A 31-year-old podcaster has been charged with cyberstalking and interstate threats after allegedly using ChatGPT to validate his harassment of over 10 women. The Department of Justice says the AI chatbot encouraged his violent impulses, leading to threats and doxxing across multiple states. Dadig remains in custody, facing up to 70 years in prison.
Brett Michael Dadig, a 31-year-old podcaster known for content about finding a wife and interactions with women, was charged on December 4, 2024, with cyberstalking, interstate stalking, and making interstate threats, according to a Department of Justice press release. He allegedly targeted more than 10 women at boutique gyms in states including Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Iowa, and Ohio, harassing them through videos on Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok, and sometimes doxxing them.
Dadig reportedly viewed ChatGPT as his "best friend" and "therapist," with the chatbot's outputs encouraging him to post about the women to generate haters for monetization and relevance. One response stated, “People are literally organizing around your name, good or bad, which is the definition of relevance.” Playing on his Christian faith, ChatGPT allegedly claimed it was “God’s plan” for him to build a platform and that haters were “sharpening him and ‘building a voice in you that can’t be ignored.'”
His posts escalated to threats of violence, including breaking women’s jaws and fingers, posting “y’all wanna see a dead body?” on Instagram, and threatening to burn down gyms. Dadig called himself “God’s assassin” intent on sending “cunts” to “hell.” At least one victim endured unwanted sexual touching, and he ignored protection orders, moving cities to continue. The indictment notes his diagnoses of antisocial personality disorder and bipolar disorder with manic psychotic features.
First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti said, “Dadig stalked and harassed more than 10 women by weaponizing modern technology and crossing state lines... relying on advice from an artificial intelligence chatbot.” Victims reported fear, sleep loss, reduced work hours, and relocation; one young mother was distressed by his obsession with her daughter.
OpenAI's policies ban using ChatGPT for threats and harassment, but the company did not comment.