The influential preacher and media mogul Creflo Dollar, Bishop T.D. Jakes says a digital storm of 44,000 AI-generated bots blindsided him by spewing false claims about him being associated with Sean "Diddy" Combs and unspecified criminal activity. The accusation is that Jakes had some role in Nicholas-led salacious sex parties and illicit business deals connected to the embattled music mogul.
"There were 44,000 bots that were unleashed on me," Jake said in a recent interview. "98 percent of that was AI-generated." And there's the rub: almost all the chatter wasn't coming from actual people but was written by code.
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The timing of the smear was not accidental. When lawsuits and criminal investigations surrounding Diddy swirled in 2024 and continued into 2025, internet conspiracy theories gained momentum. Jakes who was never accused of any crimes, was ultimately swept up in the madness specifically because he was a recognizable and influential figure within Black culture.
Fake thumbnails, deepfaked videos, and unproven claims proliferated on YouTube and social media platforms, including false videos of Jakes getting arrested and addressing events he never attended. The digital onslaught had created a crude and patently false picture intended to go viral.
"I didn't even have an accusation," Jakes stressed. "The FBI's not kicking down my door. This is smoke without fire."
But Jakeas isn't simply dusting off from the fallout. He and his lawyers are attempting to sue the individuals responsible for this incident. They have filed legal motions to compel YouTube and Google to hand over evidence that might help identify the individuals or networks behind the AI smear campaign.
"The other thing it really proved to me, to Oprah, to Denzel,you know… it's everybody," Jakes remarked, pointing out that this sort of attack was increasingly becoming the name of the game for high-profile people. "We've got to stop getting our information from TikTok," he added, with a hint of frustration.
Jakes has been down the trending road for all the wrong reasons before. In November 2024, he had a heart attack while preaching at The Potter's House in Dallas. His health scare was reported in actual news minutes, shedding light on how rapidly genuine information can spread around the world, in contrast to the misinformation of fabricated rumors.
Upon recovery, Jakes retired from pastoring and turned the leadership over to his daughter, Sarah Jakes Roberts, and her husband, Touré Roberts.
Now, as AI further blurs the boundaries between fact and fiction, Jakes is advocating for transparency and accountability. He's not simply safeguarding his name. He is sounding the alarm for all of us in the public eye: if it can happen to him, it can happen to everyone.
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