Hey. Just started using Brave a few weeks ago or so and I like it so far, but I was trying to figure out if someone I know participated on an old music contest site called Metapop and the AI search result randomly insisted that it was shut down because of a scandal where the company was lying about contest results. I don’t remember the specific search, but “why did Metapop shut down” causes the AI to parrot this particular theory.
Thing is, I won or placed in several contests on there, and after it shut down, I got to know some of the people who worked behind the scenes as staff or community volunteers. Many of the specifics of this particular conspiracy theory are completely unfounded, predicated on misunderstanding how the site operated and attributing normal occurrences as evidence of sinister backroom dealings. Worse, the theory specifically targets one of the members who was a community volunteers on the site, which is particularly galling given how unimpeachable their integrity was (and still is).
This theory is something put forth by a single Reddit user and nowhere else that I’ve ever seen, so while I’m reporting this specific conspiracy theory in the hopes that it stops getting parroted by Leo, it suggests a deeper problem where insane posts with no basis in reality can be picked up and presented as consensus. A “please verify critical facts” disclaimer feels insufficient when weighed against the possibility of the slightest breeze causing the AI to libel random people.