Napoleon’s 217-year-old coded message ‘cracked by AI’
What it is about
Who published it, and when
5 reports left out of the cascade - too little in common with the story to place
How it spread - 12 original reports, 2 reprints
Thu, 1 October 2026
1 report- smh.com.au20:22first to report
The contents of the letter had remained a mystery since it was sent to one of his senior generals in 1809.
2 reprints
- brisbanetimes.com.au1 Oct, 20:22their copy
- theage.com.au1 Oct, 20:22their copy
Fri, 2 October 2026
2 reports- RMF24 (Poland)13:36
AI złamała napoleoński szyfr sprzed 217 lat. Wystarczyło sześć godzin
- bgnes.com13:41
An engineer has used artificial intelligence to crack a Napoleonic-era military cipher that had remained unsolved for more than two centuries. <p style="text-align
Sat, 3 October 2026
3 reports- 24sata (Croatia)10:22
Inženjer u tvrtki za kibernetičku sigurnost SentinelOne, Carter Church, objavio je na društvenim mrežama da je model GPT-6 Astra tvrtke OpenAI dešifrirao šifrirano pismo iz 1809. godine poslano generalu Marmontu.
- Index.hr (Croatia)11:15
INŽENJER je pomoću umjetne inteligencije dešifrirao vojnu šifru iz Napoleonova doba koja je bila neriješena više od dva stoljeća i to za samo šest sati, prenose agencije.
- Vecernji list (Croatia)14:42
Sadržaj pisma s 1300 znakova ostao bi i dalje nepoznat da Carter Church, inženjer u tvrtki za kibernetičku sigurnost SentinelOne, nije dao zapovijed naprednom AI modelu GPT-6 Astra tvrtke OpenAI da se "pozabavi" komadom papira starim 217 godina
Sun, 4 October 2026
1 report- Times of India04:28
Carter Church, a skilled AI engineer, has managed to crack an elusive military message from 1809, originally ordered by Napoleon. The document remained indecipherable for 217 years because the cypher key was lost. By merging AI technology with historical inquiry, Church unveiled details about troop placements before the Austrian conflict.
Mon, 5 October 2026
1 report- Novinky (Czechia)03:14
Americkému odborníkovi se s pomocí umělé inteligence (AI) podařilo rozluštit tajný šifrovaný dopis francouzského císaře Napoleona, jehož obsah zůstával 217 let záhadou. Prolomení kódu trvalo šest hodin.
Fri, 16 October 2026
3 reports- boredpanda.com12:07
Imagine solving a centuries-old historical puzzle with the help of cutting-edge technology. It would certainly make for an impressive story. That's essentially what one AI engineer claimed to have accomplished after using GPT-6 Astra to decipher a coded letter from Napoleon. There was just one problem: according to one skeptic, the solution had been available for years. Curiosities, Interesting Facts
- France Info (France)12:36
Pour décrypter des correspondances ou faire parler des papyrus antiques carbonisés, l'intelligence artificielle ouvre de nouvelles pistes pour la recherche historique.
- thestar.com.my16:00
Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the wartime missive written in code, creating a puzzle that went unsolved for more than 200 years – until AI cracked it in a matter of hours.
Sat, 17 October 2026
1 report- ČT24 (Czechia)13:01
Když francouzský císař Napoleon Bonaparte nařídil sepsat válečný dopis v šifře, vznikla hádanka, která byla nevyřešená více než 200 let. Dokud ji umělá inteligence (AI) nerozluštila během několika hodin. Ať už jde o dešifrování korespondence nebo o to, aby promluvily starověké ohořelé papyry, AI otevírá nové cesty pro historický výzkum, napsala agentura AFP.