At a time when artificial intelligence seems to be stepping into many roles previously held only by humans, perhaps it should not be shocking that an AI bot has become a defendant in a defamation suit.
What happened: Conservative activist and anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck filed a defamation suit against Meta, claiming that the company’s AI chatbot falsely accused him of being present at the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol.
A closer look: NewsGuard traced the controversy to an August 2024 dustup between Starbuck and a Vermont motorcycle dealership called Wilkins Harley-Davidson. Starbuck criticized Harley-Davidson for the company’s DEI initiatives and corporate advocacy.
In the midst of the feud, the dealership posted a screenshot showing a Meta AI response (the prompt was not provided) that claimed, “Starbuck was present at the [U.S. Capitol] riot and has been accused of participating in or promoting the event.” The post included the caption, “Interesting what Meta AI says about you Mr. Conspiracy Theorist,” referring to Starbuck.
Actually: “None of this ever happened,” Starbuck stated in a video he posted on YouTube. “It is literally an invention of Meta’s AI.” Indeed, he has plenty of proof to back his denial.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Starbuck, who has lived in Franklin, Tennessee, since 2019, filmed a live video for his podcast “Grow Up” with his wife Landon Starbuck from their Tennessee studio.
That same day, Starbuck posted on X more than 40 times, calling Jan....
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