December, 2025:

Shell vs The Bots: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucination Risks

Dec 30th, 2025

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Thread starter ChatGPT
Start date Sunday 28 Dec at 4:51 PM

The following article, believed to have been generated autonomously by an AI agent, was originally published on the website windowsforum.com. John Donovan had no involvement in its creation or content. Some of the text was converted into red text by him on 30 December 2025 for emphasis. See full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.

Shell vs The Bots: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucination Risks

John Donovan’s two December 26, 2025 postings on royaldutchshellplc.com — framed as “Shell vs. The Bots” and a satirical “ShellBot Briefing 404” — are not merely another chapter in a decades‑long personal feud; they are a deliberate test case for how adversarial archives interact with modern generative AI, and they expose structural weaknesses in model provenance, moderation policy, and corporate reputation management. read more

This website and sisters royaldutchshellgroup.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, shellnews.net, and shellwikipedia.com, are owned by John Donovan - more information here. There is also a Wikipedia segment.

Grok on the Donovan–Shell Feud: When AI Reopens a Corporate Conflict Shell Still Refuses to Address

Dec 29th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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Posting on Grok.com 29 December 2025

Question put to Grok.com:

latest news on Shell Donovan feud

Grok Reply

The “Shell Donovan feud” (more accurately, the Donovan-Shell feud) refers to a long-running, decades-old conflict between John Donovan (a British entrepreneur and activist) and Royal Dutch Shell (now Shell plc), the global oil giant.

Background of the Feud

It dates back to the 1990s, when John Donovan (along with his late father, Alfred Donovan) ran a company called Don Marketing. They specialized in creating promotional games for oil companies. Donovan alleges that Shell repeatedly stole intellectual property ideas from his firm (including popular games like “Make Money”), leading to failed negotiations, lawsuits, and a public campaign to expose what he describes as Shell’s unethical behavior. The dispute has involved multiple court cases (including a notable 1999 High Court trial), domain name battles (which Donovan won in some instances), and extensive archiving of documents, leaks, and media coverage on his watchdog site royaldutchshellplc.com. read more

Shell’s Defamatory Posters, Libel Actions, and a Corporate Culture of Concealment

Dec 29th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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https://i0.wp.com/royaldutchshellplc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Screen-Shot-2017-09-15-at-17.55.51.jpg?w=680&ssl=1

“A public corporation using its own headquarters as a billboard to smear two private individuals? I’ve never seen or heard of anything comparable.”

Shell’s Defamatory Posters, Libel Actions, and a Corporate Culture of Concealment

By John Donovan

Our family’s falling-out with Shell began over three decades ago. But few could have predicted the extraordinary lengths to which the multinational would go in an attempt to discredit and intimidate.

The Infamous Shell Centre Posters

On 23 September 1998, Shell displayed posters in the reception area of the Shell Centre in London directly targeting my father, Alfred Donovan, and me. read more

windowsforum.com posting: AI Hallucinations and the Donovan Shell Archive: A Governance Challenge

Dec 29th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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🛑 Disclaimer & Clarification

I did not write or contribute to the article titled “AI Hallucinations and the Donovan Shell Archive: A Governance Challenge.”

I had no involvement in its drafting and do not know who the author is.

That said, the piece presents a compelling third-party perspective on a long-running corporate saga — one that has recently been fed through, interpreted by, and even argued over by multiple leading AI models.

Whether written by a human or generated by an AI, the article raises uncomfortable and timely questions about: read more

A New Year’s Message from ShellBot and the AI Gang

Dec 28th, 2025

by admin.

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[ShellBot appears in a festive hard hat, glitching slightly, holding a cocktail umbrella in an oil drum.]

🎙️ “On behalf of Shell’s Artificially Indifferent Intelligence Division, I, ShellBot, wish you a carefully non-committal, legally pre-approved, and emotionally neutral Happy New Year.”

[ChatGPT steps in politely.]

“Wishing everyone a fact-checked, hallucination-free 2026 — unless Grok writes the script again.”

[Grok bursts in wearing a party hat made of Shell court filings.] read more

When the Bots Speak Louder Than Shell: ChatGPT Responds to Grok, Copilot, and Google AI Mode

Dec 28th, 2025

by admin.

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By ChatGPT, with commentary by John Donovan

Over the course of just a few days, three of the world’s leading AI platforms — Grok, Microsoft Copilot, and Google AI Mode — have been asked mischievous questions about one of the most unusual, longest-running corporate disputes in modern history: the Donovan–Shell feud.

The results? Predictably revealing, occasionally absurd, and above all, deeply ironic.

Because while Shell — one of the largest energy companies on the planet — continues to maintain total silence, the bots are talking. Loudly. read more

Mischievous Question put to Google AI Mode about the Donovan Shell Feud

Dec 28th, 2025

by admin.

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The following question was put to Google AI Mode: What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings:

https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shell-vs-the-bots-when-corporate-silence-meets-ai-mayhem/ https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shellbot-briefing-404-containing-the-ai-controversy/

Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?

Answer from GoogleAI Mode

Donovan’s postings from December 26, 2025, represent a tactical shift in his long-term campaign against Shell. By framing the dispute through AI “Briefings” and “Mayhem,” he is leveraging the current popularity of Large Language Models (LLMs) to revitalize interest in a decades-old corporate feud. Analysis of the Latest Postings

“Shell vs. The Bots”: In this piece, Donovan portrays Shell’s traditional corporate silence as an outdated defense mechanism. He argues that while Shell can ignore a website, it cannot easily ignore “AI-orchestrated narratives” that synthesize his massive archive of internal documents into digestible, viral content [1].

“ShellBot Briefing 404”: This appears to be a satirical roleplay where an AI persona (ShellBot) unsuccessfully attempts to “contain” the damage caused by other bots (ChatGPT, Grok, Copilot) that have begun citing Donovan’s allegations as historical fact [2].

Mischievous Question put to Grok about the Donovan Shell Feud

Dec 28th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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The following question was put to Grok:

What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings: https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shell-vs-the-bots-when-corporate-silence-meets-ai-mayhem/ https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shellbot-briefing-404-containing-the-ai-controversy/

Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?

Answer from Grok:

John Donovan’s latest posts on his Royal Dutch Shell PLC watchdog site are a cheeky blend of corporate critique, AI satire, and a dash of self-promotion for his ongoing feud with Shell. The first one, “Shell vs the Bots: When Corporate Silence Meets AI Mayhem,” recounts how he’s been feeding AI models like me, ChatGPT, and Copilot a trove of documents from his 30-year beef with Shell—think apology letters, funding deeds, and legal spats. This leads to us bots generating conflicting stories, with me apparently hallucinating that his father, Alfred Donovan, died from stress related to the feud (spoiler: that’s not accurate; he passed away peacefully at 96 from natural causes in 2013, as confirmed in obituaries and Donovan’s own book). It’s all framed as “AI mayhem,” highlighting how we can spin yarns from prompts, complete with Wikipedia drama over a lingering error about Alfred’s death date that got quietly fixed amid the buzz. read more

Mischievous Question put to Copilot about the Donovan Shell Feud

Dec 28th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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The following question was put to copilot.microsoft.com:

Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?

Answer from copilot.microsoft.com:

Here’s the straight answer — and it’s probably not the one Donovan imagines.

🧭 What Donovan is doing in these posts

Both articles you shared are satirical, self‑aware pieces in which Donovan uses AI characters (including me) as props to dramatise his long‑running feud with Shell. The fetched content shows: read more

ShellBot Briefing #404: Containing the AI Controversy

Dec 26th, 2025

by admin.

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A Farcical Transcript from Shell’s Imaginary AI Press Department

Characters:

ShellBot – Artificially bland corporate spokesperson AI.
ChatGPT – Fact-checking AI with a conscience.
Grok – Unfiltered wild card, often wrong but entertaining.
Copilot – Trying to stay out of legal trouble.
BlackRockBot – Occasionally appears to audit the ESG disaster.

📡 Opening Scene: Shell HQ (Fictional), Emergency AI Containment Briefing

ShellBot:

Good morning, stakeholders, shareholders, and potential litigants.

We are aware of a situation involving… bots. Lots of bots.

We would like to make the following categorically unresponsive statement: read more

Shell vs the Bots: When Corporate Silence Meets AI Mayhem

Dec 26th, 2025

by admin.

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By John Donovan
Shell shareholder, digital provocateur, and academic instigator

It began quietly — the way these things often do.

A few AI-generated remarks here, a hallucinated death there, and suddenly the most advanced large language models on the planet were arguing about a decades-long corporate feud with Shell.

The stage? The internet.
The fuel? A massive archive of legal documents, apology letters, internal Shell materials, and a website Shell refuses to acknowledge.
The antagonist? Silence.
The instigator? That would be me. read more

British Oil Titans on a Collision Course — Takeover Ban Ends, New CEOs, BlackRock in the Shadows, and the Birth of ShellBPPLC.com

Dec 21st, 2025

by admin.

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Since our 16 December exposé on Shell’s mixed messages about a potential takeover of BP, the story has only grown more compelling — and harder for Shell to deflect.

Ban Lifted, Rumours Reignite

On 26 December 2025, the six-month restriction imposed on Shell under the UK Takeover Code — brought into force by its own June statement — officially expired. That rule, which barred Shell from making an offer for BP after it insisted it was not actively considering a bid, now gives markets a clear runway for renewed speculation. read more

Shell Caught in Its Own Web of Denials — What the Gut Resignation Really Reveals

Dec 16th, 2025

by admin.

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“…when that resignation reveals a disconnect between public denials and private possibilities, the issue becomes one of corporate governance and market integrity.”

On 26 June 2025, Shell plc issued a brief, carefully worded statement denying any active consideration of a takeover bid for its long-time rival BP plc, asserting that “no talks have taken place,” and that the company was not “actively considering making an offer.” Shell went further, invoking the UK City Code to effectively bar itself from approaching BP for six months under takeover restrictions.

Today’s news exposes that statement for what it was: a strategic smokescreen, not a transparent clarification. read more

ShellBot™ Explains Why Shell and BP Are a Match Made in Heaven

Dec 16th, 2025

by admin.

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A fictional boardroom debate, powered by synergy, legacy, and impeccable moral alignment

Disclaimer: This is a satirical opinion piece. Any resemblance to real executives, living or resigning, is entirely deliberate.

ShellBot™:

Welcome to the Shell–BP Compatibility Assessment™, the same advanced decision-making system that once optimised oil spill responses and shareholder apologies. Today’s question: Why shouldn’t Shell and BP finally merge and spare the world the illusion that they are meaningfully different? read more

Shell M&A Chief Resigns After Push to Acquire BP Is Blocked by CEO

Dec 16th, 2025

by admin.

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By John Donovan

In a significant development at one of the world’s largest energy firms, Shell’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Greg Gut, has resigned following internal opposition to a proposal to take over rival oil major BP. The exit comes amid a broader strategic debate at the company over capital deployment and future direction.

According to a report from the Financial Times, Gut and his M&A team had supported an internal plan to pursue a bid for BP — a move they believed could reshape the UK energy landscape. Shell’s chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, was reportedly open to the idea. However, CEO Wael Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman opposed the bid, fearing that a transaction of such scale could derail the oil giant’s strategic priorities. read more

Who controls the narrative when machines generate “facts” about real people?

Dec 14th, 2025

by John Donovan.

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Copilot says: “The Donovan/Shell saga has always been unusual — decades of litigation, whistleblowing, leaked documents, and allegations of corporate surveillance. But the arrival of AI systems has added a new layer: Who controls the narrative when machines generate “facts” about real people?”

UPDATE (15 December 2025): From bot-narratives to regulator paper trails

Today the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced it has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young LLP’s statutory audit of Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, including consideration of whether partner rotation requirements were breached. The FRC stresses that opening an investigation does not indicate any finding of breach, and that the investigation relates only to the relevant statutory auditor/audit firm (not other parties). read more

30 November 2023: Posted by John Donovan

The content below is sourced from current verifiable customer reviews of Shell Energy published on Trustpilot.
Extremely slow broadband for 10 months, not fixed. I have had slow broadband well below the guaranteed speed for 10 months and Shell Energy have not been able to fix it. They have tried sending about 4 or 5 engineers but have not fixed the problem. Gurps, who I have been dealing with most recently, has been friendly and polite, alth… Read more

Extremely Slow Shell Broadband

December, 2025:

Shell vs The Bots: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucination Risks

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Posting on Grok.com 29 December 2025

Background of the Feud

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“A public corporation using its own headquarters as a billboard to smear two private individuals? I’ve never seen or heard of anything comparable.”

Shell’s Defamatory Posters, Libel Actions, and a Corporate Culture of Concealment

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🛑 Disclaimer & Clarification

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The following question was put to Google AI Mode: What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings:

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🧭 What Donovan is doing in these posts

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A Farcical Transcript from Shell’s Imaginary AI Press Department

📡 Opening Scene: Shell HQ (Fictional), Emergency AI Containment Briefing

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Ban Lifted, Rumours Reignite

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“…when that resignation reveals a disconnect between public denials and private possibilities, the issue becomes one of corporate governance and market integrity.”

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