US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival
Federal Register search function powered by Alibaba's Qwen model was removed after allegations of 'malicious' copying.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival
Photograph: Daily Sabah (embedded from source)
What this story says
- The Federal Register website used Alibaba's Qwen AI model to power a search tool for proposed regulations.
- The FBI accused Alibaba of "malicious" copying of technology from US company Anthropic.
- The Qwen-powered search tool was taken down on 16 September 2026.
- The Chinese embassy described the copying allegations as "unfounded."
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 10 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. Coverage measured .
Trust
66/100
Craft
95/100
Hype
12/100
10 sources · methodology
Thin on the left so far
None of the 10 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated left.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
The Federal Register website, which is run by the National Archives, used Alibaba's Qwen AI model to allow users to search proposed federal regulations. The tool was available alongside other search options. The FBI accused Alibaba of "malicious" copying of technology from US rival Anthropic to build its own artificial intelligence tools. This accusation was made public last week, according to reports.
The Qwen-powered search tool was removed from the Federal Register website on 16 September 2026, around the same time social media posts about its use appeared. Screenshots and archived source code reviewed by Reuters confirmed the takedown. The FBI declined to comment on the allegations. The Chinese embassy in Washington stated that the copying allegations were "unfounded."
Disagreement on when the tool was deployed
The Business Times reported that the search tool using Alibaba's Qwen model was available on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, but it was unclear when it was deployed. Other reports state the Qwen-powered search was taken down on Wednesday, 16 September 2026.
What the coverage left out
None of the centre-rated or right-rated reports mention the FBI's broader claim that Chinese AI companies are engaged in "malicious" copying of US technology on an "industrial scale."
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 7 times, most recently on 18 Sept 2026, 02:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated left has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Centre
6 rated outlets
- Centre-rated reports led with the FBI's accusation that Alibaba engaged in "malicious" copying of Anthropic's technology. These reports stated that the Federal Register website used Alibaba's Qwen AI model for a search tool. They noted the tool's subsequent removal on 16 September 2026. The Chinese embassy's denial of the allegations was also included.
Right
4 rated outlets
- Right-rated reports highlighted the FBI's accusation that Alibaba engaged in "malicious" copying of US technology, specifically Anthropic's models, to develop its own AI tools. These reports identified the Federal Register website as the entity that used Alibaba's Qwen AI model for a search function. The removal of the tool on 16 September 2026 was also mentioned, as was the Chinese embassy's statement calling the allegations "unfounded."
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival?
- Of the 10 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 0% are rated left, 60% are rated centre, 40% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 10 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival biased?
- US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival is one event reported by 10 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated left had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered US government website used Chinese AI tool FBI said copied rival?
- 10 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- What was the Federal Register website using Alibaba's AI for?
- The Federal Register website used Alibaba's Qwen AI model to power a search tool. This tool allowed users to search for proposed federal regulations and public comments.
- Why was the AI search tool removed?
- The tool was removed on 16 September 2026, following accusations by the FBI that Alibaba had engaged in "malicious" copying of technology from US company Anthropic to build its own AI models.
- What was China's response to the allegations?
- A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in Washington stated that the allegations of copying made by the FBI were "unfounded."
Read it at the source
10 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Centre
6- Controversy Over US Use of Chinese AI Model in Federal Registry (opens Devdiscourse in a new tab)
Devdiscourse — is Devdiscourse biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens Investing.com in a new tab)
Investing.com — is Investing.com biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens The Mighty 790 KFGO in a new tab)
The Mighty 790 KFGO — is The Mighty 790 KFGO biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens Market Screener in a new tab)
Market Screener — is Market Screener biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens Reuters in a new tab)
Right
4- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens The Straits Times in a new tab)
The Straits Times — is The Straits Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens Business Times in a new tab)
Business Times — is Business Times biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US govt website used Chinese AI tool that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens Daily Sabah in a new tab)
Daily Sabah — is Daily Sabah biased? Our profile of this outlet
- US government website used AI search tool from China that FBI said copied Anthropic (opens WKZO in a new tab)
Not rated
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
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