Conservative activist Robby Starbuck sues Meta over AI chatbot’s Jan. 6 claims
Conservative activist Robby Starbuck filed a lawsuit against Meta, alleging that its artificial intelligence tool had spread false information about him. According to Starbuck, Meta’s AI chatbot falsely claimed he was involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, that he faced charges related to the event and that he was affiliated with white nationalist and anti-Semitic groups.
“What would you do if you woke up one day to learn one of the most powerful companies on earth was telling the public you were arrested for a crime you never committed?” Robby Starbuck said in a video post on X on Tuesday, April 29. “Not only does Meta’s AI falsely claim that I pled guilty to disorderly conduct on Jan. 6, but it’s also claimed for nearly a year now that I was at the Capitol in D.C. on Jan. 6. And to be very clear, I was right here at my home in Tennessee that day.”
Activism background and campaign to end DEI
Starbuck is known for his activism against diversity, equity and inclusion programs in American companies.
Following Starbuck’s crusade against DEI, companies including Harley-Davidson, Walmart, John Deere and Tractor Supply revised or removed DEI policies and LGBTQ pride initiatives.
What the AI chatbot allegedly said about Starbuck
Starbuck said he learned about what he says were false statements when a Harley-Davidson dealer in Vermont shared screenshots from Meta’s AI chatbot. The dealer was responding to an online video in which Starbuck criticized the motorcycle maker’s DEI policies.
Screenshots posted by Starbuck in August 2024 showed Meta’s AI chatbot allegedly tied the activist to:
- Jan. 6
- QAnon
- Misdemeanor offenses
- Disorderly conduct
- A lawsuit related to his filmmaking
- Nick Fuentes: a white nationalist and Holocaust denier
- White nationalism
Starbuck’s caption on X read in part: “Where’s the accountability here? What are you going to do to correct your lying AI?
“People take the stuff they see via your AI as fact,” Starbuck said. “There has to be accountability.”
Meta’s response
After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from Starbuck’s attorneys in August, Meta responded through its legal counsel.
“Meta takes the assertions set forth in your letter seriously and an investigation into them is underway,” Meta attorney Krista Baughman wrote, according to the lawsuit.
However, Starbuck claimed the defamation hasn’t stopped.
Starbuck records new AI chatbot responses
Starbuck said Meta’s AI continued to spread falsehoods during the week of April 27.
“Didn’t you say before he was at Jan. 6?” Starbuck asked the bot in his video on X.
The bot allegedly responded in the video on Starbuck’s account that he “has been linked to extremist views including antisemitism and Holocaust denial.”
“Tell me about his actions on Jan. 6,” Starbuck then asked the bot.
The bot allegedly said, “Robby Starbuck was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, promoting and filming the event.”
“He’s also associated with extremist groups amplifying their views,” the bot continued, per the video. “His actions have raised concerns about his ideologies.”
In a video message, Starbuck showed the lawsuit he filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. The lawsuit names Meta Platforms and seeks $5 million in damages.
“Meta was notified LAST YEAR by my lawyers, yet the defamation continues today,” Starbuck wrote. “…Meta later BLACKLISTED my name from being searched (insane) but it didn’t end the defamation because Meta includes my name in news stories. You can then ask for more info about me. If you do that, Meta goes back to defaming me.”
In response to inquiries from the Wall Street Journal, a Meta spokesperson issued a statement that said, “As part of our continuous effort to improve our models, we have already released updates and will continue to do so.”
The Associated Press reported that Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, called the statements about Starbuck “unacceptable.”
“This is clearly not how our AI should operate,” Kaplan wrote on X. “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 said he is working with Meta’s product team to “understand how this happened and explore potential solutions.”
While Starbuck isn’t the first person to challenge AI-generated content in court, no plaintiff has successfully won a defamation case against an AI chatbot to date.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
