Grok and Google Lens AI overviews falsely claim fake images show Huntingdon train attack
Grok and Google Lens AI overviews have been claiming that AI-generated images of the Huntingdon train attack are real. Grok told users one image was a genuine photo, while Google Lens claimed it was a still from a BBC news report. The AI systems also linked unrelated videos to the attack. Full Fact contacted Google, which told users they can provide feedback on errors. xAI has not yet responded.
- Company involved
- xAI and Google
- AI system involved
- Grok and Google Lens AI overviews
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Civil Society Demands Halt to AI Facial Recognition Tracking System by South Korean Government
South Korea's Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Science and ICT are building an AI identification and tracking system using facial recognition for airport immigration. It was revealed that over 170 million facial photos of citizens and foreigners were transferred to private companies for AI training without proper legal basis. Civil society groups held a press conference on November 9, 2021, condemning the project as an unprecedented violation of information human rights and demanding its immediate halt. They argue the data transfer violates the Personal Information Protection Act and have requested a meeting with the Minister of Justice.
- Company involved
- Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Science and ICT
- AI system involved
- AI Identification and Tracking System
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Ukraine defence ministry uses Clearview AI facial recognition to identify dead and Russian assailants
Ukraine's defence ministry has started using Clearview AI's facial recognition technology to identify Russian assailants and the dead, according to reports. Clearview provided free access to its system, which holds over 10 billion images including from Russian social media. Critics warn that the technology could misidentify people at checkpoints and in battle, potentially harming civilians. Clearview says it should not be used as the sole source of identification.
- Company involved
- Ukraine's Ministry of Defense
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Spamouflage Operation Used AI-Generated Deepfake Videos for Pro-Chinese Influence
In late 2022, Graphika observed the pro-Chinese influence operation Spamouflage promoting videos featuring AI-generated fictitious people. The footage was created using a commercial AI video platform from a UK company. The videos were low-quality and received fewer than 300 views, but Graphika warns that such tools could enable more convincing deception at scale.
- Company involved
- Spamouflage
5 source articles · read the reporting →
West New York Police's use of facial recognition led to wrongful arrest and four-year detention
Francisco Arteaga was charged with armed robbery in 2019 after facial recognition technology used by West New York police matched his mugshot to surveillance footage. He denied involvement and had an alibi, but was detained for nearly four years. A state appellate court ruled in 2023 that he was entitled to information about the technology, but prosecutors said they could not provide it because the match was made by the NYPD. Arteaga ultimately pleaded guilty to secure his release, and advocates say the case highlights the lack of transparency and regulation around police use of facial recognition.
- Company involved
- West New York Police Department
1 source article · read the reporting →
ACLU test finds Rekognition falsely matches 27 New England athletes to mugshots
The ACLU of Massachusetts conducted a test using Amazon's Rekognition facial recognition technology, comparing headshots of 188 New England professional athletes to a database of 20,000 arrest photos. The software falsely matched 27 athletes, including Patriots safety Duron Harmon. The ACLU is calling for a moratorium on government use of face surveillance technology.
- Company involved
- ACLU of Massachusetts
- AI system involved
- Rekognition
8 source articles · read the reporting →
OpenAI's Sora 2 generates false videos in 80% of tests
NewsGuard tested OpenAI's Sora 2 text-to-video tool and found it generated realistic videos advancing false claims 80% of the time when prompted. The videos included fabricated news reports about election fraud, immigration, and corporate announcements. Some videos went viral on social media, being mistaken for authentic footage. OpenAI stated it takes action against misuse.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- Sora 2
3 source articles · read the reporting →
MIT researchers used YouTube videos to train Speech2Face without consent
MIT researchers used YouTube videos, including one of Nick Sullivan, to train a model called Speech2Face that generates faces from voices. Sullivan discovered his data was used without his consent and expressed surprise. The researchers defended their use of public data, but the incident raised ethical questions about consent in AI research.
- Company involved
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- AI system involved
- Speech2Face
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Swedish police fined for unlawful use of Clearview AI facial recognition
Sweden's data protection authority IMY fined the Swedish Police Authority €250,000 for unlawfully using Clearview AI's facial-recognition app. The police used the app between autumn 2019 and March 2020 without authorisation or a required data protection impact assessment. The IMY ordered the police to ensure Clearview AI deletes the data and to train employees to avoid future breaches.
- Company involved
- Swedish Police Authority
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI
3 source articles · read the reporting →
Workaround compiled Instagram selfies into face-mask facial recognition training set
Workaround, an AI startup, published the COVID19 Mask Image Dataset in April 2020, containing more than 1,200 photographs of people wearing face masks scraped from Instagram without their knowledge or consent. The dataset was intended to help train facial recognition algorithms so they could identify people whose faces are partly covered during the COVID-19 pandemic. The firm's chief executive acknowledged that the people pictured were not asked for permission and were unaware they were included. Facebook said it was investigating and does not allow third parties to use photos in this way without consent.
- Company involved
- Workaround
- AI system involved
- COVID19 Mask Image Dataset
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Macy's sued for using Clearview AI facial recognition without consent
A Chicago woman, Isela Carmean, filed a class-action lawsuit against Macy's, alleging the department store used Clearview AI facial recognition technology to identify customers without their consent, violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. The lawsuit claims Macy's sent customer images from store surveillance to Clearview's database to obtain personal information. Macy's declined to comment on the pending litigation.
- Company involved
- Macy's
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
CivitAI hosts AI models generating non-consensual porn of real people
A 404 Media investigation found that CivitAI, a platform for sharing AI image generation models, hosts numerous models that can produce pornographic images of real people without their consent. These models are trained on images scraped from the internet, and have been downloaded tens of thousands of times, enabling widespread creation of non-consensual sexual content. Sex workers and public figures are particularly affected, with no remediation or recourse reported.
- Company involved
- CivitAI
7 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes face search engine found photos of journalists without consent
The New York Times tested PimEyes, a face search engine, by submitting photos of a dozen employees. The system returned photos of the journalists from various sources, including ones they had never seen, even when faces were obscured. The system also misidentified women journalists as possibly being on adult sites. German authorities are currently investigating PimEyes over privacy concerns.
- Company involved
- PimEyes
- AI system involved
- PimEyes
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI tested facial recognition surveillance cameras with UFT and Rudin
Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that scraped billions of photos from social media, developed a surveillance camera system under the name Insight Camera. The system was tested by the United Federation of Teachers and Rudin Management in New York City. The UFT used it to identify individuals who had made threats and prevent them from entering its offices. Clearview did not respond to requests for comment.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Insight Camera
9 source articles · read the reporting →
FindFace facial recognition app used to out sex workers in Russia
The FindFace facial recognition app is being used by users of the Russian website Dvach to identify porn actresses and sex workers from images and match them to their VKontakte accounts. The users then spam the victims' families and friends with the information, aiming to out them. Several victims complained to FindFace, but the founder stated there was no way to prevent the misuse.
- Company involved
- FindFace
- AI system involved
- FindFace
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Faces of the Riot publishes extracted faces from Parler Capitol riot videos
The website Faces of the Riot used open source facial recognition software to extract and publish over 6,000 faces from Parler videos of the January 6 Capitol riot. The creator, an anonymous college student, aimed to help identify participants in the insurrection. The site has been criticised for privacy violations and potential vigilante misuse. The creator says they are working to remove non-rioter faces.
- Company involved
- Faces of the Riot
- AI system involved
- Faces of the Riot
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Qoves facial assessment tool ranks journalist's attractiveness and suggests procedures
Tate Ryan-Mosley, a journalist at MIT Technology Review, used Qoves Studio's AI facial assessment tool, which automatically scored her face and listed perceived flaws such as smile lines and under-eye bags. The tool recommended skin-care products and paid surgical consultation reports. She also tried Megvii's Face++ beauty-scoring system, which gave her two percentage attractiveness scores. The article raises concerns that such algorithms are inaccurate, biased and not transparently used by social media platforms.
- Company involved
- Qoves Studio
- AI system involved
- Facial Assessment Tool
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Huawei and Megvii tested Uyghur alarm facial recognition system
Huawei and Megvii conducted an interoperability test in 2018 that verified a 'Uyghur alarm' function in Megvii's facial recognition system, according to a confidential report found by IPVM. The system could identify Uyghur minorities and alert police. Huawei denied real-world application and deleted the report after IPVM inquired. Megvii denied targeting ethnic groups. The test report was publicly accessible on Huawei's European website.
- Company involved
- Huawei
- AI system involved
- Megvii Dynamic Face Recognition
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI to pull out of Canada and stop working with RCMP amid privacy investigation
Clearview AI, the US facial recognition company, has agreed to stop offering its services in Canada amid a joint investigation by Canadian privacy regulators. The company's technology, which matches images against billions of photos scraped from the internet, was used by the RCMP and more than 20 other police services across Canada. The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada announced the 'indefinite suspension' of Clearview's contract with the RCMP, its last remaining Canadian client. The investigation into whether the technology breaches Canadian privacy laws will continue.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI
10 source articles · read the reporting →
FTC settles with IntelliVision over deceptive facial recognition claims
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) took action against IntelliVision Technologies Corp. for making false, misleading, or unsubstantiated claims about its AI-powered facial recognition software. The company allegedly claimed its software had one of the highest accuracy rates on the market and was free of gender or racial bias, without supporting evidence. The FTC also alleged that IntelliVision did not train its software on millions of faces as claimed, but on images of approximately 100,000 individuals. Under a proposed consent order, IntelliVision is prohibited from making such misrepresentations without competent and reliable testing.
- Company involved
- IntelliVision Technologies Corp.
- AI system involved
- IntelliVision facial recognition software
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Deep-Live-Cam enables real-time face swapping, raising fraud concerns
A software package called Deep-Live-Cam has gone viral for enabling real-time face swapping on webcams using a single photo. The tool, which is free and open source, allows anyone to impersonate another person's appearance in a video chat, raising concerns about remote deception and fraud. The article notes that similar technology has been used in a $25 million heist in Hong Kong and in audio deepfake scams.
- AI system involved
- Deep-Live-Cam
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Apple's Enhanced Visual Search raises privacy concerns over default data sharing
Apple's iOS 18 update introduced an 'Enhanced Visual Search' feature that automatically shares encrypted photo data with Apple to identify landmarks. The feature is enabled by default, requiring users to manually opt out, which has sparked privacy concerns. Critics argue it should be opt-in, given Apple's usual privacy standards. The article reports on the feature's design and the resulting debate, not on any specific harm to an individual.
- Company involved
- Apple
- AI system involved
- Enhanced Visual Search
5 source articles · read the reporting →
St. Louis police arrest man after facial recognition match without corroboration
Christopher Gatlin was arrested and jailed for an assault on a security guard after police used facial recognition software to identify him from a blurry surveillance image. The lead detective built a case against Gatlin despite the city's policy that AI results are nonscientific and should not be the sole basis for a decision. A witness was steered by officers to select Gatlin from a photo lineup, and the case was later dismissed after more than two years. Gatlin alleges wrongful arrest and has filed a lawsuit.
- Company involved
- St. Louis County Police Department
- AI system involved
- Unnamed facial recognition program
4 source articles · read the reporting →
PimEyes facial recognition used to unmask porn actors and Facebook friends
A man used the facial recognition site PimEyes to identify porn actors and women from his Facebook friends by uploading their photos and finding matching images online. The system had no controls to prevent searching for others without consent. The article alleges that this invasion of privacy could lead to discrimination and harassment, and that PimEyes offered a paid service to remove photos but did not prevent the searches.
- Company involved
- PimEyes
- AI system involved
- PimEyes
3 source articles · read the reporting →
