Apple’s news feature, Apple Intelligence, has sparked confusion after it falsely claimed that darts player Luke Littler won the PDC World Championship, despite him not having yet played in the final. The incorrect notification appeared on iPhones early Friday morning, based on a report about Littler’s semi-final victory. The notification, which appeared to be from the BBC, mistakenly stated that Littler had already won the entire tournament.
The issue stems from Apple Intelligence, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise and group notifications for users. The feature, launched in the UK in December 2024, is designed to provide quick round-ups of missed alerts. However, in this case, the AI generated a headline that implied Littler’s victory, when in fact the final was still to take place.
The BBC, which received the erroneous notification, has previously raised concerns about the feature after it generated a misleading headline related to an alleged murder in the US. A BBC spokesperson criticized Apple, emphasizing the importance of accuracy in news reporting.
“It is essential that Apple fixes this problem urgently – as this has happened multiple times,” said the spokesperson. “As the most trusted news media organisation in the world, it is crucial that audiences can trust any information or journalism published in our name, and that includes notifications.”
Luke Littler, 17, has captivated the darts world with his impressive run to the final, which is scheduled for later on Friday evening. While the notification appeared to come directly from the BBC, it was in fact Apple Intelligence summarising multiple headlines, including one about the South Korean president and another about flu cases, both of which were accurately summarised.
Since its launch, Apple Intelligence has encountered several issues with inaccurate summaries. This latest glitch prompted a response from Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which called for Apple to discontinue its AI-generated news summaries. RSF’s Vincent Berthier warned that the automated dissemination of false information undermines the credibility of news outlets and jeopardizes the public’s access to reliable news.
“It is a danger to the public’s right to reliable information on current affairs,” Berthier stated in December.
The affected notification was received by a BBC News employee, but it is likely that individual summaries differ based on device and notification settings. Apple Intelligence is currently available on select iPhones running iOS 18.1 or later, as well as some iPads and Macs.
Users can report concerns regarding any notification summaries, though Apple has not disclosed how many reports it has received about the issue.
