When AI Turns Fiction into Defamation
Picture this: you’re sipping your morning coffee, scrolling through X, when you stumble upon a post accusing you of storming the Capitol, denying the Holocaust, and cozying up to conspiracy theorists. Oh, and it suggests your kids might be better off without you. The kicker? It’s not some unhinged troll behind the keyboard—it’s Meta’s AI chatbot, spinning a web of lies faster than a politician dodging a fact-checker. Welcome to the latest chapter in Artificial Stupelligence, where conservative activist Robby Starbuck is taking Meta to court over a chatbot with a serious defamation problem.
The Lawsuit: Starbuck vs. Meta’s Rogue AI
In a lawsuit filed on April 29, 2025, in Delaware Superior Court, Starbuck claims Meta’s AI falsely painted him as a January 6 rioter, a white nationalist, a QAnon enthusiast, and a pal of controversial figure Nick Fuentes, among other things. The bot even suggested his children be removed from his custody because of his views on DEI and transgender issues. Here’s the rub: Starbuck was chilling in Tennessee on January 6, 2021, and has never been arrested, charged, or convicted of anything remotely related. The AI’s wild accusations, which surfaced in August 2024 after a Harley-Davidson dealership used them to dunk on Starbuck’s anti-DEI campaign, have caused him reputational damage, death threats, and lost business opportunities. He’s now seeking over $5 million in damages, punitive justice, and an injunction to stop Meta’s chatbot from further fibbing.
Large Libel Models: A Term Coined by Reason
This saga, as juicy as a reality TV plot twist, highlights what Reason magazine aptly dubbed “Large Libel Models”—AI systems that churn out defamatory drivel with the confidence of a used car salesman. Meta’s chatbot didn’t just trip over a typo; it concocted a full-blown alternate reality where Starbuck is a villain in a poorly scripted thriller. When Starbuck alerted Meta, their legal team nodded, promised a fix, and… proceeded to do about as much as a Roomba stuck in a corner. They blacklisted Starbuck’s name from direct searches, but the AI still spewed lies when queried about news stories mentioning him. Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer, Joel Kaplan, took to X with a mea culpa, calling the AI’s behavior “unacceptable” and vowing to sort it out. Spoiler alert: the defamatory hits kept coming, like a bad karaoke singer who won’t leave the stage.
Why AI Accountability Matters
This isn’t just a one-off oopsie in the Stupelliverse. It’s a glaring neon sign that AI accountability is as shaky as a self-driving car in a parking lot loop. Legal experts are buzzing, pointing out that Meta’s “we’re just a platform” defense might not hold up. Section 230, the internet’s favorite liability shield, doesn’t cover AI spitting out original falsehoods, and slapping a disclaimer on the chatbot won’t magically absolve them. As Reason noted, these Large Libel Models amplify harm because people trust AI outputs like they trust a weather app—until it predicts sunshine during a hurricane. When public figures like Senator Mike Lee and FTC Commissioner Melissa Holyoak start raising eyebrows, you know the mess has hit critical mass.
The Bigger Picture: AI’s Stupelligent Missteps
The irony? Meta’s AI was supposed to be a helpful sidekick, not a gossip columnist with a vendetta. Yet here we are, watching a digital Pinocchio rack up lies faster than you can say “algorithmic bias.” Starbuck’s lawsuit isn’t just about clearing his name; it’s a wake-up call for tech giants who think they can unleash AI without a leash. If a chatbot can tank someone’s reputation with a few errant keystrokes, what’s next? Your smart fridge accusing you of tax evasion? Your thermostat outing you as a secret flat-earther? The possibilities are as endless as they are absurd.
Takeaway: Don’t Trust AI Blindly
So, what’s the takeaway from this Artificial Stupelligence spectacle? First, never trust an AI to write your biography—it might turn you into a supervillain. Second, companies like Meta need to stop treating AI mishaps like spilled coffee and start treating them like the reputational wildfires they are. And third, maybe it’s time we all brush up on our skepticism, because in the age of Large Libel Models, the truth is just one bad algorithm away from a plot twist. As for Starbuck, here’s hoping his day in court delivers justice—and maybe a dollhouse or two, just to keep things meta.
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Source: Reason.com
