Microsoft Copilot falsely accuses journalist of crimes he reported
Microsoft's Bing Copilot repeatedly generated false accusations against German journalist Martin Bernklau, claiming he was a child abuser, psychiatric escapee, and widow fraudster—crimes he had actually reported on as a court reporter. Despite Microsoft promising to remove the false content and legal demands from Bernklau's lawyer, the misinformation has reappeared multiple times over three months.
What happened
When journalist Martin Bernklau asked Microsoft Bing Copilot about himself, the AI chatbot falsely described him as a child abuser, an escapee from a psychiatric institution, and a fraudster who preys on widows. The AI had confused Bernklau, who reported on criminal cases as a court reporter in the Tübingen area, with the accused parties in those cases.
Bernklau sent a cease-and-desist demand to Microsoft through his lawyer. After the Free State of Bavaria's data protection officer contacted Microsoft, the false content was briefly removed, but reappeared within days. Bernklau reported that the misinformation has persisted and changed daily or hourly over three months.
Reported impact
Bernklau described the false accusations as traumatizing, experiencing 'a mixture of shock, horror, and disbelieving laughter.' He hesitated to go public because doing so would spread the slander further, but pursued the matter as a last resort after legal options failed.
Copilot provided Bernklau's full address, telephone number, and routing directions alongside the false accusations. Bernklau stated the problem affects other journalists, legal professionals, and anyone whose name appears on the internet, and demonstrated that a criminal judge he knew had similarly been misidentified by the system.
Index analysis
The AI system confused a journalist reporting on criminal cases with the defendants in those cases. Copilot appears to have linked Bernklau to crimes mentioned on his culture blog, including a play about mass murderer Fritz Haarmann, misidentifying him as the play's author.
Governance controls
Bernklau filed a criminal complaint, which was rejected twice by the public prosecutor's office. The Free State of Bavaria's data protection officer contacted Microsoft and achieved temporary removal of the false content, but without lasting effect.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.