Now under public scrutiny, Apple’s artificially intelligent notification service mistakenly pushed out a fake news warning attributed to the BBC over iPhones, which stated the suspect in the UnitedHealthcare CEO killing, Luigi Mangione, had taken his own life.
Being broadcast on millions of users’ iPhones, the network was forced to file its formal complaint with Apple: “This has the potential for immense reputational damage to both the BBC and the Corporation.”.
The controversy arose from Apple’s newly launched Apple Intelligence service, which aggregates news alerts using artificial intelligence. This feature is only available on select iPhones running on iOS 18.1 or later (iPhone 16 series, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 15 Pro Max). It is also available on some iPads and Macs.
Among its alerts was a fabricated one that the BBC reported Luigi Mangione’s suicide. Mangione, 26, is currently being held in Pennsylvania and will be extradited to New York for trial after his arrest for the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The misleading alert, sent to BBC subscribers, said, “Luigi Mangione shoots himself.”
The BBC replied promptly. Its spokesperson said, “BBC News is the most trusted news media in the world,” and “it is vital for us that our audiences are able to rely on any information or journalism that is published under our name and includes notifications.” The broadcaster reported that it had made a formal complaint to Apple over its mishap. It insists that tighter checks should be instituted to prevent such blunders from happening again.
