Confabulation

Classification

Domain

3. Misinformation

Subdomain

3.1 False or misleading information

Causal entity

AI

Intent

Unintentional

Timing

Post-deployment

Subdomain definition: AI systems that inadvertently generate or spread incorrect or deceptive information, which can lead to inaccurate beliefs in users and undermine their autonomy. Humans that make decisions based on false beliefs can experience physical, emotional or material harms

Real-world incidents in this subdomain

• 12 May 2026Nonfiction Book 'The Future of Truth' Reportedly Included AI-Generated and Misattributed Quotations
• 6 May 2026Claude Console Reportedly Generated Phantom Legal Quotations in Trump Layoffs Court Filing
• 21 Apr 2026Purportedly AI-Enhanced Images of Iranian Women Protesters Were Reportedly Spread With Unverified Execution Claims
• 10 Apr 2026South Africa Draft National AI Policy Reportedly Included Fictitious References Believed to Be AI Hallucinations
• 8 Apr 2026Purportedly AI-Generated Image Reportedly Misled Daejeon Authorities Searching for Escaped Wolf Neukgu
• 17 Mar 2026Gemini and Grok Reportedly Misidentified Authentic Minab School-Strike Graveyard Photo as Unrelated Disaster Imagery

How other frameworks describe this risk

• Pursuing Consistent Context

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Knowledge Gaps

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Hallucinations

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Faithfulness Errors

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Defective Decoding Process

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Untruthful Content

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Factuality Errors

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

• Noisy Training Data

  Risk Taxonomy, Mitigation, and Assessment Benchmarks of Large Language Model Systems (Cui2024)

Other entries from NIST2024

• CBRN Information or Capabilities Risk Category · 4.2
• CBRN Information or Capabilities Additional evidence
• CBRN Information or Capabilities Additional evidence
• Confabulation Additional evidence
• Confabulation Additional evidence
• Dangerous, Violent or Hateful Content Risk Category · 1.2
• Dangerous, Violent or Hateful Content Additional evidence
• Dangerous, Violent or Hateful Content Additional evidence
• Data Privacy Risk Category · 2.1
• Data Privacy Additional evidence
• Data Privacy Additional evidence
• Environmental Impacts Risk Category · 6.6