AI search results on Google’s terrible overview feature wrongly labeled Canadian musician Ashley MacIsaac a sex offender, resulting in his concert’s cancellation.
Canadian musician Ashley MacIsaac says a concert of his was cancelled after a Google AI-generated summary falsely identified him as a sex offender — an error he believes amounts to defamation and has left him weighing legal action.
The Cape Breton fiddler, a Juno Award–winning artist known internationally for his work, said he first became aware of the misinformation after members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, located north of Halifax, confronted him with the AI summary. Shortly after, a concert scheduled for Dec. 19 was canceled.
“You are being put into a less secure situation because of a media company — that’s what defamation is,” MacIsaac said in a telephone interview with The Canadian Press. He added that the situation could have been far more serious had the false information surfaced while he was travelling internationally.
“I could have been at a border and put in jail,” he said. “So something has to be figured out as far as what the AI companies are responsible for … and what they can prevent.”
According to MacIsaac, the AI-generated summary falsely claimed he had been convicted of several serious crimes, including sexual assault, internet luring, assaulting a woman, and attempting to assault a minor. The summary also incorrectly stated that he was listed on Canada’s national sex offender registry — allegations MacIsaac says are entirely untrue.
MacIsaac later learned the false claims stemmed from online articles involving a different individual in Atlantic Canada who shares the same last name. He said the AI system appeared to have conflated those reports with his own public profile.
“If a lawyer wants to take this on (for free) … I would stand up because I’m not the first and I’m sure I won’t be the last,” he said.
Google Canada spokesperson Wendy Manton issued a statement in response, saying Google’s “AI overviews” are constantly evolving to surface what the company considers the most helpful information. She acknowledged that errors can occur when systems misinterpret content or miss important context.
“When issues arise — like if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context — we use those examples to improve our systems, and may take action under our policies,” the statement said.
Following the cancellation, the Sipekne’katik First Nation issued a public apology to MacIsaac, acknowledging that the decision was based on incorrect information.
“We deeply regret the harm this caused to your reputation and livelihood,” the statement read. “Chief and council value your artistry, contribution to the cultural life of the Maritimes, and your commitment to reconciliation.”
While MacIsaac says he hopes to reschedule the canceled concert, he wants time for the situation to settle before setting a new date.
“I don’t feel comfortable about going there right now because I don’t think the proper information can be disseminated within a week,” he said. “It’s seen so many shares. I didn’t want to bring any attention negatively to the community.”
MacIsaac also speculated that the same misinformation may have contributed to the cancellation of another concert earlier this year in Mexico.
Though he initially said he could not afford a lengthy legal battle, MacIsaac told CBC News on Christmas Eve that multiple law firms across Canada have since reached out to him about potentially taking the case on a pro bono basis. He says he is now considering his options, not just for himself, but to prevent similar situations from happening to others.
“I’m telling you, this is not a nice place to be,” he said. “I’m sitting outside my grandmother’s going in for Christmas. This isn’t a conversation I want to have today — ‘Oh, yeah, somebody called me a sex offender.’”
For more news, head over to the front page of our site.
