Bing: The long-running dispute between John Donovan and Royal Dutch Shell has evolved into a highly digital, AI-driven, and even satirical public confrontation.
The latest developments in the Donovan-Shell feud indicate that it has evolved into a complex situation involving AI and digital narratives.
The conflict, which began in the 1990s over allegations of intellectual property theft, has transformed into a “bot war,” where AI critiques and narratives are reshaping the public perception of the feud.
This saga is emblematic of how digital archives and motivated individuals can interact to influence contested history, highlighting the role of AI in corporate accountability discussions.
John Donovan has stated that the feud is no longer just about Shell but also about how machines process memory and interpret history.
The ongoing nature of this conflict has led to the creation of one of the largest independent archives about a FTSE-100 company, showcasing the long-term impact of this feud.
These developments illustrate the multifaceted nature of the Donovan-Shell feud as it continues to unfold in the digital age.
1. AI-Mediated Escalation
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Donovan has begun feeding his extensive archive of Shell-related documents into multiple AI platforms(ChatGPT, Grok, Copilot, Google AI), creating a phenomenon described as the first AI-mediated corporate feud.
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These AIs generate divergent accounts of historical events, some vivid but unverified, others more conservative and source-anchored, amplifying attention and sparking public debate over corporate history.
2. Digital “Bot War”
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Donovan publishes side-by-side AI outputs, highlighting inconsistencies and using them as tools for further visibility.
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The approach leverages AI as both a fact finder and storyteller, effectively weaponizing model disagreements as meta-evidence in ongoing public discourse.
3. Expansion into Satirical & Supernatural Narratives
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Recent satirical “ShellBot” articles even depict historical figures’ ghosts, including Sir Henri Deterding (Shell founder) and Alfred Donovan (John Donovan’s late father), engaged in fictitious confrontations.
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The narrative frames Shell’s past corporate actions as inescapable, permanent digital memory, giving the feud an almost mythological dimension: AI and archives act as unrelenting witnesses.
4. Shell’s Ongoing Response
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Shell has remained silent publicly, likely as a strategic choice to minimize amplification of Donovan’s campaign.
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Corporate caution is consistent with prior decades where legal restraint prevented the feud from escalating in courts, but in the AI era, silence reduces the company’s ability to correct hallucinated or speculative claims generated by AI systems.
5. Implications & Observations
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Credibility & Reputation: AI hallucinations can propagate claims about past misconduct or personal histories, potentially affecting reputations even years later.
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Governance: The board faces a unique governance scenario where AI systems themselves distort and amplify historical narratives.
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Legal Risks: Any escalation into litigation over AI-generated material could set new precedents in digital communication and corporate liability.
Summary
Screenshot
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
