Description: Conservative activist Robby Starbuck reportedly filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta, alleging its Meta AI chatbot published false statements claiming he participated in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, was arrested, denied the Holocaust, and was unfit to parent. Filed April 28, 2025, in Delaware Superior Court, the suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, citing reputational and safety harms. Meta reportedly stated it had updated its AI models to reduce inaccuracies.
Editor Notes: Timeline notes: The earliest alleged false outputs appeared in August 2024, when Meta AI reportedly claimed Starbuck participated in the January 6th riot. Dhillon Law Group filed the lawsuit on 04/28/2025, and The Wall Street Journal reported it on 04/29/2025. This incident ID uses 04/28/2025, the date of the lawsuit, as the incident date. See also Incident 1248. The official complaint can be read here: https://www.dhillonlaw.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/UTF-82025.04.29-Stamped-Complaint.pdf.
Entities
View all entitiesAlleged: Meta , Meta Platforms and Meta AI developed and deployed an AI system, which harmed Robby Starbuck and Meta users.
Alleged implicated AI systems: Meta Platforms and Meta AI
Incident Stats
Risk Subdomain
A further 23 subdomains create an accessible and understandable classification of hazards and harms associated with AI
3.1. False or misleading information
Risk Domain
The Domain Taxonomy of AI Risks classifies risks into seven AI risk domains: (1) Discrimination & toxicity, (2) Privacy & security, (3) Misinformation, (4) Malicious actors & misuse, (5) Human-computer interaction, (6) Socioeconomic & environmental harms, and (7) AI system safety, failures & limitations.
- Misinformation
Entity
Which, if any, entity is presented as the main cause of the risk
AI
Timing
The stage in the AI lifecycle at which the risk is presented as occurring
Post-deployment
Intent
Whether the risk is presented as occurring as an expected or unexpected outcome from pursuing a goal
Unintentional
Incident Reports
Reports Timeline
Loading...
DOVER, DELAWARE — April 28, 2025 — Today, Dhillon Law Group, on behalf of Robby Starbuck, an American filmmaker, journalist, and activist, filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) in Delaware Superior Court. The laws…
Loading...
Robby Starbuck, the conservative activist, filed a defamation lawsuit against Meta alleging its artificial intelligence tool smeared him by falsely asserting he participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Starbuck says he di…
Variants
A "variant" is an AI incident similar to a known case—it has the same causes, harms, and AI system. Instead of listing it separately, we group it under the first reported incident. Unlike other incidents, variants do not need to have been reported outside the AIID. Learn more from the research paper.
Seen something similar?
