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Eventbrite algorithm recommended illegal opioid sales to addiction recovery seekers

Eventbrite's recommendation algorithm promoted thousands of listings selling illegal prescription drugs like oxycodone and Xanax alongside addiction recovery events. The listings, which appeared in search results and related events, directed users to unlicensed online pharmacies. Eventbrite acknowledged the issue and removed the listings after WIRED alerted them.

Date it happened
2024-05-21
Organisation involved
Eventbrite
Product, system or model
Eventbrite recommendation algorithm
Where this came from
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Attribution

This incident was imported from wired.com. Our additions to it — the structured fields, the translation, the checks against other reports — are published under the same licence.

This is a record of what was reported, not a finding that anyone broke the law. If it names your organisation and you believe it is wrong, the corrections process is free and open to everyone.