Coinbase's AI hallucination sends football fans into a frenzy: Here's what went wrong

Coinbase, the popular cryptocurrency exchange, is facing criticism after sending an AI-generated breaking news alert claiming that Norway's men's national football team had secured a place in the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup by defeating Brazil 3-2 — even before the match had kicked off.

Norway did eventually beat Brazil, but by a scoreline of 2-1, contrary to Coinbase's earlier AI-generated alert. The incident has drawn backlash from netizens, particularly because Coinbase recently partnered with prediction markets platform Kalshi. Critics argued that the AI hallucination could have influenced betting decisions and potentially caused users to lose money. The premature alert also sparked confusion among bettors.

The platform's credibility, combined with its association with Kalshi, could have amplified the impact of the false alert, especially as experts continue to warn about the growing popularity of online gambling. Users took to social media to criticize Coinbase over the incident.

This is not the first time an AI-generated news alert has gone wrong. Earlier, Apple was forced to disable an AI-powered news summarisation feature after it repeatedly generated false news alerts for iPhone users. The BBC even filed a formal complaint after the AI incorrectly claimed that Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had died by suicide.

More from Tech

Mangione is alive and remains in custody. He is currently awaiting his federal trial, which was recently postponed to January 2027.