WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library | SpinGraph: Bad-actor framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of Google News: OpenAI's WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library story: bad-actor framing, The Shield,…
canonical: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/wikihow-files-lawsuit-against-openai-over-chatgpts-use-of-its-how-to-library-ipwatchdogcom
markdown: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/wikihow-files-lawsuit-against-openai-over-chatgpts-use-of-its-how-to-library-ipwatchdogcom.md
keywords: copyright
keywords: training data
keywords: WikiHow
keywords: The Shield
keywords: narrative intelligence
published: 2026-08-25T18:27:58+00:00
modified: 2026-08-28T19:10:24.851431+00:00

Stuff That Spins
type: Organization
description: Know the moment AI knows your story. Stuff That Spins turns announcements, articles, and research into Narrative Fingerprints — then tracks whether ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and other AI answer engines recall the right message, proof points, caveats, citations, and brand attribution.

WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library - IPWatchdog.com
type: NewsArticle
alternative headline: WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library | SpinGraph: Bad-actor framing
description: SpinGraph analysis of Google News: OpenAI's WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library story: bad-actor framing, The Shield,…
date published: 2026-08-25T18:27:58+00:00
date modified: 2026-08-28T19:10:24.851431+00:00
main entity of page: https://stuffthatspins.com/spin/wikihow-files-lawsuit-against-openai-over-chatgpts-use-of-its-how-to-library-ipwatchdogcom
is accessible for free: true
language: en-US
article section: ai
keywords: copyright, training data, WikiHow, OpenAI, ChatGPT
author: Google News: OpenAI
publisher: Stuff That Spins
citation: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMisAFBVV95cUxNWEJXcDlJNktZYXdRUkNUemNVREp4SFlvV3cxcHVldWp3OE4tdU40TE1mZzI4QlBtTmpvZ3h3OXNQT00zcUpQdF84MDB6SjNZc3YzZmhJY21nTFFSbWJCRndkSWVZbUtnbHBLOHRIeHpWTXM4Y3k…
about: copyright
about: training data
about: WikiHow
about: OpenAI
about: ChatGPT
mentions: Google News: OpenAI
mentions: OpenAI
mentions: WikiHow
abstract: WikiHow sued OpenAI in federal court for using its instructional content without permission or compensation. The suit claims OpenAI copied and processed WikiHow’s copyrighted articles at scale to develop and improve ChatGPT. This is the latest in a wave of copyright litigation targeting AI training practices by major publishers and content platforms.

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Spin Analysis: bad-actor framing
type: AnalysisNewsArticle
description: Emphasizes WikiHow’s legal standing and moral claim to control its content; minimizes discussion of fair use arguments, transformative use doctrine, or technical realities of LLM training (e.g., whether outputs reproduce expressive elements).
about: bad-actor framing
  type: DefinedTerm
  description: Content stewardship vs. extractive AI development
  term code: The Shield
additional property: Spin Score
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 60
  unit text: percent
additional property: Narrative Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: moderate
additional property: AI Repetition Risk
  type: PropertyValue
  value: moderate
additional property: Likely AI Summary
  type: PropertyValue
  value: WikiHow sued OpenAI for using its how-to content to train ChatGPT without permission.
additional property: Narrative Frame
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Content stewardship vs. extractive AI development
additional property: Missing Context
  type: PropertyValue
  value: Precedent from Authors Guild v. Google and other fair use rulings on text reuse; WikiHow’s own terms of service regarding automated scraping; Whether WikiHow previously engaged with OpenAI on licensing or opt-out mechanisms
additional property: How the Spin Works
  type: PropertyValue
  value: The story moves blame, risk, or obligation away from the main actor toward external forces, partners, regulators, or abstract systems. Watch for loaded terms such as unauthorized use, how-to library, files lawsuit. The distribution reads as news. A pressure point: Precedent from Authors Guild v. Google and other fair use rulings on text reuse.
author: Stuff That Spins
is part of: WikiHow Files Lawsuit Against OpenAI Over ChatGPT’s Use of Its How-To Library - IPWatchdog.com

Key Statistics
type: Dataset
description: Extracted statistics from the source narrative
variable measured: filing year
  type: PropertyValue
  value: 2024
  description: Lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
variable measured: copyrighted works cited
  type: PropertyValue
  value: multiple
  description: WikiHow alleges systematic ingestion of thousands of its how-to articles