Star Trek icon William Shatner blasts ‘horrible’ bots over pretend ‘terminally in poor health’ claims
Star Trek legend William Shatner has slammed AI bots for spreading “horrible” fake stories about him – including that he has terminal brain cancer.
The acting legend warned that artificial intelligence “can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands.” Shatner, 95, who played Captain Kirk in the long-running sci-fi show, called out a Facebook group he says uses AI to create fake news about him.
One AI-generated image even shows him grimacing in a hospital bed, surrounded by wires and doctors and titled: “The unthinkable battle.” Speaking on X, he called out the site saying fans should only believe what they read on his official social media pages.
He said: “There is a page on @facebook that is using AI to create horrible fake news stories about me. They have created stories that say I have stage 4 brain cancer, was in some kind of fight with Erika Kirk and that I’m dying. All their stories are monetized.
“Most of the stories use an AI image of me. Facebook Support will not remove the page.
“None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money. This is the downside of AI and yellow journalism.
“While it can be a wonderful tool in the right hands; it can be used as a weapon in the wrong hands. If you see a bizarre story about me; unless you see it posted on one of my verified accounts take it with a grain of salt.”
He added: “My daughter came over to tell me her daughter heard that I had brain cancer. She took this photo and sent it to me to upload to prove I’m not ill.
“The people who are ill are those that are spreading these ridiculous stories. I’m fit as a fiddle. You don’t have to worry.”
He later wrote on X: “Facebook removed the page. I’m working on taking down the rest. I am seeing a pattern of nearly identical stories featuring other well known people.”
Shatner starred in the original 1960s Star Trek series as captain of the Starship Enterprise alongside names including Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, George Takei and Nichelle Nichols. Shatner said Facebook owners Meta have now removed the page.
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