--- title: "Coinbase AI Sends Mass “Breaking News” Alert That’s Completely Hallucinated" description: "Coinbase sent out an AI-generated breaking news alert that hallucinated the outcome of a World Cup match that hadn't started." date: "2026-07-09" modified: "2026-07-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/coinbase-breaking-news-alert-hallucinated" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Ethics" --- # Coinbase AI Sends Mass “Breaking News” Alert That’s Completely Hallucinated ![A photo illustration featuring a soccer player kicking a ball, deformed and liquified in a slightly hallucinatory fashion.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Shutterstock* Crypto marketplace Coinbase is under fire after [sending out an AI-generated breaking news alert]() that Norway's national men's soccer team had clinched a spot in the quarter finals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup by beating Brazil 3-2 — before the game even started. While Norway did eventually beat Brazil — with a final score of 2-1, contrary to what Coinbase's AI claimed — the glaring error didn't sit well with netizens, particularly considering Coinbase had struck a partnership with prediction markets app Kalshi. A hallucinated news alert could've caused bettors to lose out, a panic triggered by an entirely made-up World Cup match outcome. It's also baffling considering how long companies have been dealing with this exact problem. Since the dawn of large language model-based tools like ChatGPT, the bots have been [confidently telling lies]() and [fabricating facts](). That's despite hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on the tech's development. Combined with a growing obsession over prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, it's a fatal mix that could trigger plenty of chaos, as [experts warn of a surge in gambling addiction](). Puzzled users on social media noticed Coinbase's AI hallucination, calling out the company for the "[dangerous and irresponsible]()" flub. "Taking a look with the team," Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong [tweeted]() in response to the embarrassing slip up. "Thanks for reporting it." The company's head of consumer products, Max Branzburg, [claimed]() hours later that "we fixed the incorrect story and made some updates to avoid these types of inaccuracies in the future." Despite the significant humiliation, Branzburg gloated about the "power of AI-enabled 24/7 insights for trading," while conceding that Coinbase "obviously" still needs to "tune it to address these types of issues." The executive even had the gall to take credit for getting certain things right, arguing that "Norway did win and \[star player Erling\] Haaland did score 2 goals, so maybe the AI knew something we didn't!" Needless to say, it's a bizarre argument, considering the AI was completely wrong about the outcome of the game before it even started. The crypto firm is far from the last to have sent out entirely incorrect new alerts. In perhaps the worst error, Apple was forced to pull an AI feature that consistently delivered bogus news alerts to iPhone users in January of last year. The *BBC* [had filed a formal complaint]() after the AI falsely told users that Luigi Mangione, who stands accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself. Mangione is very much alive to this day and awaiting his federal trial, which was recently [postponed to January 2027](). Norway's soccer team is set to take on England on Saturday, July 11, in Miami. **More on Coinbase:** [*Coinbase CEO Pulls Up Predictions Market During Earnings Call and Rattles Off Words People Were Betting He’d Say*]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()