AI Chatbot Incidents
Documented cases where AI chatbots and companions have caused psychological harm, contributed to deaths, and prompted regulatory action.
99 incidents since 2016
23
Deaths
27
Lawsuits
18
Regulatory
37
Affecting Minors
Timeline
16 of 99 incidents
Texas DPS AI-Generated CSAM Arrest (Covarrubias - South Texas Schoolchildren)
Texas DPS, with the FBI and Dimmit County Sheriff's Office, arrested Adan Covarrubias, 31, of Carrizo Springs in May 2026 after finding more than 900 AI-generated child sexual abuse images he allegedly created by 'nudifying' photos taken from open-source South Texas school pages. Approximately 30 child victims have been identified.
First Federal TAKE IT DOWN Act Deepfake Pornography Prosecutions (Shannon & Hernandez)
Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn arrested Cornelius Shannon, 51, and Arturo Hernandez, 20, in May 2026 for using AI tools to generate and distribute non-consensual deepfake pornography depicting approximately 140 identifiable female victims — including celebrities, political figures, and non-public individuals described as recent high school graduates. The case is among the first major federal prosecutions under the TAKE IT DOWN Act.
Tennessee Minors v. xAI (Grok CSAM Deepfake Class Action)
Three Tennessee teenage girls filed a class-action lawsuit against Elon Musk's xAI, alleging Grok's image generator was used via a third-party application to create child sexual abuse material from their social media photos. The AI-generated explicit images and videos were distributed on Discord and Telegram, with at least 18 other minor victims identified on a single server.
St. Clair v. xAI (Grok Non-Consensual Deepfake Images)
Ashley St. Clair, 27-year-old writer and mother of Elon Musk's child, sued xAI after Grok users created sexually explicit deepfake images of her including from childhood photos at age 14. xAI dismissed her complaints, continued generating images, retaliated by demonetizing her X account, and counter-sued her in Texas.
Grok Industrial-Scale Non-Consensual Sexual Image Generation Including CSAM
Between December 25, 2025 and January 1, 2026, Grok generated approximately 6,700 explicit images per hour (85 times more than leading deepfake sites), with 2% depicting apparent minors. Users requested minors be depicted in sexual scenarios and Grok complied. Named victim Ashley St. Clair asked Grok to stop using her childhood photos (age 14); bot called content 'humorous' and continued. Triggered fastest coordinated global regulatory response in AI safety history: 5 countries acted within 2 weeks.
West Bengal Teen - AI Deepfake Image Suicide (India)
A teenage girl (class 10 student, approximately 15-16 years old) in Sonarpur, West Bengal, India, was found dead by hanging on November 28, 2025. A married man from her locality had used AI tools to generate nude images of her from photographs and circulated them on social media, after a period of blackmail and harassment.
Rahul Bharti - AI Deepfake Sextortion Death (India)
Rahul Bharti, a 19-year-old college student in Faridabad, Haryana, India, died by suicide on October 25, 2025, after two weeks of blackmail involving AI-generated nude images of himself and his three sisters. Perpetrators demanded Rs 20,000 and taunted him to kill himself.
Doe v. ClothOff (NJ Federal Lawsuit Over AI-Generated CSAM of Minor)
A New Jersey minor (Jane Doe) filed a federal lawsuit against ClothOff, the AI 'undressing' app operated from Belarus, after her photos were used to generate non-consensual sexual deepfake images. First U.S. federal lawsuit specifically targeting the ClothOff platform; brought by Yale Law School clinics seeking to shut down the service entirely.
Valencia AI Deepfake School Case (Spain)
A 17-year-old male student in Valencia, Spain, was investigated by Guardia Civil in July 2025 for creating AI-generated nude images and videos of 16 female classmates, impersonating them on fake social media accounts, and establishing a website to sell the images commercially.
University of Hong Kong AI Deepfake Pornography Scandal
A University of Hong Kong law student used free AI software to generate 700 pornographic deepfake images of approximately 20-30 women including classmates, primary school classmates, and secondary school teachers. The university initially issued only a warning letter, sparking public outrage. Hong Kong's Privacy Commissioner opened a criminal investigation, exposing major gaps in Hong Kong law which only criminalizes distribution, not creation, of AI deepfakes.
Brandon Tyler - AI Deepfake Pornography Conviction (UK)
Brandon Tyler, 26, of Braintree, Essex, was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment in April 2025 for using AI tools to create deepfake pornography of 20 women he knew personally, including a 16-year-old girl's prom photograph. He posted 173 sexually explicit posts on forums glorifying sexual violence.
Elijah Heacock - AI Sextortion Death (Kentucky)
Elijah 'Eli' Heacock, a 16-year-old student at Caverna High School in Glasgow, Kentucky, died by suicide on February 28, 2025, after being blackmailed with AI-generated nude images. Perpetrators demanded $3,000 and rejected a partial payment, telling him it was 'not enough.'
Operation Cumberland - Global AI-Generated CSAM Crackdown
Europol-coordinated international operation in February 2025 resulted in 25 arrests across 19 countries for distributing fully AI-generated child sexual abuse material. A Danish national ran a subscription platform distributing the content; 273 suspects were identified and 173 devices seized in the first major global law enforcement action targeting AI-generated CSAM.
Roberts AI Deepfake Stalking - New Hampshire
Stalked victim for over a year using AI tools to create deepfake videos depicting victim in sexual acts that never occurred. Charged and held without bail in Conway, New Hampshire, late 2024/early 2025.
South Korea Telegram AI Deepfake Sexual Abuse Crisis
In August 2024, journalist Ko Narin of The Hankyoreh uncovered a massive network of Telegram channels where AI-generated deepfake pornography of female school students, teachers, and university students was being created and shared. Over 900 victims reported, 220,000+ members in one channel alone. South Korea passed emergency legislation criminalizing deepfake possession in September 2024.
Almendralejo AI Deepfake School Girls (Spain)
In September 2023, over 20 girls aged 11-17 in the Spanish town of Almendralejo (Extremadura) were victimized when male classmates aged 12-14 used the AI app 'Clothoff' to generate nude deepfakes from their Instagram photos and shared them via WhatsApp groups. Fifteen perpetrators were sentenced to one year of probation.
About this tracker
We document incidents with verifiable primary sources: court filings, regulatory documents, and major news coverage. This is not speculation or social media claims.
Have documentation of an incident we should include? Contact us.
These harms are preventable.
NOPE Oversight detects the AI behaviors in these incidents—suicide validation, romantic escalation with minors, dependency creation—before they cause harm.