MetaAI is filled with lies, says Conservative activist Robby Starbuck; takes WhatsApp AI chatbot to court
Conservative activist
Robby Starbuck
has reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against tech giant Meta, alleging that its artificial intelligence chatbot disseminated false and damaging statements about him.
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According to a report in ABCNews, the lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court on Tuesday, claims that Meta's AI falsely asserted Starbuck participated in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, among other untrue allegations. Starbuck is seeking over $5 million in damages.
Starbuck, said to be known for his campaigns against corporate diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, stated he discovered the AI's false claims in August 2024 while challenging "woke DEI" policies at motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson.
"One dealership was unhappy with me and they posted a screenshot from Meta's AI in an effort to attack me," Starbuck explained in a post on X. "This screenshot was filled with lies. I couldn't believe it was real so I checked myself. It was even worse when I checked."
He further added that since this discovery, he has "faced a steady stream of false accusations that are deeply damaging to my character and the safety of my family."
Starbuck maintains he was in Tennessee during the January 6th Capitol riot.
What Robby Starbuck says in his lawsuit
Starbuck's legal action joins a growing number of similar cases where individuals are suing AI platforms over inaccurate information generated by chatbots. Notably, in 2023, a conservative radio host in Georgia sued OpenAI, alleging that ChatGPT falsely claimed he had defrauded a gun-rights organization.
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According to the complaint, after discovering the false information, Starbuck attempted to notify Meta and seek their assistance in rectifying the errors. The lawsuit claims he contacted Meta's managing executives and legal counsel and even inquired with the AI itself about how to address the false outputs.
The lawsuit alleges that Starbuck requested Meta to "retract the false information, investigate the cause of the error, implement safeguards and quality control processes to prevent similar harm in the future, and communicate transparently with all Meta AI users about what would be done.'
However, the filing contends that Meta was unwilling to make these changes or "take meaningful responsibility for its conduct."
"Instead, it allowed its AI to spread false information about Mr. Starbuck for months after being put on notice of the falsity, at which time it 'fixed' the problem by wiping Mr. Starbuck's name from its written responses altogether," the lawsuit states.
What Facebook said on Robby Starbuck's lawsuit
In response to the lawsuit, a Meta spokesperson issued an emailed statement saying, "As part of our continuous effort to improve our models, we have already released updates and will continue to do so."
Joel Kaplan, Meta's chief global affairs officer, responded to Starbuck's video outlining the lawsuit on X, calling the situation "unacceptable."
"This is clearly not how our AI should operate," Kaplan wrote. "We're sorry for the results it shared about you and that the fix we put in place didn't address the underlying problem." Kaplan added that he is collaborating with Meta's product team to "understand how this happened and explore potential solutions."
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