# AI bots flooded a 2023 UK consultation on disposable vapes ban with 76% fake responses

> Original title: AI bots flooded 2023 UK government consultation on disposable vapes ban

- Source: The Guardian · AI
- Published: 2026-10-27T22:30:45.000Z
- Bad Influence: https://badinfluence.news/items/ffr0ow4xrfvexd50mgp6q1wkc
- Original: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/oct/27/ai-bots-flooded-2023-uk-government-consultation-disposable-vapes-ban

## Summary

Research published in Tobacco Control says 90,835 of 118,756 responses to a 2023 UK government consultation on the tobacco and vapes bill were machine-generated. The Department of Health and Social Care says it identified the bot submissions using bot-detection methods and excluded them from its decision-making. The responses, nearly all opposing a plan to ban disposable vapes, were often duplicated and sent from a small number of IP addresses.