One signal

Update

What changed

The study’s authors, Dr Nason Maani of Edinburgh and Professor Anna Gilmore of Bath, describe the case as an apparent first documented instance of large-scale automated interference in a formal public-health consultation. The research was published in the journal Tobacco Control, according to Resultsense.

The submissions were concentrated on a single question opposing the disposable-vapes ban. Azzurra Moores of Demos warned that measures designed to deter automated responses can also discourage genuine participants, while AI may make fabricated submissions harder to distinguish from real ones.

Maani warned that future campaigns could be harder to detect, adding that what officials cannot catch may go unseen.

Sources and evidence

• Bots filed 76% of responses to UK vapes ban consultation – Resultsense: Resultsense reports that researchers described the vape-consultation submissions as an apparent first documented instance of large-scale automated interference in a formal public-health consultation. It reports that almost all targeted one question opposing the disposable-vapes ban, and that Demos warned countermeasures could deter genuine respondents as AI makes fabricated responses harder to identify. Maani warned future campaigns may be harder to detect.

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