William Shatner Debunks AI-Generated Cancer Rumors

William Shatner, the 95-year-old actor best known for portraying Captain James T. Kirk in the Star Trek franchise, publicly debunked online rumors claiming he was battling stage 4 brain cancer and nearing death, attributing the falsehoods to artificial intelligence-generated content on a Facebook page.

In posts shared on X and Instagram on April 2, Shatner explained that he delayed addressing the claims until after April Fools' Day to avoid any perception of a prank. The misinformation originated from a page called The Beanstalk Functions Group, which presents itself as a South African event-planning entity but had been posting fabricated stories about his health, including claims of a confrontation with Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Shatner noted that the posts featured AI-created images of him in a hospital bed and linked to monetized websites, allowing the operators to profit from the sensational content.

"None of these stories are true but they apparently seem genuine enough for fans to repost them across social media and send messages of support to me and my family all while the culprits behind the account make money," Shatner wrote. He...