Key Takeaways #
- Google Search briefly and incorrectly listed a date of death for OpenAI CEO Sam Altman after vandalized public info sources like his Wikipedia page falsely claimed he’d been assassinated or had changed his name, before the company fixed the error and stressed it wasn’t a manual change.
- The hoax comes amid a tense period for Altman, whose San Francisco home was targeted twice in April—once with an alleged Molotov cocktail and later during a gunfire investigation—though no one was injured in either incident.
- Altman is also fighting a high-profile sexual abuse lawsuit filed by his sister Ann, which he calls baseless and has countersued over for defamation, as the case moves into depositions and procedural battles over evidence and medical exams.
Sam Altman has had a rough few months, but despite what Google told the internet for a few hours, the OpenAI CEO is very much alive.
According to Business Insider, Google briefly listed August 12 as Altman’s date of death, setting off confusion across X and Reddit as screenshots of the false result spread. One user summed up the reaction pretty efficiently: “WTF....google says sam is dead?” Google eventually corrected the result and confirmed that nobody inside the company had manually declared the 41-year-old tech executive deceased.
“Thanks for flagging—this is no longer appearing, and was not a manual change by Google,” the company said in a statement. “When people vandalize public info sources, this can affect the information that appears in Search.”
And somebody had definitely been busy messing with Altman’s information online.
His Wikipedia page went through a barrage of edits, including one falsely claiming he had been assassinated. That claim disappeared less than an hour later, but the vandalism continued: Altman was declared dead again, described as a “dropout,” and briefly had his surname changed to “Gayman.” Editors eventually restored the page.
Google stopped short of saying Wikipedia caused its false death notice. Its Knowledge Panels draw from hundreds of sources, although the company acknowledges Wikipedia is among those commonly used. Whatever the exact path, bogus information made it far enough through the ecosystem to temporarily become Google’s answer to a basic question about one of the biggest names in tech.
The death hoax also lands after a stretch in which headlines involving Altman have been considerably less funny.
His San Francisco home was the scene of two alarming incidents in April. Daniel Alejandro Moreno-Gama was arrested after allegedly throwing a Molotov cocktail at the property before later threatening OpenAI headquarters. Two days later, police arrested Amanda Tom and Muhamad Tarik Hussein while investigating possible gunfire outside Altman’s residence. Nobody was injured in either incident.
Altman is simultaneously fighting a sexual abuse lawsuit filed by his sister, Ann Altman. She alleges that he sexually abused her repeatedly between 1997 and 2006, beginning when she was 3 years old, and he was 12. Altman has denied the allegations and filed a defamation countersuit seeking $1 in damages.
That case is entering another important stretch. An informal discovery conference was held August 3, and Ann is scheduled to be deposed August 17. Last month, Altman asked the court to intervene, accusing his sister—who is now representing herself—of failing to provide requested documents, schedule her deposition, and arrange an independent medical examination. His filing said he “is eager to defend himself against the baseless claims.”
Ann’s case previously survived a procedural setback when a judge allowed her to amend her complaint under Missouri’s childhood sexual abuse statute after other claims were deemed untimely. Her attorneys subsequently moved to withdraw, citing “an unfortunate general breakdown in the attorney-client relationship.”
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual assault or abuse, help is available. Contact the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-HOPE (4673) or visit RAINN.org for free, confidential support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.