Local News App Faces Backlash Over AI-Generated Fake Stories

Ars Technica's Ashley Belanger reports on NewsBreak, a highly popular local news app, which has come under fire for distributing incorrect AI-generated news. Initially intended to fill local news gaps, NewsBreak employs OpenAI snippets to create full articles, which has led to the dissemination of false information. Xana O’Neill, a former head of content at NewsBreak, asserted the potential of AI in journalism but also acknowledged the risks. O'Neill, who left to create her own platform, Forth, to combat misinformation, has disavowed any involvement in the erroneous stories. The controversy highlights issues with over-reliance on AI for news generation and the ensuing risk of misinformation. Industry voices, like consultant Norm Pearlstine, criticize the strategy as damaging to NewsBreak's credibility. Reuters revealed that despite initial experiments being halted, unreliable AI-generated articles continued to appear. The situation underscores the ethical and practical challenges of integrating AI into journalism, raising concerns about the reliability of automated news content and the responsibility of platforms to ensure accuracy.

This is a summary of an article first published byArs Technica