Bishop T.D. Jakes is taking legal action against what his team describes as a coordinated campaign of AI-generated misinformation connecting him to Sean "Diddy" Combs' alleged misconduct.

On December 19, Jakes' legal team filed a motion in California court targeting YouTube's parent company, Google.

The motion, filed by attorney Dustin Pusch, seeks to unmask the identities of YouTube account holders from Pakistan, South Africa, the Philippines, and Kenya who have been creating and monetizing false content about the pastor. These accounts have been using AI-generated images and voice-overs to allegedly spread fabricated stories.

As stated in the legal motion: "These YouTubers are purportedly using the sordid and sensational allegations revolving around Sean 'Diddy' Combs to attack, humiliate, degrade, and defame Bishop Jakes—and many other prominent black celebrities—with manufactured claims that he is guilty of the same crimes and other lewd and repulsive conduct as Mr. Combs."

NBC News' investigation in January revealed dozens of YouTube accounts using clickbait headlines and AI-generated content to falsely associate various celebrities, including Jakes, Denzel Washington, and Steve Harvey, with the Diddy scandal. These videos have garnered millions of views, allowing creators to profit through advertising revenue.

T.D. Jakes
T.D. Jakes Getty Images

The motion further explains that "YouTubers are using Bishop Jakes's prominence as clickbait to attract unwitting users to view their knowingly false videos for their (and possibly other foreign companies') financial gain."

If successful, this legal action would allow Jakes' team to proceed with defamation lawsuits against the content creators, marking one of the first major legal challenges to AI-generated celebrity defamation campaigns.