A notary from the Paris region, Jean-Baptiste Bullet, based in Chevilly-Larue in the Val-de-Marne, receives a will: its author announces that he has hidden a treasure in the family property. Her three children, scrambled, each have a clue and together they put together a map that reveals the location of a treasure. The place is secret, it is on Twitter and only on this social network that we follow this quest, at the rate of a message of 150, 200 characters every three, four hours. Enough to captivate, not too much so as not to betray professional secrecy. But one question remains: are we in the scoop or in the loop?
The notary is a good notary
In comments, many enthusiasts want to know what happens next, notaries explain that they have experienced such a situation, we also read allusions to Hergé’s “Secret of the Unicorn” or even Jean de La Fontaine’s “Plowman and his children”. Some argue: the treasure is in fact simply the reunion of the estranged siblings so that they can be reconciled. Others are skeptical and don’t believe this story at all.
Usual verifications: the notary is a notary, has an address, a study, a valid telephone number, a website, colleagues, photos with them during a company internship at Parc Astérix. This lends credibility to the story. But maybe it’s all wrong, and his parallel career in the song does not plead, a priori, in his favor. Looking closer, the clip on YouTube of his latest title, “The Palm Tree in Winter”, has thousands of views, the people he thanks in the legend and the recording studio really exist too. And the hundred comments on YouTube, often positive, are written by as many different profiles, in various registers of language.
“The children felt robbed”: 6 notaries recount significant inheritance experiences
Either we live a real treasure hunt, or the storyteller has been lying for years, has invented one or two lives… And the absence of photos in the tweets, and of the name or at least the first name of the people concerned? Signs of a lie or respect for ethical rules? You will have understood, it obsesses me. I want to believe in the beautiful story. Asked, two journalist friends think that this treasure hunt 2.0 is a blank. They make me doubt.
Louis d’or and precious stones
How to know ? I write to Jean-Baptiste Bullet on his professional mailbox. No error message, the address exists. In both cases, the story is gripping, fascinating, it tells itself. I want to follow the thread of tweets and read that a family will discover a real treasure. And otherwise I’m curious, attracted by an atypical character, notary and singer, who could very well have been in his room for six years inventing everything like at the edge of a swimming pool in Dubai making fun of his candid followers.
Followers increasing on Twitter, a few hundred at the start of the story, over 3,000 by the end of the weekend. And if the real quest was that of a new public and contracts for evenings so that he could sing his “Palm tree in winter”? Dates for his dates? Mmh.
The excavation, delayed on Friday evening by the night and the frozen ground, led the next sunny day to the discovery of the treasure: louis d’or, bearer bonds and precious stones. Still no photo. Still no first name. Always, on the social network, enthusiasts and mood breakers. And always these tweets, this same rhythm, a hundred characters and three hashtags to finish.
So, true, false? I’ll give you the end of the story. Sunday evening, Jean-Baptiste Bullet answers me, as well as other journalists, in a ” Press release “ : “This story is completely fictional. It is absolutely not the fruit of my imagination, it was entirely invented by an artificial intelligence that we hear a lot about at the moment, ChatGPT. […] This is a response to the following request: “Create a series of tweets that would be written by a notary, and make up a thrilling story that would happen to him in the line of duty. Add hashtags at the end of each tweet.” »
“Inception”
I did not reach Jean-Baptiste Bullet on the phone. And anyway, how do I know if the person who will answer me is this gentleman? I even wonder if someone has imposed on ChatGPT to create Jean-Baptiste Bullet, his life, his friends, his colleagues, his website, his hobbies. And if this person, in his room or in Dubai, does not create other profiles, if he manipulates people and lives by ransoming them. Because who, if not a master/singer, behind the creation of a notary/artist?
