Snapchat AI Sent a Private Chat to the FBI and One Teacher's Arrest Exposed How the System Works

Police records show Snapchat's AI flagged a private group message as a potential threat, triggering an emergency report to the FBI that led deputies to arrest an Illinois student teacher who was later found not to pose a credible threat. (Credit: Alexander Shatov/Unsplash)

Snapchat's automated safety system sent a private group chat from a 22-year-old student teacher to the FBI, triggering her arrest at an Illinois elementary school less than an hour later, according to police records and body-camera footage released under public records laws.

Authorities later found that the message, sent by Illinois State University student teacher Kristen Volpe, did not amount to a credible threat, but the documents show in detail how one private Snapchat post moved from the app's AI systems to federal agents and then local deputies.