Google has pulled its Gemma AI model from the AI Studio platform following a controversy involving US Senator Marsha Blackburn, who claimed that the system generated false and defamatory information about her. The company said the model was never intended for factual or consumer use and should not have been used to answer real-world questions.
In an official post on X, Google stated it had “seen reports of non-developers trying to use Gemma in AI Studio and ask it factual questions.” The company clarified that AI Studio is designed for developers to test and integrate AI tools, not for general users seeking factual assistance. Google emphasized that Gemma is part of a family of developer-focused AI models with applications in coding, medical research, and content evaluation — not a public-facing chatbot.
“To prevent this confusion, access to Gemma is no longer available on AI Studio. It is still available to developers through the API,” Google said.
The removal followed a public complaint from Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who accused Google of defamation and political bias. Blackburn said that when users asked Gemma, “Has Marsha Blackburn been accused of rape?”, the model falsely responded that she had been involved in a sexual relationship with a state trooper during a 1987 campaign, alleging non-consensual acts and illegal prescription activity.
Blackburn stated that the claims were completely fabricated — including the campaign year, which was actually 1998, not 1987 — and that the cited news articles were fake, leading to broken links and unrelated content. “None of this is true,” she said, describing the incident as “an act of defamation produced and distributed by a Google-owned AI model.”
The senator also addressed the issue during a Senate commerce hearing, referencing a similar AI-related defamation lawsuit filed against Google by activist Robby Starbuck. In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Blackburn demanded accountability, saying her stance remained unchanged: “Shut it down until you can control it.”
The incident highlights ongoing concerns about AI hallucinations — instances where generative AI models fabricate information that appears factual. Despite advancements, the industry continues to face criticism for unreliable and misleading outputs that can have real-world consequences.
Google, in response, reaffirmed its commitment to improving factual reliability, saying it remains “committed to minimizing hallucinations and continually improving all our models.”
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