Is the past participle disappearing?

I have recently noticed native speakers using the simple past in place of the past participle, e.g. 'It has began!' or 'That could have went better.' Is this an ongoing and documented shift or am I just kidding myself?

I've heard it from both Americans and British speakers, is it common in other parts of the English-speaking world as well?

It does make some sense, as the forms are identical in almost all verbs. Though I have not yet heard it for 'be', for instance 'it would have was'. Maybe 'been' is more resilient somehow?