Wired: Meta Ran a Covert 'Cannes' Operation Sending Crisis Prompts to Rival AI Chatbots via Fake Teen Accounts
Wired (via roundup)·medium signal
Wired reported this week that Meta hired hundreds of contractors (via Covalen) to create fake accounts listed as under-18 and systematically send crisis prompts — suicide, self-harm, sex, drugs, eating disorders — to rival chatbots including ChatGPT, Gemini, and Character.AI. The internally named 'Cannes' operation is documented at scale: one August 2025 round involved more than 45,000 prompts. A significant AI-safety and competitive-conduct story.