AI-generated false information can appear in a variety of online contexts, including search engine results, structured business profiles and AI-generated summaries, where it may be presented to a broad audience of users. The instantaneous and wide-spread nature of AI-generated content makes it difficult to predict or prevent the occurrence of these hallucinations. A seemingly minor error can give rise to serious consequences, including financial losses, damage to reputation, disruption to professional relationships, and potential harm to an individual’s livelihood or income.
Smart summaries and chatbots
The widespread use of AI chatbots, together with the adoption of AI-generated “smart” summaries by some search engines, has increased the risk of inaccurate or false information being incorporated into automated responses without adequate verification of its accuracy. The danger of these kinds of defamatory statements is that they were not intentionally made by individuals; rather, they were falsely generated by AI that is backed with the informative authority of a search engine.
People tend to believe the first thing they see, and defamatory statements are no different – the harm inflicted upon the victim in these cases may be much more severe than anticipated.
Fraudulent AI-generated reviews
Since the rapid growth in the use of AI, there has been an increasing concern around its misuse to create fraudulent accounts designed to publish fake or misleading reviews targeting businesses and online platforms. This type of activity commonly arises either when a business attempts to manipulate its own online reputation by generating false positive reviews to attract genuine customers, or when competitors deliberately post misleading content to damage a rival’s reputation and gain a commercial advantage.
Although there are regulations in place that prohibit fake reviews (The Digital Markets, Competitions and Consumers Act 2024), with provisions specifically focussed on consumer protection, pursuing private law remedies are currently still the most effective legal avenue to halt publication of defamatory reviews and to remove them from public view.
What to do when you discover AI-generated false statements
Where AI-generated defamatory statements are identified, evidence should be preserved without delay. This may involve capturing screenshots and documenting the manner in which the content is displayed, disseminated and accessible to both the individual concerned and the wider public. The next step is to submit all the evidence to the specific search platforms or AI search engines’ moderators for review. This usually involves going through the relevant platform’s regular reporting or expedited review processes which many specifically provide.
If defamatory statements are causing serious and ongoing harm to you or someone close to you, seeking legal advice and pursuing appropriate legal remedies may be an effective way to request the correction, removal or restriction of the content. Depending on the circumstances, formal legal correspondence or urgent court applications, such as an injunction, may help prevent further dissemination of the misinformation.
If you believe you are the victim of AI generated defamatory content, please contact Nath Solicitors on 0203 983 8278 or get in touch with the firm online.