South Africa withdraws draft AI policy after discovering academic citations were AI-generated hallucinations

South Africa's Communications Minister Solly Malatsi admitted the department failed to spot fabricated references in the draft policy before releasing it for public comment, calling it 'a major embarrassment.'

The withdrawn draft proposed setting up several new watchdogs to regulate AI, including a dedicated commission and a special insurance fund to help people harmed by the technology.

The incident reflects a broader pattern: other global institutions—from US courts to European universities—have also had AI-generated content slip past human oversight.