Posted in: Movies, Star Trek, TV | Tagged: facebook, william shatner

William Shatner Gets Facebook to Remove AI-Misinformation Account

Facebook removed some morbid AI misinformation about William Shatner after the Star Trek legend showed them what was being posted about him.

In the age of sensory overload, it becomes a delicate balance to disseminate truth from misinformation. There's always hope that the truth wins out in the end, but sometimes, you can only do so much, as William Shatner has been finding out as one of the most accessible celebrities online. Occasionally, bad-faith actors come to his attention in the form of fraudulent accounts, and the Canadian actor and Star Trek legend tries to bring attention to them as he can. The latest comes from a ring that suggests that the 95-year-old is suffering from terminal cancer, and it's something Shatner wanted to stamp out, opting to share the news the day after, April Fool's Day, but the rumor was anything but funny.

Star Trek: William Shatner Brings Attention to AI-Misinformation

"I wanted to put this out yesterday but given the day and the possibility that it would look like a joke I waited for today. There is a page on [Facebook] that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me. The page is by The Beanstalk Functions Group which is allegedly an Event Planner in South Africa," Shatner began. "They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I'm dying. All their stories are monetized. Most of the stories use an AI image of me. Facebook Support will not remove the page."

Shatner dove deeper into the investigation and the source of the misinformation. "Each story is accompanied by a website link in the post that is hosted on [nextjs] where some of you may have seen my post to the CEO of that company asking him to remove these fake stories," he wrote. "None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money."

The actor, director, and author provided a teachable moment of the lessons of AI, "This is the downside of AI and yellow journalism. While can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts take it with a grain of salt." After an inquiry by Entertainment Weekly, Facebook's parent company, Meta, responded, "[Beanstalk Functions Group's page] has been removed for violating our policies."

Shatner demonstrated the potential positive impact of AI by working with StoryFile, an AI firm, to preserve his likeness and personality by recording 45+ hours of input over five days to answer questions from family and fans about his life, career, and opinions, including his time in his signature franchise, Star Trek. While he's embraced working on the occasional live-action and voiceover project, the actor has remained an ambassador and advocate for Star Trek, even as it faces an uncertain future with no new active screen projects in production at Paramount and amid the defense of the brand following the cancellation of Starfleet Academy.

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