Fresno Unified’s top communications executive has left the district after using artificial intelligence to fabricate inflammatory quotes attributed to the district’s union leadership.
Chief Communications Officer Nikki Henry posted on LinkedIn that her last day with the district was on Monday.
The backstory: FUSD Superintendent Misty Her told The Sun in May that she directed Henry to compile a document to share with Fresno Teachers Association leaders to show why they needed to rebuild a fractured relationship.
- Her gave the document to FTA leadership on May 7 in what she said was an off-the-record meeting. The document came after months of a back and forth on social media between the FTA and the district. FTA Executive Director Louis Jamerson asked for a meeting with Her to clear the air.
- The document, entitled Instances of Fresno Teachers Association (FTA) Leadership Targeting Superintendent Misty Her, highlighted 39 instances over the past two years of FTA leadership allegedly targeting Her with inflammatory comments. The quotes included in the document came from seen news reports, three social media posts and 29 FTA emails. Each quote was allegedly said by Bonilla or written in an email or social media post.
- The problem was that the quotes in the document were actually false. The document linked to stories with hyperlinks ending with “utm_source=chatgpt.com,” and Her confirmed to The Sun that Henry used artificial intelligence to craft the document.
What she’s saying: Henry addressed the document that resulted in her exit from the district in her LinkedIn post.
- She said she moved too fast under pressure, trusted artificial intelligence in an “off-the-record” meeting and produced a “rough draft” of a document that was never meant to be shared beyond six people.
- “It wasn’t perfect,” Henry wrote. “And I didn’t push pause to fact-check. I Should have. That one’s on me.”
- Henry said the document was not supposed to be public and was not an attack on anyone, adding that it was a hard lesson in speed, in systems and in “saying ‘no’ when the timeline doesn’t match the task.”
- “And while I own my mistake, I won’t let it own me,” Henry wrote.
The other side: FTA President Manuel Bonilla responded, taking issue with Henry not outright saying that the alleged quotes in the document were fabricated.
- “The former communications chief fabricated statements and falsely attributed them to FTA leadership. Even on her way out, she refused to admit they were false – instead calling them ‘off the record’ or ‘rough drafts,’ as if that excuses deliberate misinformation,” Bonilla said. “Let’s be honest, without public exposure, the district likely would have let the lies stand. And that raises a deeper concern: how often does something like this happen in the shadows?”
- Bonilla added, “This isn’t just about one person. It’s about whether Fresno Unified has the leadership and integrity to hold itself accountable. So far, Superintendent Her has refused to correct the record, claiming ‘the gist was there.’ That’s absurd. There is no ‘gist’ in a complete fabrication. To move forward, the Superintendent Her should admit the statements were false.”
