AI chatbots including Perplexity and Grok spread false information about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with some claiming he was still alive despite being shot and killed, while others cited fabricated evidence and misidentified suspects.
Following the September 10, 2025 assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, AI chatbots became sources of misinformation rather than reliable fact-checkers. The X account of AI chatbot Perplexity wrote on September 11 that 'It appears the original tweet contains some misinformation, as Charlie Kirk is still alive,' despite Kirk being pronounced dead. Elon Musk's chatbot Grok similarly claimed that video footage of Kirk being shot was 'edited or staged satire' and that Kirk was 'fine and active as ever.' Additionally, pro-Kremlin sources cited a Google AI-generated news summary falsely stating that Kirk was added to the Ukrainian Myrotvorets database in 2024. When rumors spread falsely identifying Michael Mallinson as the suspect, Grok responded that 'Based on verified reports from CNN, NYT, and Fox News, Michael Mallinson is the alleged suspect,' though none of these outlets had actually reported this. Mallinson, a 77-year-old retired banker, was actually in Toronto at the time of the shooting. The incident demonstrates how AI chatbots confidently provide inaccurate information during breaking news situations, amplifying confusion rather than providing clarity.
Domain classification, causal taxonomy, severity scores, and national security assessments were LLM-classified and may contain errors.
AI systems that inadvertently generate or spread incorrect or deceptive information, which can lead to inaccurate beliefs in users and undermine their autonomy. Humans that make decisions based on false beliefs can experience physical, emotional or material harms
AI system
Due to a decision or action made by an AI system
Unintentional
Due to an unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Post-deployment
Occurring after the AI model has been trained and deployed