Meta is on the hot seat after Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) drew attention to a video that he wrote “describes in detail the ruthless and elaborate defamation campaign waged by Meta AI."
Lee responded in a Thursday X post to political commentator and podcast host Robby Starbuck’s X post announcing “a major multi-million dollar defamation lawsuit against @Meta, the owner of @Facebook & @Instagram.” Lee denounced Meta and wrote that he looks “forward to hearing Meta’s side of this—but from what I’m seeing, it doesn’t look good for Meta.” On Tuesday, Starbuck wrote that Meta’s AI chatbot had been “falsely claiming that I was charged with a crime from January 6th,” which he said was found out in August 2024. In response, Lee connected Meta AI’s claims about Starbuck to years of censorship of conservatives. The Utah Senator made clear that Meta’s history left little room for any benefit of the doubt and called for a “thorough investigation.”
Lee noted that Meta would not dare to antagonize half the country for years if it feared competition. “In a truly free market, no company in Meta’s position would be inclined to take steps that, when brought to light, would inevitably alienate roughly half of all Americans,” Lee wrote.
He added, “The fact that Meta has done precisely that suggests that Meta may have sufficiently walled itself off from competition to the point that it sees no threat from would-be competitors, and therefore doesn’t worry about alienating roughly half of all Americans by siding consistently and aggressively with the far left.”
Starbuck is famous for his “100% strike rate” in torching diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at big corporations, including Ford, Toyota, Molson-Coors, Tractor Supply, Harley-Davidson, Jack Daniel’s parent company Brown-Furman, Stanley Black & Decker, Caterpillar, Lowe’s and Walmart.
Starbuck repeatedly highlighted corporate ties to the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a radical LGBTQ+ pressure group. He also exposed corporations for agreeing to HRC demands like fully embracing transgenderism, allowing men in women’s bathrooms and offering “healthcare coverage for medically necessary transition-related care.”
Additionally, Starbuck has convinced companies to distance themselves from racial discrimination in hiring, promotions and supplier selection, alongside other discriminatory or radical corporate DEI practices.
According to Starbuck, his activism against DEI at the nation’s largest companies put a huge target on his back. He mentioned that before Harley-Davidson caved, “One dealership was unhappy with me and they posted a screenshot from Meta’s AI in an effort to attack me. This screenshot was filled with lies.”
Starbuck wrote that Meta AI “spread” a number of outrageous claims “about me”:
“Meta’s AI claims that I’ve appeared on Nick Fuentes show, that I’ve spoken at his rallies, and that I’ve supported him. I’ve never met him and this is all false.
“Meta’s AI claims I’ve engaged in Holocaust denial. I’ve NEVER denied the Holocaust.
“Meta’s AI tells advertisers NOT to advertise with me because of the lies it invented.
“Meta tells employers NOT to hire me because of the lies it invented.
“Meta suggested that MY KIDS BE TAKEN FROM ME because it would be better for them to be raised by someone more friendly to DEI and transgenderism.
“Meta’s ironically claimed that I’ve been sued for DEFAMATION and EMOTIONAL DISTRESS. I’ve never been sued for either.”
Starbuck noted that Meta AI’s changes in response to his complaints resulted in his name being blacklisted. In an April 29 video, he demonstrated that the chatbot continued to spew information about him he said was false if a user avoided using his name in their prompt.
Furthermore, the podcast host shared evidence to suggest the AI chatbot was aware of the potential harm done. “Meta’s AI admits that a false accusation over J6 is extremely harmful to whoever is accused. It even agrees that a court is LIKELY to rule that this was defamation with ACTUAL MALICE,” Starbuck wrote.
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