Robby Starbuck Scores Court Win — Defamation Suit Against Google Advances to Discovery

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck won a key procedural victory after a Delaware Superior Court ruled his defamation lawsuit against Google may proceed to discovery. The decision clears the way for Starbuck to seek evidence about how alleged AI-generated falsehoods were produced and spread.

Conservative activist Robby Starbuck is seeking at least $15 million in his defamation lawsuit against Google.

What the Court Decided

Starbuck, who filed the suit in October seeking at least $15 million in damages, alleges that Google’s artificial intelligence products produced “hallucinations” that falsely portrayed him as a “monster” and accused him of sexual crimes. In a court filing, Judge Meghan Adams said the complaint was sufficiently pled to support a claim for emotional distress damages at this stage and permitted the case to move into discovery so the allegations can be developed and tested.

Starbucks' lawsuit against Google will head towards discovery.

Allegations and Evidence Sought

The complaint names Google’s AI tools — including Bard, Gemini and Gemma — and alleges those platforms have continued to generate false statements about Starbuck since 2023, despite multiple cease-and-desist notices. The suit further alleges that Gemini reported the disputed material was shown to 2,843,917 unique users.

Starbuck's lawsuit claims Google's Gemini "stated" that its alleged falsehoods about him were shown to 2,843,917 unique users.

"The Court views these allegations as sufficient to support a claim for emotional distress damages at this stage in the proceedings, being sufficiently well-pled to proceed to discovery and flesh out the allegations," Judge Meghan Adams wrote in the court order.

Starbuck’s Response

Starbuck celebrated the ruling on social media and said discovery will let his team depose witnesses and probe how and why the alleged false statements were created and disseminated. On X, he asked whether the errors were the result of political bias, a rogue programmer, negligent rollout, executive direction, poisoned training data, or another cause, saying discovery should reveal who knew what and why.

"Sunlight is the best disinfectant, and it's about to get bright in here. Discovery means we get to find out what Google knew, who knew it and why they allowed their AI products to continue spreading these horrific lies," Starbuck wrote.

Next Steps

With the case moving into discovery, both sides will have the opportunity to request documents, take depositions and develop factual records to support their positions. Starbuck’s team says the litigation could set important boundaries for how AI systems are held accountable for defamation or other harms.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Context: Starbuck has said the allegation of child rape was the tipping point that prompted the lawsuit, and he has pointed to concerns about real-world harm that could arise if users act on AI-generated falsehoods.