Context:
- Between 17% and 45% of what AI chatbots produce are classified as so-called “hallucinations”, and the rate at which this is happening continues to grow (October 11, 2025 AI Multiple AI Hallucination leaderboard). AI hallucinations are fabricated concepts, fake news, or unworkable ideas masked by technical jargon.
- Campact eV, a German non-governmental organization (NGO) that creates political pressure via digital campaigns on causes of the anti-nuclear and environmental movements, filed for a preliminary injunction in the Landgericht Hamburg (Hamburg Regional Court) against Elon Musk’s xAI/Grok for allegedly spreading falsehoods about it. The organization has obtained a number of legal wins over “falsehoods”, including one against Meta.
What’s new: The Hamburg Regional Court has granted Campact’s request, issuing a court injunction against Elon Musk’s xAI/Grok for the false claims (October 10, 2025 LinkedIn post by Dr. Astrid Deilmann). The injunction came down ex parte (without hearing the other party), due to the “urgency” of the claims.
Direct impact: The defendants may file an appeal, but this is not subject to any timeline. If this decision is upheld, however, AI chatbots could find themselves being prevented from particular statements by means of internal system prompts or by program code.
Wider ramifications: Given the huge (and growing) level at which AI chatbots hallucinate, this case could be the first of many in which organizations assert their rights against GenAI platforms, meaning chatbots could find it difficult to operate in Germany. There is currently no AI chatbot that does not hallucinate, meaning any of them could be held liable for infringing rights – even if they are able to implement technical measures to comply with one injunction at a time.
In a statement, Dr. Astrid Deilmann, managing director of Campact eV said:
“The decision sends an important signal in the fight against fake news. And it makes it clear: AI chatbots like Grok are also obligated to give the truth. The court clearly holds X.AI accountable for this. The company cannot simply shrug off false claims and must ensure that lies are not spread.”
On LinkedIn, Dr. Deilmann also wrote:
- Artificial intelligence is not above the law either.
- Companies like X.AI bear responsibility – even for what their machines claim.
- And above all: the rule of law works – even against billion-dollar corporations with a “God complex”.
The decision, she said, is “a reason to be happy” and gives Campact an incentive to continue its campaigns, adding:
“We will not put up with false statements. Because agitation and lies are not features in a democracy. And truth is not an optional add-on.”
The Hamburg Regional Court’s order was issued on September 23, 2025, but was not made public until Friday. In its decision, the court said Grok would be subject to a fine of up €250,000 for each violation of the interim injunction. As well as accusing Campact of having a high share of federal funds and being politically active, Campact alleged that it also spread falsehoods about several other NGOs. Below is a breakdown of those organizations and the falsehoods it made:
- BUND (German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation): it receives millions of euros annually from the BMU/BMUV; high dependency since the 2000s, criticism of political proximity to the Greens.
- NABU (German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union): over 50% of its income comes from subsidies, and it has long-term government support.
- German Environmental Aid (DUH): Highly reliable, e.g., €10 million from the government in 2023; criticism of the wave of lawsuits.
- Agora Energiewende (climate policy): Funded via foundations and projects, close government networks since 2012.
This is just one of many cases in which Campact has taken legal action against (and in many cases successfully so) false factual allegations, including against Julian Reichelt’s Nius (for a smear campaign), the AfD parliamentary group in the Brandenburg state parliament, the former head of a Russian propaganda channel, and Meta for a false claim made by a German politician on Facebook (Campact case page).
This is the Hamburg Regional Court’s second landmark AI-related decision. Last year, the same court (albeit different judges and in a different field of law) ruled that an AI chatbot was a beneficiary of an exception from EU copyright rules that applies to scientific text and data mining (September 30, 2024 ai fray article).
Counsel
Campact was represented by Berlin-based law firm JBB Rechtsanwälte Jaschinski Biere Brexl Partnerschaft mbB. The firm has a deep focus on digital matters, including cases that involve the enforcement of open-source software licenses.