AI-powered fake news sites surge past legitimate American papers

As the US presidential election approaches, pro-Kremlin websites are posting fake news to the effect that the Democrats planned to kill former US President Donald Trump. These AI-written texts reflect the increasing prominence of fake news sites, which are outpacing traditional American newspapers.

US officials have reportedly claimed that Russia and Iran are stepping up their meddling ahead of the November 5 election. One example of such disinformation is a set of websites belonging to John Mark Dougan, an ex-US Marine who left for Russia to escape criminal charges in Florida. Dougan’s sites recently spread the falsehood that the Democratic Party was involved in an assassination attempt on Trump.

AI-generated content fuels rise of fake news sites

The articles referenced an audio recording of a supposed private conversation between former President Barack Obama and a Democratic strategist. In the recording, a voice imitating Obama explains how getting rid of Trump can pave the way for the Democrats’ triumph.

However, NewsGuard , a U.S.-based disinformation watchdog, confirmed that the audio was AI-generated. The fake audio was initially posted on DeepStateLeaks.org before being disseminated through the 171 fake news websites owned by Dougan, such as Atlanta Beacon and Arizona Observer. According to NewsGuard, the articles on these sites appeared to be AI-rewritten versions of the same false story.

Fake local news sites outnumber authentic American newspapers

McKenzie Sadeghi of NewsGuard pointed out that most of these sites are visually similar to real local news outlets in the United States, especially in the swing states. The names of these sites also sound quite professional, which makes it quite easy to fall for the content that they are publishing. 

NewsGuard has pointed out that there are at least 1,270 ‘pink slime’ outlets, which are politically driven sites that pose as local news. These outlets, including Dougan’s Russian network, are growing at a pace while local newspapers in the United States are shrinking. The Local News Initiative project of Northwestern University revealed that there were only 1,213 local newspaper websites in the U. S. last year. 

The decline of local newspapers has created what has been referred to as ‘news deserts’, regions that have lost traditional media platforms because of financial difficulties. According to a study conducted by Northwestern University, there are 204 counties in the United States that have no newspapers.