Huge swarm of AI bots flooded vape ban consultation to influence outcome, study finds
AI bots flooded a UK vape ban consultation with over 90,000 fraudulent responses, aiming to influence the outcome.Summary
A new study published in Tobacco Control reveals that AI bots generated more than three-quarters of the responses to the UK government's 2023 consultation on disposable vapes and tobacco. Of 118,756 total responses, 90,835 were identified as fraudulent and excluded by the Department of Health and Social Care. The bot responses consisted solely of multiple-choice selections, with nearly all opposing restrictions on disposable vape sales and reporting they learned of the consultation via social media. Researchers Dr Nason Maani and Prof Anna Gilmore note this is likely the first documented instance of large-scale automated interference in a UK health policy consultation. Once bot responses were excluded, 79.6% of valid respondents supported restrictions—the reverse of the unfiltered dataset. The study suggests a coordinated campaign consistent with tobacco industry tactics, and experts warn that as bots grow more sophisticated and public consultations expand, detection and governance safeguards are essential to protect democratic processes and public health policymaking.
(Source：The Independent)
