Robby Starbuck Sues Google Over AI Defamation

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck filed a defamation suit in Delaware Superior Court seeking at least $15 million, alleging Google’s AI products (including Bard and Gemini) fabricated and circulated detailed false “biographies” that portrayed him as a child rapist, serial sexual abuser, murderer, January 6 participant, tied to Richard Spencer, and even on Epstein flight logs. The complaint says Google’s models invented fake sources and links to lend credibility, that Starbuck and his lawyers sent multiple cease‑and‑desist notices over nearly two years, and that the falsehoods have led strangers to confront him and could inspire real‑world harm. The suit accuses Google of negligence and actual malice. Google acknowledged prior “hallucinations” in Bard that it said were addressed in 2023, said it will review the complaint, and disputed the broader allegations. Starbuck previously sued Meta over similar AI‑generated falsehoods and reached a private resolution after Meta hired him as an adviser, while U.S. courts have yet to produce clear precedent for awarding damages in AI‑defamation cases.