next to him, and another clip of the moment he raised his hands in prayer edited with dancing movements while seated in a wheelchair. BuzzKini says the edits are believed to have been made with AI, and that many social media users condemned them and asked the regulator and police to act. On 2 October the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said it was examining social media content believed to use AI to manipulate footage of Mahathir in mourning, had contacted the platforms concerned, and that action could follow under the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 if a breach was found.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources · Added 03/10/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool (suspected)

Satara, Maharashtra: supporters of Public Works minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale allege that the minister's photo was morphed with AI to link the minister to a dance event and spread on social media; police registered a case against four social media accounts in September 2026

Divya Marathi reported on 8 September 2026 that supporters of Public Works minister Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale alleged that the minister's photograph had been morphed using artificial intelligence and linked to a dance programme in Satara. According to the complaint, the photo was allegedly edited and circulated on social media from a YouTube channel, combining photographs from two different events and giving them a false context; supporters said this was done to defame the minister politically. Supporters, including the municipal council president and the BJP group leader, went to Satara city police station on Tuesday and complained against the YouTube channel. On a named complainant's first information report, police registered a case against four social media handles and account holders under sections 353(2), 356(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 67 of the Information Technology Act. Police accepted the complaint and began examining the posts, the photographs and the circumstances; Divya Marathi says the facts will become clear only after an investigation of what alteration was made to the photograph with AI and who created and spread the posts.

Core concern Low reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement suspected · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 03/10/2026

Sept 2026United StatesUnidentified image tool

New Mexico: the state Democratic Party filed an ethics complaint, reported on 2 October 2026, over two Senate Republican social media posts from September 2026 that it says used misleading AI-generated images, including a fake jail mugshot of Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart that she publicly asked to be taken down

In September 2026 Republican state Sen. Jay Block posted on social media a fake image of New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart made to look like a jail mugshot. The Santa Fe New Mexican (24 September 2026) reports that Block's posts indicate the image was AI-generated and that it showed her ostensibly booked into the Bernalillo County jail on charges of 'hit and run' and 'abusive behavior towards staff and other lawmakers'. Stewart was not issued a citation or booked, and Santa Fe's interim police chief said the 2024 incident in which she drove over a pedestrian's foot was not considered a hit and run crash. Stewart asked Block and the Senate Republican caucus to take down the fabricated image. Block said he stands by the post and has no plans to remove it. KRQE reported on 2 October 2026 that the Democratic Party of New Mexico had filed an ethics complaint over this post and over an image that Senate Republican leader Bill Sharer and the Senate Republicans shared on Facebook in September, which shows House Speaker Javier Martinez wearing a Soviet Union pin, gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland with her arm around a man in an orange jumpsuit and former state Rep. Joseph Hernandez naked. The party calls both 'misleading AI generated images' that violate a 2024 state law on deepfakes and wants the posts removed and the posters fined.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources · Added 03/10/2026

Cases may have several effects and sources. Mixed accounts qualify when they include a reported harm or adverse experience. People are counted within individual cases where sources support a number; we do not publish a collection-wide total of distinct people.

A source’s existence, the experience it reports and AI’s causal role are separate questions. A lawsuit records allegations unless a subsequent finding establishes them.

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Last dataset update: 04/11/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.