Google Faces $15 Million Lawsuit Over AI Models Falsely Accusing Robby Starbuck of Rape and Criminal Acts

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck has filed a defamation lawsuit against Google, seeking at least $15 million in damages, alleging that the company's artificial intelligence models, including Bard, Gemini, and Gemma, have repeatedly generated "outrageously false" and defamatory statements about him. The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court, claims these AI systems have falsely accused Starbuck of severe crimes such as child rape, sexual assault, being a "shooter," and involvement in a crypto pump-and-dump scheme.

Starbuck asserted on social media that Google's AI has consistently defamed him, stating, "Bard and @Gemini defamed me too." He specifically highlighted instances where Gemini accused him of raping his wife and other women, as well as a non-existent former nanny, and of participating in a crypto scheme. "Gemini accused me consistently of rape, even consistently naming 3 specific women (including my own wife) and a non-existent former nanny," Starbuck stated, adding that it also falsely claimed he was involved in a crypto pump/dump scheme.

Google has largely attributed these false outputs to "hallucinations," a known issue with large language models (LLMs). However, Starbuck disputes this explanation, noting, "Google wants to pretend this is a hallucination but that doesn’t sound like any hallucination I’ve ever heard of." He emphasized that despite repeated notifications and cease-and-desist letters to Google executives since 2023, the defamatory content continued to be generated.

The lawsuit follows a similar case Starbuck brought against Meta Platforms earlier this year, which was settled in August. This legal action against Google highlights growing concerns over AI-generated misinformation and the liability of tech companies for their AI systems' outputs. Starbuck intends to release a "deep dive video outlining more evidence on Gemini (with prompts visible) since Google wants to handle this so irresponsibly." The outcome of this case could set a significant precedent for AI liability in defamation law.