A Stanford University “misinformation expert” has been accused of using artificial intelligence (AI) to craft testimony later used by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in a politically-charged case.

Jeff Hancock, a professor of communications and founder of the vaunted school’s Social Media Lab, provided an expert declaration in a case involving a satirical conservative YouTuber named Christopher Kohls. The court case is about Minnesota’s recent ban on political deepfakes, which the plaintiffs argue is an attack on free speech.

Hancock’s testimony was submitted to the court by Ellison, who is arguing in favor of the law. Hancock is “well-known for his research on how people use deception with technology, from sending texts and emails to detecting fake online reviews,” according to Stanford’s website.

But the plaintiff’s lawyers have asked the Minnesota federal judge hearing the case to dismiss the testimony, charging that Hancock cited a fake study.

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

“[The] Declaration of Prof. Jeff Hancock cites a study that does not exist,” lawyers argued in a recent 36-page memo. “No article by the title exists.”

The “study” was called “The Influence of Deepfake Videos on Political Attitudes and Behavior” and was purportedly published in the Journal of Information Technology & Politics. The Nov. 16 filing notes that the journal is authentic, but had never published a study by that name.

“The publication exists, but the cited pages belong to unrelated articles,” the lawyers argued. “Likely, the study was a ‘hallucination’ generated by an AI large language model like ChatGPT.”

“Plaintiffs do not know how this hallucination wound up in Hancock’s declaration, but it calls the entire document into question, especially when much of the commentary contains no methodology or analytic logic whatsoever.”

The document also calls out Ellison, arguing that “the conclusions that Ellison most relies on have no methodology behind them and consist entirely of expert say-so.”

“Hancock could have cited a real study similar to the proposition in paragraph 21,” the memo states. “But the existence of a fictional citation Hancock (or his assistants) didn’t even bother to click calls into question the quality and veracity of the entire declaration.”

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Microsoft Bing Chat and ChatGPT AI chat applications are seen on a mobile device in this photo illustration in Warsaw, Poland, on July 21, 2023.  (Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The memorandum also doubles down on the claim that the citation is bogus, noting the multiple searches lawyers went through to try to locate the study.

“The title of the alleged article, and even a snippet of it, does not appear on anywhere on the internet as indexed by Google and Bing, the most commonly-used search engines,” the document states. “Searching Google Scholar, a specialized search engine for academic papers and patent publications, reveals no articles matching the description of the citation authored by ‘Hwang’ [the purported author] that includes the term ‘deepfake.’”

“Perhaps this was simply a copy-paste error? It’s not,” the filing later flatly states. “The article doesn’t exist.”

The attorneys concluded that, if the declaration were partially fabricated, it is entirely unreliable and should be dismissed from court consideration.

“The declaration of Prof. Hancock should be excluded in its entirety because at least some of it is based on fabricated material likely generated by an AI model, which calls into question its conclusory assertions,” the document concluded. “The court may inquire into the source of the fabrication and additional action may be warranted.”

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison arrives to speak on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. (Getty Images)

Fox News Digital reached out to Ellison, Hancock and Stanford University for comment.

Instead of sending government relations executives or lobbyists, Cook would appeal to Trump directly through phone calls and meals, said people familiar with the interactions.

Cook then developed a meeting strategy with Trump where he would bring one data point to home in on a single issue in a meeting, the people said. That approach helped keep the meetings from spiraling in too many directions.

Scammers keep coming up with new and, honestly, pretty clever ways to trick people. They socially engineer their phishing emails and messages so well that even the most tech-savvy users have to think twice. One example is the “Apple ID Suspended” phishing scam. 

You might have seen it before since it’s been going around for the past few years. 

Here’s how it works: You get an email from what looks like Apple, saying your Apple ID has been suspended. 

The sender’s name shows “Apple,” but the email is actually from a scammer trying to get you to click on a malicious link.

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What you need to know

The Apple ID phishing emails have come a long way in recent years. They used to be plain text, had no Apple branding and didn’t even greet or address the user. Now, though, they look almost identical to genuine Apple emails. These fraudulent emails claim your Apple ID has been suspended to trick you into giving up login credentials or other sensitive information. They come complete with an Apple logo, show “Apple ID” as the sender name and have a big blue button that says “Go to Apple ID.”

WHAT IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI)?

The email pretends to be from Apple Support, claiming your access has been suspended due to “unusual activity” or missing or invalid information. It says you can’t access your account or Apple services until you verify your identity. There’s usually a link that leads to a fake Apple site, asking you to enter your username, password and additional personal details to reactivate your account. To add urgency, it even warns that if you don’t verify your Apple ID within 24 hours, it will be permanently blocked.

A person checking emails  (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Watch out for red flags

If you’re not paying attention, it’s easy to get tricked into clicking the link in a scam like this. But if you’re keeping an eye out, there are plenty of red flags. I’ve added a sample phishing email below, and you’ll spot the issues immediately. For one, it’s not actually from Apple; the email domain is @uaepass.ae, which has nothing to do with Apple. Any legit Apple email will end with “@email.apple.com,” so anything else is an instant red flag.

Then there’s the awful grammar and punctuation. A company worth $3.37 trillion can definitely afford a decent content writer. You know someone at Apple is not going to mix up past and present tense like it’s their first time writing an email.

Take this gem: “Therefore we need to re-verify your account data. if you did not verify your account within 48 hour, your account will be permanently locked, go to Apple ID and verify as soon as possible.” It reads like someone smashed a bunch of words together and called it a day. I’m not trying to give a grammar lesson here, but you get the point.

“Apple ID Suspended” phishing email  (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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6 ways to protect yourself from Apple ID phishing scams

1. Check the email address: Always verify the sender’s email address. Any legitimate email from Apple will come from a domain ending in “@email.apple.com.” If it’s anything else, like @uaepass.ae, it’s a scam.

2. Look for spelling and grammar mistakes: Phishing emails often have poor grammar and punctuation. If the message sounds odd or looks like it was written by someone who doesn’t know how to write well, be suspicious.

3. Don’t click on suspicious links: If the email asks you to click a link, don’t do it right away. Hover over the link to see the actual URL. If it doesn’t look like an official Apple website (or any site you trust), don’t click it.

The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe. Get my picks for the best 2024 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android and iOS devices.

4. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): This adds an extra layer of protection to your Apple ID. Even if a scammer gets your password, they won’t be able to log in without the second authentication step.

5. Verify directly with Apple: If you’re ever unsure about an email or message, go directly to Apple’s official website or contact their support team. Don’t use any contact info provided in a suspicious email.

6. Invest in data removal services: Scammers often use personal information that’s readily available online to craft more convincing phishing attempts. By investing in data removal services, you can reduce the amount of personal data that’s exposed on the web, making it harder for scammers to target you effectively.

While no service promises to remove all your data from the internet, having a removal service is great if you want to constantly monitor and automate the process of removing your information from hundreds of sites continuously over a longer period of time. Check out my top picks for data removal services here. 

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Scammers are getting pretty clever, but you don’t have to fall for their tricks. By staying alert and keeping an eye out for those red flags, you can easily spot these phishing attempts before they catch you off guard. Always double-check the sender’s email address, watch for bad grammar and don’t click on any suspicious links. If something feels off, don’t hesitate to go directly to Apple’s official website or contact their support team.

Do you think companies like Apple are doing enough to protect users from scams? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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