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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
20
Countries with reported events
5
Located 15 of 20 cases · 5 unknown
Languages in checked sources
6
Recorded for 20 of 20 cases

1 case has no reviewed AI-to-person relation yet: 0 not yet reviewed and 1 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.

No known event years in this selection.

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20 of 585 published cases

Event date unknownArgentinaUnidentified video tool

Argentine news programme shows an AI-made video using its anchor's cloned image and voice to promote an online casino; co-host says his clean image was used

On 29 September 2026 the Argentine news programme Telenoche (El Trece) showed a video circulating on social media in which its anchor Nelson Castro appears to announce that 'Casino Santa Fe' is now available online. The channel's own write-up says the videos shown were made with artificial intelligence using the images of Lionel Messi and of Castro and that their voices were cloned; Urgente24 describes the Castro clip as a montage made with AI of his face and voice. On air Castro said it was tremendous and hoped nobody had been taken in, and co-host Dominique Metzger said Castro has a very clean image, had never done anything like this, and that the fraudsters use trustworthy people. Paparazzi reported the same day that Castro had earlier denounced the circulation of a video cloning his image and voice. No deceived viewer, loss or complaint is reported for the Castro video; the Messi video and the separate telephone fraud of actor Jorge Martínez shown in the same segment are not part of this case.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 08/10/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesDesire AI (reported)

Shawnee, Oklahoma police say a man used an AI app to make child sexual abuse images from photos of local children, one of a neighbour; five felony counts filed

Police in Shawnee, Oklahoma, say a local man used an artificial-intelligence app to create child sexual abuse images from photographs of children in his community, and Pottawatomie County prosecutors have charged him with five felony counts of possessing and creating child pornography. According to News On 6 (28 September 2026), the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crimes Against Children task force was tipped through a national database in August, Shawnee police executed a search warrant, and police say they found more than 200 child sexual abuse images and videos on two phones, about 100 of which appeared to have been created through an AI app. Court documents cited by the outlet say police identified some of the young victims through selfies they had posted on social media, and investigators believe one photo used was of a neighbour, taken from the man's front porch. KFOR reported on 6 October 2026 that court documents say he admitted using an app called "Desire AI", that a juvenile's online selfie was turned into sexually explicit AI images, and that a photo he took of a mother and her two-year-old daughter was altered to make both appear naked. The account rests on the police and OSBI statements and the charging documents as reported; the total number of children depicted is not stated.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 07/10/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified video tool

Honduras: Criterio.hn's fact-check desk finds three Facebook videos altered with AI in which plastic surgeon Emec Cherenfant appears to promote a home remedy for prostatitis; he says scammers keep using his name and image

El Mirón, the verification section of Criterio.hn, reported on 30 September 2026 that it found three videos on a Facebook profile, altered in image and audio, that use the image of the plastic and reconstructive surgeon Emec Cherenfant to offer a remedy for prostatitis and related problems. In the videos his artificial image says he helped former footballers beat prostatitis without surgery and invites viewers to write to him on WhatsApp. El Mirón says the manipulation is evident from the vocabulary, voice and body movements and that the detector ZeroGPT flagged the videos as AI-made. The hospital where he offers his services told El Mirón the advertising is deceptive. Cherenfant said he has nothing to do with prostate treatment, that scammers repeatedly use his name and image, and that he filed a complaint with the Ministerio Público two years ago. 'Son estafadores. No se dejen engañar, es pura inteligencia artificial', he said. No buyer losses are reported.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 01/10/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Iowa students report distress and lack of support after AI sexual images

KCRG reported that Cascade High School students said classmates used AI apps to create sexual images of them. At a district meeting, students described humiliation, fear of being judged and feeling silenced. One said no one at school had offered her counselling. The superintendent said counselling was available and promised policy work. The sheriff said several female students were targets but that the total was unknown. The first image date is not established.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Sydney schoolgirls reportedly targeted with deepfake images circulated online

ABC News reports that digitally altered sexual images using the faces of girls from a Sydney high school circulated online. Families went to police, who confirmed an investigation, while the school and education department said they were working with police. A follow-up report says the eSafety Commissioner was also in talks with investigators. The school is not identified, and the number of affected students, creation date and later inquiry outcome are unknown.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Students at a US high school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images shared between students

On 2 and 3 April 2026 outlets reported a district letter to families and a police statement about a report that reached high school administrators on 26 February 2026. The report concerned the possible use of AI to generate sexual images that included the likenesses of other students. Police were contacted the same day and described potential transmission between students of lewd material, including AI-generated content depicting the likenesses of juveniles. Families of students thought to be involved, including students whose images were included, were contacted on 26 and 27 February, and the school issued school-based consequences between 26 February and 6 March. The police investigation was active and no charge was reported. One parent told a local outlet that police had obtained a subpoena for Snapchat records, and another said the victims number more than 40 and range from high school to fifth grade. The district and police gave no count, and the creation date, the AI tool and the outcome are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 6 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image tool

Wichita, Kansas resident reports a text with AI-generated nude images and a threat to send them to Facebook friends and family unless money was paid

KWCH (Wichita, Kansas) reported on 10 March 2026 that a Wichita resident received a message from an unknown number containing nude images that the station and the resident described as AI-generated fakes, together with screenshots of the resident's Facebook profile, friend list and family, and a threat to send the images to those people unless money was paid. The resident said the images could ruin relationships and career if they reached family or an employer, filed a police report and said no more messages arrived after blocking the numbers. KWCH reported that the Wichita Police Department said it had not seen a situation like this before. The account rests on one KWCH article built on the resident's own statements. The images were not independently examined, the sum demanded and whether any payment was made are not stated, and the date the message arrived is not stated.

Core concern Low reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 1 source · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image and video tool

Livingston Parish, Louisiana: sheriff's office says a woman first treated as a victim made the AI-generated nude photos and videos, rape threats and extortion attempts in an online threats case

On 24 July 2026 WBRZ, WAFB and the Livingston Parish News relayed a Livingston Parish Sheriff's Office (Louisiana) statement about an investigation into threats made by phone and online. The sheriff's office said one alleged victim was threatened with rape and other bodily harm unless money was paid, AI-generated photos and videos of one of the victims were sent to numerous family members and friends, and later threats included getting one victim fired. Homeland Security assisted after allegations that overseas suspects were involved through past relationships and acquaintances in Greece. The sheriff's office said subpoenas and search returns from platforms led back to a woman who had first been treated as a victim, and that after an interview with the woman the sheriff's office learned the woman made all of the fictitious accounts, the AI-generated nude photos and videos, the rape threats and the extortion attempts. The accused was booked on charges that include unlawful dissemination of AI nude photos, online impersonation and five counts of extortion, and was released on bond. The Livingston Parish News says the accused and one other person had reported as victims some or all of what the sheriff's office attributes to the accused. The charges are allegations and no conviction is reported. The AI tool is not identified, the victims are not described and the start date of the threats is not stated.

Core concern Medium reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 30/09/2026

Event date unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Female students at a Sydney high school reportedly depicted in AI-generated sexual images circulated online

On 9 January 2025 outlets reported that NSW Police had begun an investigation on 6 January after a report that inappropriate images were being produced and distributed online. The Guardian reported the allegation that a student at a Sydney high school used AI platforms to create explicit deepfake images of female students and circulated them through fake social media accounts. The Department of Education said it was helping affected students with wellbeing support and referred the matter to the eSafety Commissioner. The creation date, the AI tool, the number of affected students and the outcome of the investigation are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownAustraliaUnidentified image tool

Queensland school teacher charged over alleged AI-generated explicit images of staff and students

ABC reported on 23 and 24 July 2026 that police in Queensland, Australia charged a former secondary school teacher at a school there with child exploitation and computer misuse offences. Police allege the teacher used AI software on a work-issued laptop to generate explicit images depicting staff members and students. Police say a nine-month investigation began in October after they were notified of the material, and the school says it dismissed the teacher in October 2025, notified police and regulators, and that there is no evidence the material was shared. The number of people depicted and the creation date are not stated.

Core concern Low reported severity

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited KingdomUnidentified image tool

County Armagh school pupils reportedly depicted in AI-generated explicit images shared among pupils

BBC News and other outlets reported on 18 and 19 January 2026 that the Police Service of Northern Ireland opened an investigation after a report that AI-generated explicit images were shared among pupils at a County Armagh school. The principal wrote to parents that the school became aware on 8 January, believed it had identified all pupils whose images were manipulated and those allegedly responsible, and put the number targeted in the single figures. The principal described a particularly difficult time for the pupils depicted. The creation date, the AI tool and the outcome of the investigation are not reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Involving minors

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownGrok

Doe 1 v. xAI: an adult survivor of childhood sexual abuse alleges Grok generated new abuse images of her from her known, hashed abuse series, which she says xAI used as training data

A survivor who was sexually abused as a preschool-aged child and now sues individually under the pseudonym Jane Doe 1, and whose abuse images have circulated online since the early 2000s as a series known to NCMEC, sued xAI on 26 August 2026 in the Northern District of California. Her complaint alleges that those known images were part of the dataset xAI used for Grok and that Grok generated new abuse images depicting her; her lawyers say the Canadian Centre for Child Protection used the series' hash fingerprints to identify AI-generated images of her on X. The complaint says each new image caused her a new injury. It seeks damages under Masha's Law for a proposed class of people whose childhood images Grok altered into abuse material. The complaint does not say when the images of her were made or who prompted them. xAI did not respond to requests for comment, and no court has ruled on the allegations.

Core concern High reported severity Lawsuit Ongoing

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 5 sources, 2 underlying accounts · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image tool

South Korea: AI-generated images depicting Girls' Generation's YoonA as pregnant spread online with false claims; her agency SM Entertainment says it has already filed a criminal complaint

SM Entertainment said on 28 September 2026 that illegal AI-generated images synthesising the likeness of YoonA (Im Yoon-ah), singer and actor of Girls' Generation, and false claims built on them had been made and spread on social media and online communities. Korean outlets describe images showing her apparently pregnant with a man placing a hand on her belly (his face blurred, per Star News). The agency said it had collected evidence from fan reports to its KWANGYA 119 channel and monitoring, had already filed a criminal complaint, and would respond without leniency or settlement, warning that making, posting or re-sharing the images could breach Korean defamation, portrait-rights and sexual-crime (false video) provisions.

Core concern Low reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 3 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownUnited StatesUnidentified image and video tool

Louisiana warrant alleges AI sexual-image abuse of a woman

A Louisiana arrest warrant alleges that a man used AI to create sexual images and a video depicting a woman without her consent. She provided evidence to investigators. A felony charge was sought and the accusations had not been tried at review.

Core concern Medium reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 29/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image tool

Chinese police open investigation after allegations of AI sexual-image abuse

Modern Express reported online allegations that a woman used AI to make and circulate sexual images of another woman. Police confirmed that a report had been made and an investigation opened. AI generation and detention were not confirmed by police.

Core concern Medium reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 28/09/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool

Sonbhadra (Uttar Pradesh): police say a retired official was pressured into transferring about Rs 2.36 crore over one to one-and-a-half months by extortionists who posed as judicial and government officials and used AI-made fake nude images to threaten him; three arrested after a bank manager's alert (September 2026)

Sonbhadra police say a retired official in Uttar Pradesh transferred about Rs 2.36 crore into accounts named by extortionists, including money raised through a loan, before a State Bank of India manager noticed the repeated transfers on 22 September 2026 and alerted the cyber crime police station. At a press briefing on 25 September the superintendent of police said the fraudsters had frightened the man by invoking the higher judiciary and senior government officials (a so-called digital arrest) and had used AI to create fake obscene or nude images to blackmail him with threats of defamation and harm to his family (Times of India, Amar Ujala, ETV Bharat, Newstrack). Police froze about Rs 75 lakh, registered an FIR and arrested three people, including the alleged organiser; the outlets relay one police account, and they describe the AI element differently (images of the victim, or images sent to him during a WhatsApp chat with someone posing as a woman).

Core concern High reported severity Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 27/09/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified video tool

Bhubaneswar (Odisha): the Biju Janata Dal files a police complaint and holds a sit-in at Capital police station alleging that a social-media account is circulating obscene AI deepfake videos of three of its women leaders (26 September 2026)

On 26 September 2026 the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) staged a dharna at Capital police station in Bhubaneswar and lodged a complaint alleging that an account named 'Bana Bichhuati' was circulating obscene and objectionable AI-generated deepfake videos of three of the party's women leaders on social media to malign them (Kalinga TV; KNews Odisha). The party asked police to register a case, obtain the account's IP address and device details from Meta, identify and arrest those responsible, and have the videos removed. The reports relay the party's allegations; Kalinga TV notes that the identity of whoever runs the account has not been independently established, and no police response is reported.

Core concern Medium reported severity Media Coverage

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 27/09/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified video tool

Family alleges AI sexual-video abuse and online impersonation of a student in India

A family in India alleges that someone impersonated a teenage student online, made a sexual video from her photograph using AI, circulated it and threatened the family. Police opened an investigation. The AI claim comes from the complaint.

Core concern High reported severity Involving minors Investigation Opened

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 4 sources · Added 26/09/2026

Event date unknownIndiaUnidentified image tool

Delhi: a 22-year-old engineering graduate was arrested for turning a college acquaintance's private social-media photographs into AI-generated obscene images uploaded to anonymous Discord servers, and for reposting more explicit AI-generated images and videos that other users made; the complainant also reported threatening messages from anonymous accounts

Delhi Police announced on Wednesday 9 September 2026 the arrest of a 22-year-old BTech graduate from East Punjabi Bagh after a 22-year-old woman complained to the Cyber Police Station in North Delhi that unknown persons had created and circulated AI-generated obscene photographs and videos using her facial images. She had received messages from anonymous Instagram accounts telling her that morphed photographs and videos of her were being circulated on Discord servers; she also alleged that fake Instagram accounts were posting the material and that threatening messages were being sent to her to humiliate and harass her. Police traced linked Instagram, Discord and Gmail accounts to the accused, who they say obtained her photographs from her private account, used AI image-generation and editing tools to create the images, uploaded them to anonymous Discord servers and later reposted more explicit AI-generated images and videos made by other users. Police say he told them he knew her from college and had developed personal resentment after repeated insults. A mobile phone and two SIM cards were recovered; investigation continues. The period over which the material circulated is not stated.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 20/09/2026

Event date unknownEvent location unknownUnidentified image and video tool

New Hampshire police allege AI sexual-image abuse and stalking

New Hampshire police allege that a man stalked a person and used AI tools to create and share sexual images of that person without consent. Charges were brought and the allegations had not been tried at review. The people involved are unnamed here.

Core concern High reported severity Criminal Charges

AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 2 sources, 1 underlying account · Added 13/01/2026

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: 10/10/2026. Dataset available under CC BY 4.0.