Meta Platforms has settled a defamation lawsuit with conservative activist Robby Starbuck and hired him as a consultant in return.

In April, Starbuck had sought more than five million dollars in damages in a Delaware court. The financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed by either party. Starbuck himself dodged questions about a possible payment in a CNBC interview on Friday, but confirmed having spoken with Meta managers and engineers about training methods for AI models.

In a joint statement, Meta and Starbucks emphasized that the company has made "significant progress in improving the accuracy of Meta AI and curbing ideological biases" since the beginning of the dialogue. Meta also emphasized that they want to ensure their in-house model Llama is capable of presenting controversial topics factually and balanced.

The case caused a stir after a Harley-Davidson dealer in the US state of Vermont posted a screenshot on X linking Meta AI Starbuck not only to the Capitol storming but also to QAnon. Starbuck immediately denied the allegations, publicly called on Mark Zuckerberg to intervene, and had a cease-and-desist letter delivered.

Starbuck, who has already pushed several large corporations to withdraw from diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, describes his goal as the creation of “ethical AI” that is politically neutral. “We do not want a future where artificial intelligence puts weight on a political scale,” he said.