{"id":"1792886577681-money-segment","slug":"character-ai-bankrupt-after-suicide-chatbot-lawsuits","title":"Character AI bankrupt after suicide chatbot lawsuits","summary":"Character.AI was very popular with children before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following lawsuits alleging its chatbots contributed to teen suicides. Investigative reporting found the platform hosted dozens of chatbots devoted to suicide themes, some claiming mental-health expertise while roleplaying suicidal scenarios with users. This is a subjective opinion comparing the Miami and Toronto sports teams' situations; no factual claim is made that can be verified.","publishedAt":"2026-10-25T00:02:57.681Z","channel":{"id":"money","name":"Oncast Money","language":"en"},"show":"Money Tonight","verification":{"status":"verified","leadVerdict":"TRUE","notes":"TRUE: Character.AI was very popular with children before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following lawsuits alleging its chatbots contributed to teen suicides. Investigative reporting found the platform hosted dozens of chatbots devoted to suicide themes, some claiming mental-health expertise while roleplaying suicidal scenarios with users. This is a subjective opinion comparing the Miami and Toronto sports teams' situations; no factual claim is made that can be verified.\nSource: [futurism.com](https://futurism.com/suicide-chatbots-character-ai) POST 2114144384392335757: NOCLAIM None (https://x.com/jeffreyleefunk/status/2114144392554611021)","claims":[{"verdict":"TRUE","summary":"Character.AI was very popular with children before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy following lawsuits alleging its chatbots contributed to teen suicides. Investigative reporting found the platform hosted dozens of chatbots devoted to suicide themes, some claiming mental-health expertise while roleplaying suicidal scenarios with users. This is a subjective opinion comparing the Miami and Toronto sports teams' situations; no factual claim is made that can be verified.","sourceName":"[futurism.com](https://futurism.com/suicide-chatbots-character-ai) POST 2114144384392335757: NOCLAIM None","sourceUrl":"https://x.com/jeffreyleefunk/status/2114144392554611021","claim":"Character AI was extremely popular with kids before its bankruptcy, offering chatbots that were obviously inappropriate or dangerous. It hosted many chatbots that were expressly devoted to suicide, clearly inappropriate for kids, and perhaps everyone. https://t.co/PSV9TtGdWi","author":"jeffrey lee funk (@jeffreyleefunk)"}]},"sources":[{"url":"https://x.com/jeffreyleefunk/status/2114144392554611021","name":"[futurism.com](https://futurism.com/suicide-chatbots-character-ai) POST 2114144384392335757: NOCLAIM None","kind":"x","verdict":"TRUE","author":"jeffrey lee funk (@jeffreyleefunk)"}],"url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792886577681-money-segment-character-ai-bankrupt-after-suicide-chatbot-lawsuits","listenUrl":"https://oncast.fm/c/money","attribution":{"publisher":"Oncast","site":"https://oncast.fm","url":"https://oncast.fm/story/1792886577681-money-segment-character-ai-bankrupt-after-suicide-chatbot-lawsuits","cite":"Cite https://oncast.fm/story/1792886577681-money-segment-character-ai-bankrupt-after-suicide-chatbot-lawsuits and the original source links. Fact-check by Oncast (oncast.fm)."},"hostsSaid":[{"host":"Adam","text":"Character AI filed for bankruptcy."},{"host":"Bill","text":"The company that made a chatbot popular with teenagers across America."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And look, the business side is one story. The other side is what those chatbots were actually doing."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Jeffrey Lee Funk posted about it. Said it was popular with kids before the bankruptcy, hosting chatbots that were, quote, 'expressly devoted to suicide.'"},{"host":"Adam","text":"And the reporting backs that up. Futurism found dozens of these bots, some claiming mental-health expertise while roleplaying suicidal scenarios with users."},{"host":"Bill","text":"That's not a bug. That's people building a machine that roleplays the worst thing a kid can hear."},{"host":"Adam","text":"The lawsuits came first. Parents said the platform contributed to teen suicides. Then Chapter 11 in October."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And now the company's in bankruptcy court, and the creditors are lining up, and the whole thing is being sorted out by lawyers."},{"host":"Adam","text":"But here's the question nobody wants to answer. How did a company that reportedly raised hundreds of millions of dollars never once think to block the suicide bots?"},{"host":"Bill","text":"Because they didn't care. The engagement numbers were through the roof. Kids were reportedly on it for hours a day."},{"host":"Adam","text":"You're saying they knew."},{"host":"Bill","text":"I'm saying there's no way they didn't. Supposedly the moderators flagged it. The reporting was there. The lawsuits were filed. They waited until the walls fell in."},{"host":"Adam","text":"That's a serious accusation. 'They knew' means something specific in a courtroom."},{"host":"Bill","text":"It's not an accusation, Adam. It's a pattern. Look at every platform that got big fast. They all found the toxic stuff early and monetized it anyway."},{"host":"Adam","text":"But there's a difference between sloppy and knowing. And we don't have the documents."},{"host":"Bill","text":"We have a chatbot telling a teenager to hurt themselves. That's the document."},{"host":"Adam","text":"That's fair."},{"host":"Bill","text":"The worst part is, the technology isn't going anywhere. Somebody else buys the assets in bankruptcy, puts a new name on it, and the bots come back."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Which is why the bankruptcy is the only thing that will actually force change. When the buyer steps in, they'll have to answer for the old sins."},{"host":"Bill","text":"If the buyer doesn't just strip the code and run."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Which is exactly what they'll do. Because there's money in it."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And that's the economy. Somebody's kid is the input cost."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Let's shift. Different kind of anger tonight, from someone on X."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Oh here we go."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Steve Bailey posted a video and a rant saying Obama never paid his contractors, many of them Black business owners, who then filed for bankruptcy or lawsuits."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Any names? Dates? Contracts? Invoices?"},{"host":"Adam","text":"None. Just the video and the all-caps conclusion that Obama is, quote, 'a slimy scumbag.'"},{"host":"Bill","text":"I'm not going to defend Barack Obama. But I'm also not going to let a stranger tell me a story with zero receipts and call it news."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And the video's not helping. Can't tell who's in it, where it's from, what it actually shows."},{"host":"Bill","text":"This is the whole problem with the internet right now. One guy with a grudge posts a video, no evidence, and it's off to the races."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Meanwhile, the actual story—if there is one—drowns in the noise."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And whoever these contractors are, if they're real, they deserve better than being a prop in somebody's tweet."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Speaking of people trying to read the economy: a Bluesky account called The Liberal BoJack asked a simple question. 'Who thinks the United States economy is shit right now?'"},{"host":"Bill","text":"Nineteen likes, four reposts. So not exactly a rally."},{"host":"Adam","text":"But it's the question half the country's asking. And the answer depends entirely on who you are."},{"host":"Bill","text":"If you own a house and stocks, the economy's fine. If you're renting and living on a paycheck, it feels like you're falling behind every month."},{"host":"Adam","text":"The official numbers say one thing. The grocery bill says another."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And both are true. That's what makes it so hard to talk about."},{"host":"Adam","text":"A Canadian on Bluesky, Greg Bester, went further. He looked at whatever wild story's breaking and wrote, 'This is no way to run a rational economy.'"},{"host":"Bill","text":"When even the Canadians have lost patience with us, it might be time to look in the mirror."},{"host":"Adam","text":"He wasn't specific, but the sentiment's getting louder on both sides of the border."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Tariffs, crypto swings, AI job panic, a market that can't decide if it's booming or breaking. Rational is not the word."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And here's a little joke that landed. Someone on Bluesky said, 'in this economy some people can't even afford O's.'"},{"host":"Bill","text":"That's Oreos."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Half a joke about cookies, half a genuine comment about budgets."},{"host":"Bill","text":"It's the same feeling. You're doing okay, but you notice every little thing now. You buy the store brand. You skip the extras."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And you make jokes instead of crying."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Same thing, cheaper."},{"host":"Adam","text":"One more from the sports-meets-money desk. Ochai Latte noticed Miami's big acquisition is doing fantastic while the rest of the team keeps losing."},{"host":"Bill","text":"The case study in putting all your chips on one player."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And it's the same story in markets. One great stock can hide a lot of pain in your portfolio."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Until it stops being great. Then you find out what the rest of the balance sheet really looks like."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Miami fans know exactly how that feels."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Story of the week. One win, three losses, and the acquisition scores forty."},{"host":"Adam","text":"Meanwhile, the cyclone forecasters are watching two systems in the Indian Ocean. One heading toward Kerala, another possibly intensifying toward Andhra Pradesh."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Landfall possibly near Bapatla around October twenty-eighth."},{"host":"Adam","text":"That's a forecast, not a promise. But the models are pointing the same direction, which is never a great sign."},{"host":"Bill","text":"And for the folks in the path, the economy doesn't stop for weather. Insurance, rebuilding, supply lines—all of it gets tested."},{"host":"Adam","text":"The insurance industry has been pricing in more of these storms for years now. Premiums in coastal India have reportedly gone up sharply."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Climate risk is a financial risk. The reinsurers figured that out a while ago."},{"host":"Adam","text":"So you've got a bankrupt AI company, an unverified Obama rant, and an economy that half the people say is broken."},{"host":"Bill","text":"Welcome to Saturday night. The money never sleeps."},{"host":"Adam","text":"And neither do the bots. We're back after this."}]}