50,000 fake statistics are still cited by ChatGPT 7 months later. Being cited is not being right.
On October 7, 2026, Metehan Yesilyurt of Peec AI published an experiment. He created a website called stateglobe.com with 50,000 fake statistics generated by GPT-4.1 for about $30. Google deindexed the site. ChatGPT still cites it 7 months later. The fake data has been cited in an academic paper, in Qatar's largest bank's investment research, and by an Indian economics publication. 330+ domains…
On October 7, 2026, Metehan Yesilyurt of Peec AI published an experiment to demonstrate the dangers of AI-generated statistics. He created a website called stateglobe.com, populating it with 50,000 fabricated statistics generated by GPT-4.1 for around $30. Despite being a collection of false data, the site was cited by various organizations, including ChatGPT, an academic paper, Qatar's largest bank's investment research, and an Indian economics publication.
The experiment was highlighted on Hacker News, garnering 350 points and 200 comments. While citation does not necessarily indicate accuracy, the experiment proved that LLMs cannot distinguish fabricated statistics from real ones if they appear in an authoritative format. The 50,000 fake statistics were cited enough times to become "real" in the model's output, highlighting the industry's need for a trust verification layer in AI visibility tools.
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