“Just so we are abundantly, painfully, earnestly clear here, OpenAI lied to the media multiple times.”
Our reading, the sentence that was checked:
OpenAI lied to the media multiple times about the Sky voice.
Assessment: Unresolved Evidence as of
Where and when Ed Zitron wrote it
Where's Your Ed At, Sam Altman Is Full Of Shit, paragraph 8.
- Said
- Source observed
- live page, full text, public
- Evidence as of
- the cutoff for this assessment
- Assessment recorded
- assessment wyea-sam-altman-is-full-of-shit-de4e30-a2
We recorded 15 claims from this post. See every claim from this post.
The wording above is the version this site observed on 2026-10-28. The source may have been edited after 2024-05-21. This page does not claim the wording was captured then.
What the claim commits to
- Kind
- Observation
- Deadline, as the speaker wrote it
- None stated. This site does not add one.
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Deadline state on 2026-10-29
- No horizon (the release’s reference date)
From the speaker
- OpenAI lied to the media
- multiple times
- Murati said Sky wasn't meant to sound like Johansson
- "AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's distinct voice"
- "in conversations" with Johansson's representatives, by omission
Our interpretation
- Read in context, the claim is that OpenAI's statements to the press about Sky in May 2024 were knowingly false or deliberately misleading on more than one occasion. The core alleged falsehood is the denial that Sky was meant to imitate Johansson.
- A lie means a statement the company knew was false, or an omission meant to mislead. Showing that Sky resembles Johansson is not enough by itself. There has to be evidence that the denials were untrue.
- The period covers Sky's casting and design, from early 2023, through OpenAI's statements up to the post date.
Counts as supported if: Public documents, testimony, court records or credible reporting showing that OpenAI meant Sky to imitate Johansson, or that its May 2024 press statements about Sky's origin or withdrawal were false and OpenAI knew it.
Counts as contradicted if: Credible records showing Sky was cast and designed without reference to Johansson, so that OpenAI's denials were accurate, and no evidence that other statements were false.
Retrospective: these criteria were written after the outcome was public.
Current assessment
Was it true for the period described?
Outcome: Unresolved
The record was checked, and the evidence available by the cutoff does not settle it.
Scored on a plain reading. The speaker named no measure for this claim, so it was judged on the reading an informed reader would take, stated below under our interpretation. Both reviews had to find that reading fair.
- Evidence as of
- Deadline state when assessed
- No horizon
- Assessment recorded
- Policy version
- 2026-10-28.7
Rationale
Zitron points to three statements: Murati's denial, OpenAI's line that AI voices should not deliberately mimic a celebrity's voice (e1), and the 'in conversation' framing about Johansson's team (e2). Calling them lies would require evidence that they were false and that OpenAI knew it. The evidence in this case does not show that. The Washington Post reported on May 22, 2024 that the Sky actor was hired months before Altman contacted Johansson, according to documents, recordings, casting directors and the actor's agent (e3). That cuts against the central alleged lie, the denial that Sky imitated Johansson. But some of the documents came from OpenAI (e3). NPR reported on May 31, 2024 that it was still unknown whether Altman privately told the casting team to use Johansson as an inspiration (e4). The OpenAI page as retrieved, updated May 22, lists Altman's September 2023 and May 10, 2024 outreach to Johansson next to the 'in conversation' line (e2). The case does not show how the page was worded before the post. Whether the framing was a lie by omission is a matter of judgment. The evidence leans against the claim but does not settle it.
Limitations
- Intent and knowledge cannot be observed directly. The case has little evidence on either.
- The Washington Post relied partly on documents OpenAI chose to share.
- The case contains no court filings, discovery or internal records that test OpenAI's denials.
- The retrieved OpenAI page is a later updated version. It does not show the wording at the time of Zitron's post.
Evidence (4 items)
Goes against the claim: Washington Post (via Spokesman-Review),
an actor was hired to create the Sky voice months before Altman contacted Johansson, according to documents, recordings, casting directors and the actor’s agent.
Why it matters here: Records back OpenAI's account that Sky was cast from another actor before any outreach to Johansson. That undercuts the core alleged lie. Some of the documents came from OpenAI.
- Where
- paragraph 4
- Publisher
- Washington Post (via Spokesman-Review)
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: OpenAI,
Sky’s voice is not an imitation of Scarlett Johansson but belongs to a different professional actress using her own natural speaking voice.
Why it matters here: This is one of the statements Zitron calls a lie. It shows what OpenAI said, not whether it was false.
- Publisher
- OpenAI
- Kind of source
- Company disclosure: the company describing itself, not an independent finding
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: OpenAI,
Since May 15, 2024, we’ve been in conversation with Ms. Johansson’s team to discuss her concerns about Sky.
Why it matters here: This is the 'in conversation' framing Zitron says misled by omission. The same page, updated May 22, also disclosed Altman's September 2023 and May 2024 outreach to Johansson.
- Publisher
- OpenAI
- Kind of source
- Company disclosure: the company describing itself, not an independent finding
- Describes events of
- Public from
Context only: NPR,
Still unknown is whether Altman ever privately told the team that led the casting for the Sky voice that Johansson should be an inspiration.
Why it matters here: NPR states that the key question of intent was still open after the documents came out. This is why the record does not settle the matter.
- Publisher
- NPR
- Kind of source
- News report
- Describes events of
- Public from
What would settle it
Court filings, internal communications or testimony showing whether anyone at OpenAI aimed for Johansson's voice or knew the denials were false, plus an archived copy of OpenAI's May 19, 2024 page as first published.
Where it was said (1)
Said once in the sources this register covers.
: Where's Your Ed At, Sam Altman Is Full Of Shit
Just so we are abundantly, painfully, earnestly clear here, OpenAI lied to the media multiple times.
- Where
- paragraph 8
- Published
- 2024-05-21
- Source observed
- , live page
- Access
- full text, public
History
Assessment versions
- Assessment wyea-sam-altman-is-full-of-shit-de4e30-a2: Current. Outcome: Unresolved. Evidence as of 2026-10-28. Public date not recorded.
Recorded events
Assessment publishedBy this site
First assessment published after both reviews and the final-text check passed.
HeldBy this site
The final-text check failed: rationale_supported_by_evidence; overclaims: It found the Sky actor was hired months before Altman contacted Johansson, and that Johansson was never mentioned. | No lawsuit or later disclosure has tested this..
About assessment wyea-sam-altman-is-full-of-shit-de4e30-a1, which was not published.