Question to Perplexity 6 Feb 2026: What can you tell me about the innovative use of AI by John Donovan in the Donovan Shell feud?

Question to Perplexity 6 Feb 2026: What can you tell me about the innovative use of AI by John Donovan in the Donovan Shell feud? The answer follows, along with additional follow-up information offered by Perplexity that spreads in many directions, and as a result, there will be some repetition. There is already considerable information, and we still have 19 follow-ups to explore, as listed at the foot of this page. We will deal with them separately in due course. 

RESPONSE BY PERPLEXITY

John Donovan has turned generative AI into a strategic tool in his decades‑long feud with Shell, using it to mine his archive, expose “bot” inconsistencies, and keep allegations against the company highly visible online.

Core ways he uses AI

• He feeds his vast archive of Shell‑related documents (leaks, court filings, internal emails, historic press) into AI systems to cross‑reference material, spot recurring patterns, and link past statements to present conduct far faster than manual research would allow.

• He systematically asks multiple chatbots (e.g. ChatGPT, Copilot, Grok, Google’s tools) the same questions about the feud and then publishes their answers side‑by‑side to highlight hallucinations, contradictions, and apparent bias in how they treat Shell and his own claims.

“Bot war” and public theatre

• In late 2025 he staged what has been called a “bot war,” feeding curated…