OpenAI faces backlash after falsely accusing Norwegian man of murder

In Norway, a privacy group named Noyb filed a complaint against OpenAI on March 20, 2025, due to its chatbot, ChatGPT, generating defamatory content about a Norwegian man, Arve Hjalmar Holmen. The complaint arose when Holmen sought to see what information the AI had on him and was shocked to find it wrongfully stated that he was a convicted murderer, having killed two of his children and attempted to kill a third. The chatbot’s output not only included this fabricated narrative but also real details from Holmen’s personal life. Noyb expressed concerns regarding the potentially damaging effects of AI-generated misinformation, noting that such inaccuracies could irreparably harm an individual’s reputation. This incident is characterized as a result of ChatGPT’s tendency to 'hallucinate' facts, which has occurred multiple times in the AI's past operations. In this instance, the situation raised serious questions about the accuracy of the information being generated by AI systems, hoping for regulatory bodies to take corrective action. Noyb's complaints highlight the broader concern regarding data accuracy in AI technologies, especially in the context of the European Union's GDPR regulations, which require an organization's management of personal data to be precise. They urged for not just the retracting of the false statement but also improvements in the algorithms used by these systems to eliminate such inaccuracies in the future. While OpenAI has stated the measures they are implementing to enhance their chatbot's reliability, the false information about Holmen continues to exist in the system despite rectifications made to its current functionality. The case represents a growing challenge for generative AI systems and serves as a cautionary tale illustrating the potential fallout when technology misrepresents real individuals effectively, warning that its implications on reputations can be significant.