A client has hired me to investigate and report on “cancel culture” and related issues. The goal is to clarify this subject for a potential documentary series.
See: Fear, Algorithms, Anonymity and AI: Why ‘Accountability Culture’ Thrives Today
Today’s topic is the conflict between Richard Luthmann and Danesh Noshirvan.
Richard Albert Luthmann, 45, has written for this publication and has a Substack, which, according to Substack, has over 59,000 followers.
According to TikTok, Danesh Noshirvan, 38, has more than 2 million followers. Danesh’s TikTok handle is @thatdaneshguy.
Cancel Culture Meets Cyber Feud
Danesh, whose content niche involves “cancel culture,” creates videos targeting individuals for perceived wrongdoing, often by doxxing them (sharing personal information like legal names, addresses, employers, and contact details) and encouraging his followers to contact them or leave comments on their social media accounts.
Luthmann initiated the now-escalating conflict by writing on Substack, accusing Danesh of being a professional cyberbully.
Danesh, who describes himself as an “online entertainer,” “journalist,” and “shock jock,” admits his “work often depicts bad actors behaving badly on camera…which unfortunately in some cases, results in public cancellation.”
Claims and Counterclaims
Danesh alleges Luthmann is being paid to attack him, claiming Jennifer Couture and her employer, Dr. Ralph Garramone—a prominent Florida plastic surgeon and adversary in Danesh’s federal lawsuits—are funding Luthmann’s efforts.
Luthmann denies these accusations, asserting he is an investigative journalist covering the lawsuits between Couture, Garramone, and Danesh. These lawsuits, rife with allegations and counter-allegations, include claims of defamation, tortious interference, and conspiracy.
Danesh featured Couture and Garramone in more than a dozen videos, targeting them for their alleged actions and encouraging his followers to hold them accountable. His videos reportedly led to harassment, including phone calls, negative online reviews, and even threats, affecting Garramone’s business operations and Couture’s personal life.
Building a Platform for ‘Accountability’
Couture and Garramone’s alleged experiences are far from unique.
Danesh’s TikTok videos often feature him playing cellphone footage of people in arguments or displaying regrettable and sometimes criminal behavior.
Danesh is skillful at identifying these often unknown people using software programs and online sleuthing skills. His signature move involves appearing superimposed on a previously posted video (called a “stitch” on TikTok), greeting the alleged wrongdoer with a chilling “hello” before revealing their identity.
Danesh, who started making videos on TikTok in 2020, invites his followers to engage in campaigns to expose the now-identified individual in the video. He dismisses the term “cancel culture” in favor of “accountability culture.”
The Mechanics of a Digital Mob
The campaigns involve him and his followers contacting individuals in the videos, their employers, the police, and anyone who could hold the individual accountable.
Campaigns frequently lead to thousands of texts, phone calls, and emails. If the individual owns a business, they may also experience “review bombing,” where people who have never used the business’s products or services appear to leave negative reviews on platforms like Yelp, Google, and Amazon. This can significantly lower the business’s ranking on these platforms.
Repeated phone calls and text messages target an individual’s phone, often containing urgent and sometimes profanity-laden content. Employers receive calls asking them to terminate the individual’s employment. If Danesh believes the person in question committed an illegal act, law enforcement is bombarded with hundreds of messages and calls requesting the individual’s arrest.
Personal and Professional Fallout
Danesh’s record on TikTok clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of the campaigns. Many individuals have lost their careers, while others have experienced significant or total destruction of their businesses. Some have been arrested, others have relocated, and at least one person took his own life.
Luthmann argues Danesh’s campaigns and his TikTok account, with its 2 million followers, are deceptive.
Are AI Bots Driving the Outrage?
Luthmann writes, “Despite claiming a massive online following, evidence suggests much of [Danesh’s] engagement is artificially inflated through AI bots and fabricated interactions.”
Luthmann further contends that the numerous calls and texts that appear to overwhelm the targeted individual, employers, and even the police are not genuine outpourings of public outrage but are primarily generated by AI-driven attacks.
He suggests it’s possible that “Mr. Noshirvan is lying about his 2 million followers and it’s just him, … a half-dozen others, and a bunch of AI and AI-generated bots” behind the cancel campaigns.
Danesh Responds: Subpoenas and Sharp Allegations
Danesh appearing in video naming Luthmann as a paid troll for Jennifer Couture and Ralph Garramone (pictured below in the video with Danesh in the forefront.)
On January 1, 2025, Danesh struck back, releasing a TikTok video alleging Couture and Garramone, his adversaries in his federal civil litigation, hired Luthmann to attack him.
Danesh also revealed he served Luthmann with a subpoena in the litigation.
In the video, Danesh claims:
“They (Couture and Garramone) just hired another gigantic loser. His name is Richard Luthmann. He’s a man who has also been a felon. He has been involved in a crime where he lured someone to a private room so that that person could be held at gunpoint so that he could have money taken from him. This guy is insane.
“When we served (the subpoena), he started screaming and crying in court and threatening the process server. That’s their new hire. That’s their new-for-hire troll, and this new-for-hire troll has been again coming after my children, coming after my family, and, you know, targeting and harassing me…”
In his video, Danesh concludes, “Richard, get ready for prison, buddy.”
Allegations of Harassment Spark Legal Threats
Danesh, his wife, and his children reside in Mansfield, Pennsylvania. Luthmann, who lives in Naples, Florida, stated he has never visited Mansfield.
Danesh has reported to local police that Luthmann harasses him through repeated phone calls and emails.
In response to Danesh’s accusation, Luthmann emailed the judges in the federal lawsuit, multiple journalists, and copied Danesh. He wrote:
“Any claim that Mr. (Danesh) Noshirvan or his family is being ‘harassed’ is disingenuous at best and patently absurd. Any ‘police claim’ to that effect would be a knowing abuse of process and the filing of a false claim with authorities. Any local police department or prosecutorial office that would take up such a claim on Mr. Noshirvan’s behalf would open themselves up to a monumental civil suit.”
Danesh Fires Back
Danesh responded to Luthmann’s email with a strongly worded message:
“I’ve asked you to stop contacting me several times. I’m going to call the police again. Stop contacting me you psychopath you’ve been sending nasty emails to my family you sick fuck. Leave us all alone and rot in prison, and stop harassing my children and wife. I will not read your email and I will not respond to anything you send me because it is illegitimate and harassment. Fuck off loser.”
Luthmann Dismisses Cancellation Threats
A disbarred lawyer, Luthmann spent four years in federal prison after the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York charged him with participating in an allegedly mob-based scrap metal scam in New York City and New Jersey. Luthmann’s probation ended in 2024.
Luthmann shrugged off Danesh’s ability to use his platform to cancel him, stating:
“Danesh Noshivan … made a fatal miscalculation. I can’t be canceled. The O-Biden Justice Department already did that to me,” Luthmann said. “I don’t give a flying f—- about Cheese Danesh and his WOKE band of blue-haired Garbage Pail Kids and Internet groupies.”
Formal Action Against Danesh
As a former attorney who has represented high-profile clients, including alleged Mafia members and New York City politicians, Luthmann has a deep understanding of the legal system. He currently represents himself in several lawsuits against individuals he claims are part of the Justice Department’s “railroading” of him based on false charges.
On January 2, Luthmann issued Danesh a formal demand letter, calling for a retraction, an apology, and $100,000 in liquidated damages for the allegedly defamatory content in his video.
Luthmann maintains Danesh’s allegations are “unequivocally false,” including claims he held someone at gunpoint, and Couture and Garramone hired him to engage in stalking and harassment.
Luthmann stated he would sue Danesh for defamation if he ignored the demands in the letter.
Allegations of Harassment-Related Suicide
Luthmann also alleges Danesh could face prison.
Luthmann claims Danesh is “under investigation related to the harassment-related suicide of Denton, Texas, football coach Aaron De La Torre, who Noshirvan previously targeted.” The legal issue centers on whether Danesh’s alleged use of AI to generate calls, texts, and posts requesting De La Torre’s arrest and dismissal crossed the line from free speech to cyberstalking.
Investigations and Controversial Claims
Luthmann further alleged, without revealing specifics, that Danesh’s actions have triggered several state and federal investigations. He also claims—without evidence—that Danesh might receive financial support from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to sow discord in American institutions through divisive rhetoric and misinformation.
Danesh Addresses TikTok Ban Concerns
In a recent video, Danesh acknowledged the possibility of a U.S. ban on TikTok due to its ties to the CCP. He asked his followers to support him on YouTube and Instagram, where he also has accounts, stating, “I’ll continue to post content until this app no longer allows me to.”
