Stanford Professor Accused of Using AI to Create Fake Citations in Deepfake Law Defense
Attorneys challenging Minnesota's anti-deepfake law allege that Stanford professor Jeff Hancock, who submitted an expert declaration defending the law, used AI to generate false academic citations that do not exist in any database. The discovery raises concerns about AI hallucination in legal proceedings and the credibility of expert testimony on AI-related matters.
What happened
Jeff Hancock, founding director of the Stanford Social Media Lab, submitted a 12-page expert declaration supporting Minnesota's anti-deepfake law at the request of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison. Opposing counsel representing a conservative YouTuber and Republican state Rep. Mary Franson discovered that multiple academic sources cited in the declaration appear not to exist.
Reported impact
Plaintiffs' attorneys claim the declaration cited a study titled 'The Influence of Deepfake Videos on Political Attitudes and Behavior' purportedly published in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics in 2023, but the article cannot be found in the journal or academic databases. Libertarian law professor Eugene Volokh also identified another cited study, 'Deepfakes and the Illusion of Authenticity: Cognitive Processes Behind Misinformation Acceptance,' as appearing not to exist.
Index analysis
Opposing attorneys suggest the false citations bear hallmarks of an AI 'hallucination' likely generated by a large language model such as ChatGPT, questioning how this ended up in Hancock's declaration. The incident is particularly concerning given Hancock's expertise in technology and misinformation, and has sparked debate about the appropriate use of AI in legal proceedings.
Governance controls
The false citations emerged during litigation challenging Minnesota's anti-deepfake law on First Amendment grounds, raising questions about expert testimony standards in cases involving AI-generated content.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.