He posted news about the train wreck
Chinese police have arrested a man who used the popular ChatGPT chatbot to create fake news and spread it online. Local media called it the first criminal case in the country involving an AI-powered chatbot.
The ChatGPT chatbot is banned in China, although Internet users can use a VPN to access it. The suspect is reported to have used ChatGPT to create a fake news story about the train derailment, which he then posted online for profit. The article got about 15,000 views.
Train accidents have been a sticky topic in China since 2011, when residents protested why state media failed to provide timely information about a bullet train collision in the city of Wenzhou that killed 40 people
China arrests first man for fake news created using ChatGPT
Gansu authorities said the suspect, surnamed Hong, was interrogated on May 5 in Dongguan, southern Guangdong province.
“Hong used state-of-the-art technology to fabricate false information by spreading it on the Internet, whereby it became widespread,” the Gansu police said in a statement. “He planned to provoke trouble.”
The police do not specify how the use of ChatGPT was proven. Perhaps the suspect himself told about this during interrogation.
Police confirmed that this is the first arrest since China’s Cyberspace Authority passed new rules in January to restrict the use of deepfakes. State broadcaster CGTN said it was the first arrest in the country of a man accused of using ChatGPT to fabricate and spread fake news.
The new legislation prohibits users from creating fake content on topics that are heavily censored on the Chinese Internet.
