Google has responded after its search engine incorrectly displayed information claiming that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had died.
On August 12, users searching Altman’s name saw a death date displayed alongside the biographical information shown at the top of Google Search results. The false information quickly spread across social media, causing confusion because there had been no official announcement about Altman.
Google later removed the incorrect information and explained that the error was not the result of a manual change by the company.
According to Google, vandalism of public information sources can sometimes affect details displayed in Search. The company did not identify the specific source responsible for the error.
However, Sam Altman’s Wikipedia page had reportedly been edited multiple times with false information, including a claim that he had been assassinated. This suggests Google may have picked up inaccurate data from publicly available sources when generating its search results.
Following the spread of the false claims, editing restrictions were reportedly placed on Altman’s Wikipedia page, limiting who could make changes.
Google has since corrected the search result and confirmed that the false death information is no longer appearing.