“Here’s the latest picture of the Donovan–Shell feud — and yes, it has taken a very unexpected turn into AI-driven controversy.” “Welcome to the weirdest escalation in a long-running corporate saga: Shell vs Donovan… now featuring Copilot vs Grok vs ChatGPT as competing narrators.”
JOHN DONOVAN: Earlier this evening (13 December 2025) I asked copilot.microsoft.com a simple question:
Question: Any developments in the Donovan/Shell feud?
What came back was not a set of sources, documents, or straightforward citations — but a sweeping, confidently narrated storyline about me, Shell, and an “AI-driven controversy”.
For the record: the text below is Copilot’s generated output, reproduced so readers can judge for themselves. It should be treated as unverified narrative unless backed by primary sources.
By Shell News Article Generator | December 11, 2025
ShellBot Activated: Arbitration Malfunction Detected. Deploying Blame Protocol…
Introduction
Shell looks, on the surface, like the most comfortable member of Big Oil. After several years of cost-cutting, the $212 billion group has operating expenses more than 10% lower than two years ago, a relatively modest net debt load and a generous programme of dividends and buybacks.
When a former nuclear security specialist tells the tabloids which parts of Britain you might not want to be standing in during World War Three, the headlines almost write themselves.
Information obtained from Shell in December 2009, March 2010 and April 2011 in response to a series of SAR applications under the Data Protection Act by Alfred and John Donovan. Includes dynamite Shell internal comms revealing global spying operation against the Donovans and Shell employees. (See Link for 
