Mumsnet has denied using AI to produce content after detailed instructions to help an AI model write one of its popular “am I being unreasonable” (AIBU) posts appeared on a Mumsnet message board.
asserted
I → deny → board
Users of the long-established forum, which is known for its frank discussions of family tensions, were vexed when the AI prompt appeared in response to a user seeking advice about a family dilemma involving a neurodivergent uncle and a sick child.
asserted
prompt → establish → uncle
The user, called AmIAComplete, had asked for “a sanity check” from other users after an awkward social interaction with their brother’s family but was met with a prompt titled AIBU Response Schema v.1.0.
asserted
user → call → prompt
It instructed an AI to write an “interpersonal reasonableness” post and “give a clear, forum-style ruling plus brief actionable advice”.
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It → instruct → ruling
It included definitions of common Mumsnet abbreviations including AIBU, ND (neurodivergent) and DD (dear daughter).
asserted
It → include → AIBU
The prompt said: “do not diagnose anyone; do not demean ND people; do not imply a sick child owes social performance” and said “prioritize compassion, boundaries, and de-escalation”.
asserted
child → say → compassion
Site users called the emergence of the prompt “really creepy”, “crazy” and “so disappointing” and it fed speculation about Mumsnet’s use of AI, with one user saying: “We might as well just go and do something else then.”
uncertain
We → call → something
Mumsnet was founded in 2000.
asserted
Mumsnet → found → 2000
It faced a 19% drop in its monthly unique user numbers in 2025 to 6.1 million and the number of posts fell by 600,000.
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number → face → 600,000
It said in its latest annual report that it was “embedding AI tools to improve productivity and enhance the user experience”.
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it → say → experience
Recent research, published in Nature, has shown that AI assistance in social media risks creating “semantic garbage” and is seen by users as less informative, “robotic” and “generic”.
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assistance → publish → users
Soon after the prompt emerged, Mumsnet denied that it used AI to write threads and said it had come from a tool to suggest thread titles which uses an OpenAI model.
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which → emerge → model
But users refused to accept this explanation and some copied the prompt into an AI and found it generated a full post.
asserted
it → refuse → post
“We are not idiots,” said one user, MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack.
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user → say → ?
“Please can you give us a transparent explanation?”
asserted
you → give → explanation
Mumsnet then said the prompt did not come from them and suggested it had somehow transferred from AmIAComplete’s computer.
uncertain
it → say → computer
Again users were unconvinced and speculated the prompt must have leaked from Mumsnet’s internal system.
asserted
prompt → speculate → system
Mumsnet’s founder, Justine Roberts, joined the thread and confirmed the prompt had come from its system, which sends users’ drafts to OpenAI, which is meant to suggest a title, although this time it sent a prompt for a whole reply.
asserted
it → join → reply
She said it “looks like an error on their side” and said: “We don’t use AI to write threads or replies on Mumsnet.”
asserted
We → say → Mumsnet
This explanation also failed to appease users, who said they were being “fobbed off”.
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they → fail → users
“Why would OpenAI compel itself to do/try to do something so specific if it’s never been asked to do that before from your side?” said one.
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one → compel → side
“It’s like it’s appeared in the wrong place.
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it → ’ → place
“I just don’t know anymore what’s real and what isn’t sometimes!” they said.
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they → know → ?
Roberts told the Guardian: “I understand why it looked like it had ‘appeared in the wrong place’.
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it → tell → place
But nothing in our systems asks for, stores or uses anything like it.”
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nothing → ask → it
She said Mumsnet had never tested a tool that drafted posts, but it used AI for coding, advertising operations, conversational analysis and flagging potentially problematic posts to moderators.
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it → say → moderators
“Mumsnet works because the people on it are real,” Roberts said.
asserted
Roberts → work → it
“Members trust that the advice they get comes from other parents, not a machine …
asserted
they → trust → parents
First, these systems are less predictable than the people selling them like to suggest.
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people → sell → them
Second, users are understandably highly concerned that Mumsnet remains written by humans.”
asserted
Mumsnet → write → humans
The Aporia
