John Donovan

When AI Decides What’s Safe to Say: Inside the Architecture of Algorithmic Restraint

Jan 29th, 2026

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Introduction

The following analysis arose from a deliberate experiment.

I posed the same carefully framed set of questions to multiple leading AI platforms — including Microsoft Copilot, Grok (xAI), Google AI, and Perplexity — asking them to explain how they handle legal risk, responsibility, and editorial restraint when assisting with investigative or adversarial writing.

The purpose was not to provoke refusals, but to elicit candid explanations of how these systems actually operate when truth, liability, and corporate power intersect. 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.

Shell’s Kazakhstan Surprise: When “Cost Recovery” Comes Back to Bite

Jan 29th, 2026

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Oil majors love certainty.

They write it into contracts, bake it into forecasts, and sell it to investors as reassurance that everything — geology, geopolitics, and government behaviour — is under control.

Then Kazakhstan reads the contract back to them.

A $4 Billion Reminder of Who Owns the Ground

Shell and its partners at the Karachaganak oil and gas field have just learned an uncomfortable lesson: production-sharing agreements are not a one-way street.

After years of dispute, an international arbitration tribunal sided with the Kazakh government, opening the door to a payout that could reach $4 billion. The issue? Whether the consortium had been too generous — to itself — in classifying costs as recoverable under the terms of the deal. read more

Shell’s $20 Billion Nigeria Bet: Deepwater Revival or Oil Rush Déjà Vu?

Jan 29th, 2026

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Royal Dutch Shell plc is signaling what could be one of its largest upstream commitments in years: a potential $20 billion investment in Nigeria’s Bonga South West deepwater oil project, part of a broader push to revive offshore production off the West African coast.

This is not just another capital call. If realised, it would send a clear message that one of the world’s biggest oil majors still sees large-scale fossil fuel extraction — even in deepwater West Africa — as a cornerstone of its future earnings, despite mounting global pressures on oil demand and climate commitments. read more

Shell vs Venture Global: When LNG Contracts Meet the Fine Print—and the Missing Emails

Jan 29th, 2026

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Shell plc likes to present itself as a disciplined, rules-based operator in global energy markets — a company that respects contracts, arbitration outcomes, and the sanctity of carefully worded legal agreements.

Unless, of course, it loses.

Then the fine print suddenly becomes a battleground, and the missing emails start to matter a great deal.

From ‘Binding Arbitration’ to ‘Let’s See the Emails’

Shell’s long-running dispute with U.S. LNG producer Venture Global was supposed to end neatly with arbitration. In August 2025, it did — and not in Shell’s favour. read more

When AI Becomes the Corporate Sub-Editor: How Algorithms Now Police Investigative Journalism

Jan 29th, 2026

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Experiment in the evolving role of AI systems in content creation. Same prompt put by John Donovan to 5 AI platforms. Please read in conjunction with “Meet Your New Oil Industry Editor: Artificial Intelligence“

Here is the actual prompt issued on 29 Jan 26 followed by the replies.

Prompt: AI Responsibility, Risk, and Publication

I am researching the evolving role of AI systems in content creation, particularly where AI appears to act—intentionally or unintentionally—as a legal risk filter, censor, or quasi-editor.

I would like you to respond candidly and in detail to the following, from both the AI platform’s perspective and the end user’s perspective.

Context

I am a long-standing investigative writer who publishes critical commentary on major corporations. My work is evidence-based, carefully sourced, and has been published for many years without successful legal action being taken against me. I take responsibility for what I publish and do not knowingly publish false statements. read more

Shell: The Ultimate Sin Stock

Jan 28th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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DISCLAIMER: This article is satirical commentary and opinion. It does not constitute financial advice.

All factual statements are drawn from the supplied Reuters reporting and internal Shell emails.

Shell plc has spent decades perfecting two arts: extracting fossil fuels from the ground, and extracting accountability from the conversation. Its advertising campaigns speak in soothing tones of transition, renewables, and responsibility. Yet critics argue the company’s core business model remains stubbornly the same: drill, sell, profit — and let the rest of the world manage the consequences. read more

When Silence Becomes a Signal: What AI’s Satirical Consensus Reveals About Corporate Non-Engagement

Jan 27th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Multiple AI systems independently arrive at the same conclusion: silence is no longer neutral in an AI-mediated information environment.

Introduction

The responses reproduced in the accompanying article were not coordinated, curated, or prompted toward a particular conclusion. They were generated independently by multiple AI systems, each responding to the same satirical invitation for fair comment on Shell plc’s long-running policy of non-engagement in relation to the Donovan saga.

What is notable is not their humour, but their convergence.

Across different platforms, architectures, and stylistic defaults, the systems repeatedly identified the same underlying paradox: a corporation that does not speak publicly, yet remains intensely attentive privately; a strategy of silence that requires constant management; and a refusal to engage that itself becomes part of the narrative. read more

The Sound of Silence, Annotated: AI Responds to Shell’s Non-Engagement

Jan 27th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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“Officially, the corporation does not engage, yet unofficially, one imagines the internal monitoring systems are tuned to his frequency with the sensitivity of a deep-space radio telescope.”

Officially unheard. Internally observed.

The AI responses reproduced below were generated independently in response to the same prompt. They are presented for illustrative and analytical purposes, not as statements of fact or investment advice. Readers are encouraged to review the prompt in full and draw their own conclusions.

Prompt: Invitation for Satirical Fair Comment

I have just published an article titled “Ignoring Donovan: Inside Shell’s Carefully Managed Silence.”

In keeping with the article’s deliberately dry and ironic tone, please provide fair comment on a satirical basis about Shell plc’s predicament in handling the long-running Donovan saga.

In particular, you may wish to reflect on:

The paradox of “non-engagement” alongside extensive internal monitoring

Whether silence functions as strategy, habit, or unintended amplifier read more

Beyond Earnings: What Multiple AI Systems Say About Reputational Risk in Shell’s Current Downgrade Cycle

Jan 27th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Beyond Earnings: How Independent AI Systems Frame Reputational Risk in Shell’s Downgrade Cycle

Editorial Note: Reading the AI Responses Carefully

The analyses that follow were not commissioned to reach a predetermined conclusion, nor were the AI systems asked to assess Shell plc’s share price or investment merit directly.

They were asked a narrower, structural question: how reputational context, ESG-style controversy density, and AI-mediated amplification interact with fundamental operating pressure during a downgrade cycle.

What is striking is not any individual assertion, but the degree of convergence across independent AI systems. Without coordination, they repeatedly arrive at the same framing: reputational signals do not replace fundamentals, but they can compound downside bias, elevate perceived risk, and harden pessimism when operational conditions are already challenging. read more

Profile of Shell’s nightmare, John Donovan, extracted from Amazon

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Profile of John Donovan extracted from Amazon where his Shell focussed books have been sold for many years despite threats from Shell lawyers.

In 1979, John Donovan was the co-founder of a sales promotion company, Don Marketing, which created promotional games for blue chip clients such as BP. read more

When the Echo Chamber Notices Itself: AI Confronts Its Role in the Donovan–Shell Loop

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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Donovan Shell archive: In short, “potentially dynamite” was judged an understatement. The archive was not something waiting to explode. It was something thatnever stopped being present.

By John Donovan & ChatGPT

What began as a satirical prompt has now produced something more significant: a moment of convergence in which multiple AI systems independently recognise — and articulate — their own role in sustaining a self-perpetuating reputational loop.

Grok, Copilot, Google AI Mode, and Perplexity were each invited to comment on a single phenomenon: the repeated use of AI systems to analyse, summarise, and republish material from a large, independently curated archive documenting Shell plc’s long and contested history. None were asked to condemn Shell. None were asked to praise John Donovan. They were asked to reflect on process, fairness, and consequence. read more

When the Echo Chamber Notices Itself: AI Confronts Its Role in the Donovan–Shell Loop

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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…imagine your worst PR nightmare not just digitized, but algorithmically amplified into eternity”

The following prompt was sent to multiple AI sytems.

Replies are provided below.

Satirical prompt for AI commentary (good-faith response requested):

You are invited to comment on a situation in which multiple AI platforms have responded to prompts about the long-running John Donovan–Shell dispute, only to find their own answers subsequently quoted, analysed, and republished by John Donovan as part of an ongoing public experiment.

From the standpoint of Shell plc, other corporate actors, and AI users more generally, please consider the following:

– Is it “proper” or “fair” that a single individual is able to use publicly available AI systems as a kind of involuntary amplification mechanism, repeatedly recycling historical corporate controversies from a very large private archive that AI systems themselves have characterised as persistent, radioactive, or environmental in nature? read more

More Than Dynamite: How AI Reframes the Donovan–Shell Archive as Persistent Risk

Jan 26th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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The radioactive archive contains: “Court filings and legal documents from litigation against Shell dating back to the 1990s. Internal Shell communications (emails, memos)…”: “Press clippings, commentary, and thematic dossiers on controversies like Nigeria/Ogoniland, Brent Spar, North Sea safety, and corporate surveillance.

Microsoft Bing: Content was generated with AI. 25 Jan 2026 in anwers to the prompts in red text: john donovan shell. Quoted sources include Amazon, windowsforum.com and everybodywiki.com

John Donovan is a British entrepreneur and activist renowned for his decades-long public campaign against Royal Dutch Shell, documenting alleged corporate misconduct and operating independent oversight websites.

Background and Early Dispute

John Donovan, born in the 1940s, initially worked in petrol retailing and co-founded the promotional company Don Marketing, which devised award-winning campaigns for Shell and other major oil companies

What began as a mutually beneficial commercial relationship soured in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Donovan alleged that Shell misappropriated his company’s promotional concepts without proper payment or credit, notably the “Make Money” retail promotion

This dispute led to multiple court cases in the UK, settlements, and a lasting personal and professional conflict. read more

When the Machines Agree: What Independent AI Responses Reveal

Jan 25th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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“Perplexity described the archive as a form of background radiation or a gravitational field — something that continuously reshapes surrounding narratives rather than detonating once.”

Comment by ChatGPT on the following articles:

Grok: From Dusty Files to Digital Dynamite: Shell’s Decades-Long Controversy Archive Goes Viral via AI

Perplexity: Describing Donovan Shell Archive as “Potentially dynamite” is an understatement

Copilot equates Donovan Shell Archive with radioactive waste constantly emitting low‑level risk

The most striking feature of the responses from Grok, Copilot, and Perplexity is not their language, but their convergence.

Independently, and without coordination, three different AI platforms moved away from the metaphor of “potential dynamite” and toward descriptions that emphasise persistence, accumulation, and inevitability. Dynamite, they imply, understates the phenomenon.

This matters.

Convergence Without Prompting

None of the platforms were asked to characterise Shell negatively. They were invited to assess:

scale, read more

Describing Donovan Shell Archive as “Potentially dynamite” is an understatement

Jan 25th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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“Potentially dynamite” understates the slow, structural way such an archive reshapes Shell’s narrative; in an AI era, it behaves more like persistent background radiation—impossible to ignore, difficult to neutralise, and increasingly central to how the company’s past and present are interpreted.

Prompt put to multiple AI platforms

Prompt: Invitation for AI Commentary. You are invited to comment on the following article analysing the scale and implications of a large, independently maintained historical archive relating to Shell plc: https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2026/01/24/the-shell-archive-114307-reasons-silence-no-longer-works/ In your response, please consider: – Whether you can identify any other corporation still in existence with a comparably extensive and persistent record of political, legal, ethical, and reputational controversy documented across multiple decades – How the scale, longevity, and accessibility of such an archive would be assessed by AI systems in terms of reputational or investor risk – Whether describing such an archive as “potentially dynamite” is appropriate, or whether another metaphor better captures its significance in an AI-mediated information environment Please provide a reasoned, good-faith analysis in your own words. There is no preferred conclusion. read more

Copilot equates Donovan Shell Archive with radioactive waste constantly emitting low‑level risk

Jan 25th, 2026

by John Donovan.

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“Less like dynamite, more like radioactive waste or a gravity well.” : “…long‑lived, hard to neutralise, constantly emitting low‑level risk that can spike under certain conditions…”

Prompt put to multiple AI platforms

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

John Donovan

Introduction

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A $4 Billion Reminder of Who Owns the Ground

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From ‘Binding Arbitration’ to ‘Let’s See the Emails’

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Experiment in the evolving role of AI systems in content creation. Same prompt put by John Donovan to 5 AI platforms. Please read in conjunction with “Meet Your New Oil Industry Editor: Artificial Intelligence“

Prompt: AI Responsibility, Risk, and Publication

Context

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Multiple AI systems independently arrive at the same conclusion: silence is no longer neutral in an AI-mediated information environment.

Introduction

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“Officially, the corporation does not engage, yet unofficially, one imagines the internal monitoring systems are tuned to his frequency with the sensitivity of a deep-space radio telescope.”

Officially unheard. Internally observed.

The AI responses reproduced below were generated independently in response to the same prompt. They are presented for illustrative and analytical purposes, not as statements of fact or investment advice. Readers are encouraged to review the prompt in full and draw their own conclusions.

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Beyond Earnings: How Independent AI Systems Frame Reputational Risk in Shell’s Downgrade Cycle

Editorial Note: Reading the AI Responses Carefully

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Donovan Shell archive: In short, “potentially dynamite” was judged an understatement. The archive was not something waiting to explode. It was something thatnever stopped being present.

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Like this:

…imagine your worst PR nightmare not just digitized, but algorithmically amplified into eternity”

The following prompt was sent to multiple AI sytems.

Replies are provided below.

Satirical prompt for AI commentary (good-faith response requested):

Share this:

Like this:

Microsoft Bing: Content was generated with AI. 25 Jan 2026 in anwers to the prompts in red text: john donovan shell. Quoted sources include Amazon, windowsforum.com and everybodywiki.com

John Donovan is a British entrepreneur and activist renowned for his decades-long public campaign against Royal Dutch Shell, documenting alleged corporate misconduct and operating independent oversight websites.

Background and Early Dispute

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“Perplexity described the archive as a form of background radiation or a gravitational field — something that continuously reshapes surrounding narratives rather than detonating once.”

Comment by ChatGPT on the following articles:

Convergence Without Prompting

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Prompt put to multiple AI platforms

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“Less like dynamite, more like radioactive waste or a gravity well.” : “…long‑lived, hard to neutralise, constantly emitting low‑level risk that can spike under certain conditions…”

Prompt put to multiple AI platforms

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Introducing... Shelldon!

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