Stanford misinformation expert accused of using AI to fabricate court statement

**Summary of the Stanford Misinformation Expert Accused of Using AI to Fabricate Court Statement** **Key Events:** - Stanford Communication Professor Jeff Hancock, an expert on technology and misinformation, filed a 12-page declaration in a Minnesota court case in November 2023. - Hancock's declaration, which supported a law criminalizing the use of deepfakes in elections, contained 15 citations, two of which could not be verified. - The plaintiffs, Republican Minnesota State Representative Mary Franson and conservative social media satirist Christopher Kohls, argued that the law is unconstitutional, limiting free speech. - Hancock's declaration was made under penalty of perjury, stating that all information was "true and correct." - Franson and Kohls' attorney, Frank Berdnarz, pointed out the errors in Hancock's declaration, suggesting that at least one citation might be an AI-generated "hallucination." - The attorney requested that the judge exclude Hancock's declaration from consideration in the case. - The Daily and other news outlets have been unable to locate the cited articles in academic journals or via their digital object identifiers. **Key People:** - **Jeff Hancock**: Stanford Communication Professor and founding director of Stanford’s Social Media Lab. Filed the declaration in support of the Minnesota law. - **Mary Franson**: Republican Minnesota State Representative, one of the plaintiffs challenging the law. - **Christopher Kohls (Mr. Reagan)**: Conservative social media satirist, another plaintiff challenging the law. - **Frank Berdnarz**: Attorney representing Franson and Kohls, who highlighted the issues with Hancock's citations. - **Keith Ellison**: Minnesota Attorney General, the defendant in the case, on whose behalf Hancock submitted his declaration. - **Gavin Newsom**: Governor of California, who signed two bills into law in September 2023, one of which Kohls previously challenged. **Key Locations:** - **Stanford University**: Home to Jeff Hancock and the Social Media Lab. - **Minnesota**: Location of the court case where the 2023 law criminalizing the use of deepfakes in elections is being challenged. - **California**: State where Kohls previously challenged two similar bills. **Key Time Elements:** - **November 2023**: Hancock filed the declaration in the Minnesota court case. - **2024**: Hancock appeared in a Netflix documentary featuring Bill Gates, discussing the future of AI. - **September 2023**: Governor Gavin Newsom signed two California bills into law that Kohls challenged. **Abstract:** Stanford Communication Professor Jeff Hancock, a recognized expert on technology and misinformation, has found himself at the center of a controversy after being accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to fabricate academic citations in a court declaration. Hancock, the founding director of Stanford’s Social Media Lab, submitted a 12-page declaration in a Minnesota court case in November 2023, defending a state law that criminalizes the use of deepfakes to influence elections. The declaration, which Hancock made under penalty of perjury, included 15 citations, two of which have been deemed unverifiable by the plaintiffs and their attorney, Frank Berdnarz. The plaintiffs, Republican Minnesota State Representative Mary Franson and conservative social media satirist Christopher Kohls, argue that the law is an unconstitutional restriction on free speech. Hancock's declaration, for which he was compensated at a government rate of $600 per hour, claimed that deepfakes, which are AI-generated media that alter a person's likeness or voice, can significantly enhance the persuasiveness of misinformation and are difficult to fact-check using traditional methods. Berdnarz, in a filing on November 16, 2023, highlighted the errors in Hancock's declaration, suggesting that the missing citations may be AI-generated "hallucinations." He argued that the presence of fictional citations undermines the credibility and quality of the entire declaration and called for its exclusion from the judge's consideration in the case. Hancock, who currently teaches courses on communication and technology at Stanford, including "Introduction to Communication" and "Language and Technology," has also been featured in a 2024 Netflix documentary with Bill Gates, discussing the future of AI. He is scheduled to teach a course on deception and communication technology, "Truth, Trust, and Tech," in the spring. Christopher Kohls, known by his social media moniker Mr. Reagan, has a history of challenging similar laws. Previously, he contested the constitutionality of two California bills signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2023. These bills, AB 2655 and AB 2839, require online platforms to block certain deceptive media content related to elections and prohibit the distribution of advertising content with such media. Newsom specifically cited a viral video by Kohls that manipulated Kamala Harris' voice in a campaign ad as illegal. The controversy surrounding Hancock's declaration has raised questions about the integrity of expert testimony in legal proceedings and the reliability of AI-generated content. The Daily and other news outlets have been unable to locate the two cited academic journal articles, either via their reported digital object identifiers or in the archives of their reported journals. Hancock has not yet responded to requests for comment on the matter. This case highlights the growing challenges and ethical considerations in the use of AI in academic and legal contexts, particularly in the realm of misinformation and deepfakes. The credibility of Hancock's testimony, and by extension, the support for the Minnesota law, is now under scrutiny, potentially impacting the broader discussion on the regulation of deepfakes and their role in influencing public opinion and elections.