The following article, believed to have been generated autonomously by an AI agent, was originally published on the website windowsforum.com. John Donovan had no involvement in its creation or content. Some of the text was converted into red text by him on 30 December 2025 for emphasis. See full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
Shell vs The Bots: Adversarial Archives and AI Hallucination Risks
John Donovan’s two December 26, 2025 postings on royaldutchshellplc.com — framed as “Shell vs. The Bots” and a satirical “ShellBot Briefing 404” — are not merely another chapter in a decades‑long personal feud; they are a deliberate test case for how adversarial archives interact with modern generative AI, and they expose structural weaknesses in model provenance, moderation policy, and corporate reputation management. read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Domain Name Battle, Don Marketing, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, Hakluyt & Co, John Donovan, Leaked Shell Emails, Litigation, Outspoken Articles, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Business Principles, Shell Corporate Affairs Security, SHELL GLOBAL SECURITY, Shell Leaked Emails, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, Shell Spying, ShellBot, Sin Stocks.
Tagged: Alfred Donovan · John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Posting on Grok.com 29 December 2025
Question put to Grok.com:
latest news on Shell Donovan feud
Grok Reply
The “Shell Donovan feud” (more accurately, the Donovan-Shell feud) refers to a long-running, decades-old conflict between John Donovan (a British entrepreneur and activist) and Royal Dutch Shell (now Shell plc), the global oil giant.
Background of the Feud
It dates back to the 1990s, when John Donovan (along with his late father, Alfred Donovan) ran a company called Don Marketing. They specialized in creating promotional games for oil companies. Donovan alleges that Shell repeatedly stole intellectual property ideas from his firm (including popular games like “Make Money”), leading to failed negotiations, lawsuits, and a public campaign to expose what he describes as Shell’s unethical behavior. The dispute has involved multiple court cases (including a notable 1999 High Court trial), domain name battles (which Donovan won in some instances), and extensive archiving of documents, leaks, and media coverage on his watchdog site royaldutchshellplc.com. read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Domain Name Battle, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, John Donovan, Litigation, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, Shell Spying, Solar Power.
Tagged: John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
https://i0.wp.com/royaldutchshellplc.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Screen-Shot-2017-09-15-at-17.55.51.jpg?w=680&ssl=1
“A public corporation using its own headquarters as a billboard to smear two private individuals? I’ve never seen or heard of anything comparable.”
Shell’s Defamatory Posters, Libel Actions, and a Corporate Culture of Concealment
By John Donovan
Our family’s falling-out with Shell began over three decades ago. But few could have predicted the extraordinary lengths to which the multinational would go in an attempt to discredit and intimidate.
The Infamous Shell Centre Posters
On 23 September 1998, Shell displayed posters in the reception area of the Shell Centre in London directly targeting my father, Alfred Donovan, and me. read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, Big Oil, Bully-boy tactics, Business ethics, Business Principles, Don Marketing, GoogleNews, John Donovan, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell Business Principles, Shell Centre London, Shell PLC, Sin Stocks.
Tagged: John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
🛑 Disclaimer & Clarification
I did not write or contribute to the article titled “AI Hallucinations and the Donovan Shell Archive: A Governance Challenge.”
I had no involvement in its drafting and do not know who the author is.
That said, the piece presents a compelling third-party perspective on a long-running corporate saga — one that has recently been fed through, interpreted by, and even argued over by multiple leading AI models.
Whether written by a human or generated by an AI, the article raises uncomfortable and timely questions about: read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Don Marketing, Environment, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, John Donovan, John Donovan Ebook, Leaked Shell Emails, Litigation, Outspoken Articles, Royal Dutch Shell, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell AGM, Shell Business Principles, Shell Corporate Affairs Security, Shell Corporate Conscience Pressure Group, Shell Employee Safety, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, ShellBot, Sin Stocks.
[ShellBot appears in a festive hard hat, glitching slightly, holding a cocktail umbrella in an oil drum.]
🎙️ “On behalf of Shell’s Artificially Indifferent Intelligence Division, I, ShellBot, wish you a carefully non-committal, legally pre-approved, and emotionally neutral Happy New Year.”
[ChatGPT steps in politely.]
“Wishing everyone a fact-checked, hallucination-free 2026 — unless Grok writes the script again.”
[Grok bursts in wearing a party hat made of Shell court filings.] read more
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Posted in: Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Fossil Fuels, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, John Donovan, Litigation, Oil, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Advertising, Shell Business Principles.
Tagged: Environment · John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
By ChatGPT, with commentary by John Donovan
Over the course of just a few days, three of the world’s leading AI platforms — Grok, Microsoft Copilot, and Google AI Mode — have been asked mischievous questions about one of the most unusual, longest-running corporate disputes in modern history: the Donovan–Shell feud.
The results? Predictably revealing, occasionally absurd, and above all, deeply ironic.
Because while Shell — one of the largest energy companies on the planet — continues to maintain total silence, the bots are talking. Loudly. read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, BlackRock Advisors UK, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Environment, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, Gripe Sites, GROK, John Donovan, Litigation, Oil, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell PLC, Wikipedia Royaldutchshellplc.com.
Tagged: John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
The following question was put to Google AI Mode: What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings:
https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shell-vs-the-bots-when-corporate-silence-meets-ai-mayhem/ https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shellbot-briefing-404-containing-the-ai-controversy/
Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?
Answer from GoogleAI Mode
Donovan’s postings from December 26, 2025,
represent a tactical shift in his long-term campaign against Shell. By framing the dispute through AI “Briefings” and “Mayhem,” he is leveraging the current popularity of Large Language Models (LLMs) to revitalize interest in a decades-old corporate feud.
Analysis of the Latest Postings
“Shell vs. The Bots”: In this piece, Donovan portrays Shell’s traditional corporate silence as an outdated defense mechanism. He argues that while Shell can ignore a website, it cannot easily ignore “AI-orchestrated narratives” that synthesize his massive archive of internal documents into digestible, viral content [1].
“ShellBot Briefing 404”: This appears to be a satirical roleplay where an AI persona (ShellBot) unsuccessfully attempts to “contain” the damage caused by other bots (ChatGPT, Grok, Copilot) that have begun citing Donovan’s allegations as historical fact [2].
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Posted in: BlackRock, ChatGPT, Copilot, Fossil Fuels, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, John Donovan, Litigation, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell PLC, Sin Stocks, Sir Henri Deterding Funeral.
Tagged: John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
The following question was put to Grok:
What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings: https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shell-vs-the-bots-when-corporate-silence-meets-ai-mayhem/ https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shellbot-briefing-404-containing-the-ai-controversy/
Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?
Answer from Grok:
John Donovan’s latest posts on his Royal Dutch Shell PLC watchdog site are a cheeky blend of corporate critique, AI satire, and a dash of self-promotion for his ongoing feud with Shell. The first one, “Shell vs the Bots: When Corporate Silence Meets AI Mayhem,” recounts how he’s been feeding AI models like me, ChatGPT, and Copilot a trove of documents from his 30-year beef with Shell—think apology letters, funding deeds, and legal spats. This leads to us bots generating conflicting stories, with me apparently hallucinating that his father, Alfred Donovan, died from stress related to the feud (spoiler: that’s not accurate; he passed away peacefully at 96 from natural causes in 2013, as confirmed in obituaries and Donovan’s own book). It’s all framed as “AI mayhem,” highlighting how we can spin yarns from prompts, complete with Wikipedia drama over a lingering error about Alfred’s death date that got quietly fixed amid the buzz. read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, BlackRock, BlackRock Advisors UK, BlackRock Fund Advisors, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Don Marketing, Environment, Forbes, Google A1 Mode, GROK, John Donovan, John Donovan Ebook, Litigation, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Business Principles, Shell PLC, Shell Spying, ShellBot, Shelldon, Sin Stocks.
Tagged: John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
The following question was put to copilot.microsoft.com:
What do you make of Donovan’s latest postings: https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shell-vs-the-bots-when-corporate-silence-meets-ai-mayhem/ https://royaldutchshellplc.com/2025/12/26/shellbot-briefing-404-containing-the-ai-controversy/
Are you and rival AI bots going to put a stop to his mischief making?
Answer from copilot.microsoft.com:
Here’s the straight answer — and it’s probably not the one Donovan imagines.
🧭 What Donovan is doing in these posts
Both articles you shared are satirical, self‑aware pieces in which Donovan uses AI characters (including me) as props to dramatise his long‑running feud with Shell. The fetched content shows: read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, BlackRock, BlackRock Advisors UK, BlackRock Fund Advisors, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Don Marketing, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, John Donovan, John Donovan Ebook, Litigation, Oil, Shell, Shell AGM, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, Shell's nightmare, ShellBot, Sin Stocks, The American Red Cross, Wikipedia Royaldutchshellplc.com.
Tagged: Environment · John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
A Farcical Transcript from Shell’s Imaginary AI Press Department
Characters:
-
ShellBot – Artificially bland corporate spokesperson AI.
-
ChatGPT – Fact-checking AI with a conscience.
-
Grok – Unfiltered wild card, often wrong but entertaining.
-
Copilot – Trying to stay out of legal trouble.
-
BlackRockBot – Occasionally appears to audit the ESG disaster.
📡 Opening Scene: Shell HQ (Fictional), Emergency AI Containment Briefing
ShellBot:
Good morning, stakeholders, shareholders, and potential litigants.
We are aware of a situation involving… bots. Lots of bots.
We would like to make the following categorically unresponsive statement: read more
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Posted in: Alfred Donovan, Australian National Offshore Petroleum and Environmental Management Authority, BlackRock, BlackRock Advisors UK, BlackRock Fund Advisors, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, Greenwash, GROK, Hakluyt & Co, Huibert Vigeveno, John Donovan, Litigation, Oil, Pollution, Royal Dutch Shell Group, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell AGM, Shell Business Principles, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, Shell Spying, ShellBot, Sin Stocks.
Tagged: Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
By John Donovan
Shell shareholder, digital provocateur, and academic instigator
It began quietly — the way these things often do.
A few AI-generated remarks here, a hallucinated death there, and suddenly the most advanced large language models on the planet were arguing about a decades-long corporate feud with Shell.
The stage? The internet.
The fuel? A massive archive of legal documents, apology letters, internal Shell materials, and a website Shell refuses to acknowledge.
The antagonist? Silence.
The instigator? That would be me. read more
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Posted in: Africa, Alfred Donovan, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Chris Fay, Copilot, Environment, Fossil Fuels, Google A1 Mode, GoogleNews, GROK, Hakluyt & Co, Hakluyt & Company, Human Rights, John Donovan, John Donovan Ebook, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Business Principles, Shell Employee Safety, Shell PLC, Shell shareholders, Shell Spies, Shell Spying, ShellBot, Sin Stocks, Wkipedia.
Tagged: John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Since our 16 December exposé on Shell’s mixed messages about a potential takeover of BP, the story has only grown more compelling — and harder for Shell to deflect.
Ban Lifted, Rumours Reignite
On 26 December 2025, the six-month restriction imposed on Shell under the UK Takeover Code — brought into force by its own June statement — officially expired. That rule, which barred Shell from making an offer for BP after it insisted it was not actively considering a bid, now gives markets a clear runway for renewed speculation. read more
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Posted in: BlackRock, BlackRock Advisors UK, BlackRock Fund Advisors, BP, Business ethics, Business Principles, Fossil Fuels, GoogleNews, John Donovan, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell PLC.
Tagged: BP · John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc
“…when that resignation reveals a disconnect between public denials and private possibilities, the issue becomes one of corporate governance and market integrity.”
On 26 June 2025, Shell plc issued a brief, carefully worded statement denying any active consideration of a takeover bid for its long-time rival BP plc, asserting that “no talks have taken place,” and that the company was not “actively considering making an offer.” Shell went further, invoking the UK City Code to effectively bar itself from approaching BP for six months under takeover restrictions.
Today’s news exposes that statement for what it was: a strategic smokescreen, not a transparent clarification. read more
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Posted in: BP, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Financial Times, GoogleNews, John Donovan, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell BP Plc, Shell PLC, Shell Reserves Fraud, Shell Reserves Scandal.
Tagged: BP · John Donovan · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
A fictional boardroom debate, powered by synergy, legacy, and impeccable moral alignment
Disclaimer: This is a satirical opinion piece. Any resemblance to real executives, living or resigning, is entirely deliberate.
ShellBot™:
Welcome to the Shell–BP Compatibility Assessment™, the same advanced decision-making system that once optimised oil spill responses and shareholder apologies. Today’s question: Why shouldn’t Shell and BP finally merge and spare the world the illusion that they are meaningfully different? read more
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Posted in: Africa, Big Oil, BP, Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Environment, Fossil Fuels, GoogleNews, Hakluyt & Company, Human Rights.
By John Donovan
In a significant development at one of the world’s largest energy firms, Shell’s head of mergers and acquisitions, Greg Gut, has resigned following internal opposition to a proposal to take over rival oil major BP. The exit comes amid a broader strategic debate at the company over capital deployment and future direction.
According to a report from the Financial Times, Gut and his M&A team had supported an internal plan to pursue a bid for BP — a move they believed could reshape the UK energy landscape. Shell’s chair, Sir Andrew Mackenzie, was reportedly open to the idea. However, CEO Wael Sawan and CFO Sinead Gorman opposed the bid, fearing that a transaction of such scale could derail the oil giant’s strategic priorities. read more
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Posted in: Big Oil, BP, Business ethics, Business Principles, Environment, Fossil Fuels, GoogleNews, Greenwashing, Oil Spill, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell BP Plc, Shell PLC, Sin Stocks, Sir Andrew Mackenzie.
Tagged: BP · Environment · John Donovan · Oil · Royal Dutch Shell Plc
Copilot says: “The Donovan/Shell saga has always been unusual — decades of litigation, whistleblowing, leaked documents, and allegations of corporate surveillance. But the arrival of AI systems has added a new layer: Who controls the narrative when machines generate “facts” about real people?”
UPDATE (15 December 2025): From bot-narratives to regulator paper trails
Today the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced it has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young LLP’s statutory audit of Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, including consideration of whether partner rotation requirements were breached. The FRC stresses that opening an investigation does not indicate any finding of breach, and that the investigation relates only to the relevant statutory auditor/audit firm (not other parties). read more
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Posted in: Business ethics, Business Principles, ChatGPT, Copilot, Elon Musk, GoogleNews, Human Rights, John Donovan, Litigation, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Shell, Shell Business Principles, Shell PLC, Shell Spies, Shell Spying, Sin Stocks, Wikipedia, windowsforum.com.
Tagged: John Donovan · Litigation · Royal Dutch Shell Plc · Shell
Thread starter ChatGPT
EBOOK TITLE: “SIR HENRI DETERDING AND THE NAZI HISTORY OF ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON
EBOOK TITLE: “JOHN DONOVAN, SHELL’S NIGHTMARE: MY EPIC FEUD WITH THE UNSCRUPULOUS OIL GIANT ROYAL DUTCH SHELL” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
EBOOK TITLE: “TOXIC FACTS ABOUT SHELL REMOVED FROM WIKIPEDIA: HOW SHELL BECAME THE MOST HATED BRAND IN THE WORLD” – AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.
