Google's search result briefly claimed Sam Altman died; company says vandalism of public info sources caused the error. Wikipedia revision history shows 22 edits on Wednesday.
Sam Altman is not dead. Google's search result earlier Wednesday briefly claimed otherwise. The company later said the error was not a manual change and resulted from vandalism of public information sources.
Users on X and Reddit flagged that a search for the OpenAI CEO's name returned a knowledge panel stating he had died that day. Google acknowledged the incorrect result several hours later in a post on X. "Thanks for flagging - this is no longer appearing, and was not a manual change by Google," the company wrote. "When people vandalize public info sources, this can affect the information that appears in Search."
The revision history of Altman's Wikipedia page shows 22 edits on Wednesday, compared with five total since the start of the month, Business Insider reported. At 9:47 a.m. UTC, the page was updated to falsely say Altman was assassinated. It was corrected at 10:29 a.m. Later edits added a reference to him being a "dropout" and another false claim of his death. The latest update appeared to correct all changes.
Google's knowledge panels draw on hundreds of sources from across the web, the company has said. It also maintains a reporting system for users to flag incorrect information. Wikipedia did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider. OpenAI also did not respond.
Drafted by a large language model from the source reporting linked above, then screened by automated publishing checks. It is not read by a journalist before publication. Some articles cite our Alpha Score. Verify prices and figures against the original source. Educational coverage, not personalized advice.