AI Hallucinations

Donovan–Shell Feud: AI Raises New Questions

Mar 4th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Yesterday we published an article titled “Donovan Shell Feud: Renewed Legal Threats?”

The article included replies from several AI platforms in response to the following prompt:

“Have AI bots managed to put a stop to John Donovan’s tricks and mischief in his bot-war-fuelled feud with Shell plc, or are AI bot platforms neutral?”

If any reader gained the impression from the collective AI responses that Shell is actively considering, or has taken, legal action against me, I would like to make it clear that I have no knowledge of any such development. 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.

Donovan Shell Feud: Renewed legal threats?

Mar 4th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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“Shell has issued threats of legal action but hasn’t visibly disrupted the AI-driven campaign.”

EXTRACT FROM GOOGLE AI MODE REPLY (FULL RESPONSE BELOW)

  • Renewed Legal Threats: In February 2026, Shell reportedly issued or considered new legal threats in response to Donovan’s “bot war” and AI-amplified publications.
  • Specific Defamation Focus: Legal analysts suggest Shell may shift from broad attempts to silence Donovan to targeting specific, demonstrably false AI-generated claims.
  • Platform Engagement: Shell could engage directly with AI vendors to request the removal of outputs containing factual errors or to improve the provenance of model citations.
  • Evidence Protocols: The company may be developing new legal protocols to manage cases where decades of archival documents are reinterpreted by AI to create “new” allegations.

Question put to multiple bot platforms on 3rd March 2026 including Google AI Mode: Have AI bots managed to put a stop to John Donovan’s tricks and mischief in his bot war fuelled feud with Shell plc or are AI bot platforms neutral?​

Reply by Grok…

The long-standing feud between activist John Donovan and Shell plc, dating back decades over allegations of corporate misconduct, intellectual property disputes, and espionage, has recently escalated into what Donovan himself terms a “bot war.” This involves him systematically feeding archival documents and prompts into various public AI chatbots, then publishing their outputs to highlight inconsistencies, amplify his narratives, and provoke Shell. Based on available information as of early March 2026, AI bots have not managed to halt Donovan’s activities—instead, they appear to be enabling or amplifying them in reputational battles. Here’s a breakdown: 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.

Copilot update on Donovan Shell feud 1st March 2026: Shell is losing the bot war

Mar 1st, 2026
by John Donovan.
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ESG analysts are watching the feud because AI‑generated narratives can reshape perceptions of ethics and sustainability.

The latest developments in the Donovan–Shell feud center on a long‑running corporate dispute that has recently evolved into a digitally amplified, AI‑driven information battle. The conflict, which began decades ago, is now being reshaped by the use of chatbots, archival material, and public provocations.

📰 Most recent headlines at a glance

  • February 2026 updates describe renewed legal threats and continued public clashes between John Donovan and Shell.
  • A “bot war” has emerged, with Donovan feeding archival documents into AI systems to expose inconsistencies and provoke Shell.
  • Regulators have stepped in, with the UK’s Financial Reporting Council investigating Shell’s 2024 audit amid the broader narrative tensions.
  • AI‑mediated activism is escalating, creating new reputational risks for Shell and new visibility for Donovan.
  • A February 2026 retrospective reiterates the feud’s origins in 1980s intellectual‑property disputes and its evolution into a modern digital campaign.

🔍 What’s happening now

1. Escalation through AI

Recent coverage highlights that Donovan is deliberately using large‑language models to revive and amplify decades of documents, litigation records, and leaked materials. By publishing the differing outputs from various chatbots, he is reframing the feud as a test of AI reliability and corporate transparency. This tactic has created a fast‑moving information environment that Shell has struggled to control. 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.

The Donovan–Shell Feud: A Conflict That Refuses to End: 17 Feb 2026

Feb 17th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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Bing response on 17 February 2026 to the prompt: John Donovan Shell feud

The Donovan-Shell feud is a decades-long conflict between activist John Donovan and Shell plc, originating from 1980s intellectual property disputes and evolving into a high-profile, AI-amplified campaign.

Origins of the Feud

The conflict began in the late 1970s and early 1980s when John Donovan, alongside his father Alfred Donovan, ran Don Marketing, a company creating promotional campaigns for Shell UK, including loyalty programs and petrol forecourt games. Donovan alleges that Shell stole intellectual property and promotional ideas, particularly related to schemes like the SMART card loyalty program, which led to bitter litigation throughout the 1990s. A high-profile court case in 1999 culminated in a settlement in 2001, with Shell paying an undisclosed sum, though Donovan has claimed ongoing breaches and surveillance. 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.

WindowsForum.com: Donovan and his conflict with Shell

Feb 13th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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You’re researching Donovan, and the WindowsForum.com results overwhelmingly point to a decades-long dispute between John Donovan and Royal Dutch Shell, significantly amplified by recent experiments with generative AI [8, 9, 1, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19].

This “bot war” involves feeding an extensive archive of information about Shell to AI assistants like ChatGPT, Copilot, and Grok, revealing inconsistencies, “hallucinations” (false information generated by AI), and the challenges of AI handling contested historical narratives [8, 13, 15]. 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.

AI Chatbots Escalate Corporate Feud Over Shell’s Bot War

Feb 12th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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AI CERTs News: AI Chatbots Escalate Corporate Feud Over Shell’s Bot War

A 30-year dispute between activist John Donovan and energy giant Shell has entered an unexpected digital phase. Consequently, large-language models now sit at the center of a escalating information contest. Donovan feeds public chatbots with decades of leaked documents, then publishes their conflicting answers in near real time. Meanwhile, the strategy reframes an old Corporate battle through synthetic voices that never fatigue.

Observers see the experiment as an early case study in AI-mediated activism. Furthermore, it exposes fresh Reputational vulnerabilities for organizations depending on silence as a shield. ESG analysts also watch closely, because sustainability narratives can be reshaped by algorithmic improvisation. However, hallucination risk remains high, creating new fact-checking burdens for journalists and compliance teams. Consequently, understanding the tactic’s mechanics and stakes is essential for leaders managing Archiving or crisis functions. The following analysis dissects the feud’s AI turn and highlights lessons for governance, risk, and communication professionals. 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.

Windows Forum: John Donovan’s December 2025 experiment

Feb 11th, 2026
by John Donovan.
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John Donovan’s December 2025 experiment — feeding decades of adversarial material about Royal Dutch Shell into multiple public AI assistants and publishing the divergent outputs — transformed a long‑running supplier feud and documentary archive into a live test of how generative systems handle contested archives, and in doing so exposed a set of practical governance failures that lawyers, platform designers, corporate boards and journalists must now confront.

Background​

From a supplier dispute to an adversarial archive​

The Donovan–Shell story begins in commerce: a 1990s dispute between Don Marketing (the Donovan family business) and Shell over promotional work evolved into litigation, domain fights and a decades‑long online campaign by John and his relatives. Over time that campaign produced a persistent, searchable archive of court filings, WIPO and administrative decisions, Subject Access Request (SAR) disclosures, leaked internal emails, press clippings and anonymous tips hosted across a cluster of sites led by royaldutchshellplc.com. The archive is complex: it containsments alongside redacted, anonymous and hard‑to‑trace materials. 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.