AI chatbots are intruding into online communities where people are trying to connect with other humans

A parent asked a question in a private Facebook group in April 2024: Does anyone with a child who is both gifted and disabled have any experience with New York City public schools? The parent received a seemingly helpful answer that laid out some characteristics of a specific school, beginning with the context that "I have a child who is also 2e," meaning twice exceptional. On a Facebook group for swapping unwanted items near Boston, a user looking for specific items received an offer of a "gently used" Canon camera and an "almost-new portable air conditioning unit that I never ended up using." Both of these responses were lies. That child does not exist and neither do the camera or air conditioner.