Case ai-bots-flood-uk-vape-consultationDeepfake fraudUnited Kingdom
AI bots flood 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban
A study in Tobacco Control, reported by the Guardian on Oct 27, 2026, found that 90,835 of 118,756 responses to the UK government's 2023 tobacco and vapes consultation were automated, AI-generated submissions, almost all answering one question and opposing the disposable vapes ban. The bots were apparently trying to block the ban. The health department screened them out, and the ban took effect on 1 June 2025. The party behind the bots is unidentified.
MediumAttack using AIStatus: bot responses excluded from policy-making; ban took effect 1 June 2025; operator unidentifiedVerified case file
Open in the interactive mapCite this case
- Reported
- Oct 27, 2026
- Location
- United Kingdom
- Target
- UK government consultation on tobacco and vapes bill
- Severity
- Medium
- Verification
- Reported by credible press or researchers
- Triggered by
- Unknown
- Actor type
- Unknown
- Sector
- Government & public sector
- Reported loss
- None reported
- CVE
- None
What happened
A study in Tobacco Control, reported by the Guardian on Oct 27, 2026, found that 90,835 of 118,756 responses to the UK government's 2023 tobacco and vapes consultation were automated, AI-generated submissions, almost all answering one question and opposing the disposable vapes ban. The bots were apparently trying to block the ban. The health department screened them out, and the ban took effect on 1 June 2025. The party behind the bots is unidentified.
Impact: Roughly three-quarters of consultation responses were machine-generated and excluded; no effect on the final policy.
Who triggered it
Actor: Unknown
Attribution: The summary does not name who ran the bots.
Motive: To stop the UK ban on disposable vapes by distorting public consultation results.
How it happened
Attack vector: AI bots submitting mass fake responses to a public government consultation.
Root cause: Open public consultation channel without effective safeguards against automated, AI-generated submissions.
Timeline
- Reported by AI Incident Database
Response
Unknown
Current status: bot responses excluded from policy-making; ban took effect 1 June 2025; operator unidentified
Research warnings this case matches
- Seen in real incidents AI-made fakes fuel fraud and extortion · International AI Safety Report
- Seen in real incidents Malicious actors and misuse · MIT AI Risk Repository
Compared with published AI risk research from several institutes on the Research vs reality page.
Sources (open in a new tab)
- AI Incident Database theguardian.com
- Tobacco Control (BMJ) tobaccocontrol.bmj.com
Cite this case
AI bots flood 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban. AI Threat Watch, case ai-bots-flood-uk-vape-consultation, Oct 27, 2026. https://aithreat.io/cases/ai-bots-flood-uk-vape-consultation/
Permanent link: https://aithreat.io/cases/ai-bots-flood-uk-vape-consultation/
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