A lawyer representing celebrity pastor Bishop T.D. Jakes has filed a motion in the Northern District of California seeking to subpoena Google, YouTube’s parent company, to share information concerning the identities of four YouTube account holders spread across Pakistan, South Africa, the Philippines, and Kenya. These accounts made false claims about Jakes utilizing AI tools to create misinformation videos on YouTube, which have become popular on the platform. Jakes’ attorney alleges that YouTube has failed to effectively enforce its own policies against AI-generated misinformation being spread on the platform. The motion filed by Jakes’ lawyer is among the first attempts to unmask creators behind viral AI-generated misinformation videos, which target Black celebrities such as Jakes and Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The motion highlights how YouTube videos containing misinformation involving Jakes and Combs have received millions of views and have spread false allegations and fake imagery. Jakes is also involved in a lawsuit filed by music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who claimed that Combs attempted to use his relationship with Jakes to mitigate the impact of allegations against him. The motion also describes the efforts of Jakes’ attorney to engage with YouTube’s legal counsel in addressing the misleading and harmful content present on the platform. If successful, Jakes may pursue defamation litigation against the creators of these videos.
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