Reports in the Austrian newspaper Der Standard and the website NewsGuard have revealed that 49 news websites are powered by artificial intelligence (AI) and are spreading disinformation. Artificial intelligence like ChatGPT and Google Bard invented stories about the death of the US president and the war in Ukraine that were disguised as serious journalism!

Artificial intelligence-controlled news sites spread fake news

In April 2023, a website called CelebritiesDeaths.com ran an article with the headline “Biden Passes Away, Harris Takes Presidency, Speech at 9.”

Screenshot of the AI-controlled fake news website
Screenshot of the AI-controlled fake news website

Another site made up information about an architect's life and work in a fake obituary. In addition, “TNewsNetwork” published an unsubstantiated story about the deaths of thousands of soldiers in the Ukraine conflict, based on a YouTube video.

Screenshot of the AI-controlled fake news website
Screenshot of the AI-controlled fake news website

This AI-generated content is often difficult to distinguish from human-made articles, further increasing the difficulty in combating misinformation.

AI-driven websites use advanced technologies like GPT-4 or similar algorithms to automatically generate articles. These technologies are able to generate human-like texts by recognizing patterns and structures in data sets and deriving connections and meanings from them. In this way, they can create deceptively real-looking items that can often only be recognized as AI-generated upon closer inspection.

The motives behind such AI-driven websites can be different. Some of the possible reasons are:

  1. Political influence: The spread of false news can be used to manipulate political opinions and decisions and influence public perception of certain issues or people.
  2. Economic profit: By generating clicks on sensational headlines, such websites can generate advertising revenue.
  3. Social or ideological agendas: The spread of misinformation can also serve to promote or undermine specific social or ideological agendas.

Countermeasures: To address this growing challenge, various measures are required:

  1. Media Literacy: It is important to train readers to critically examine news sources and verify information from a variety of credible sources.
  2. Collaboration: Experts from different fields, such as journalists, scientists and technology experts, should work together to jointly develop solutions to detect and combat AI-generated content.
  3. Technological solutions: Developing tools and technologies to automatically detect AI-generated content can help uncover disinformation more quickly and effectively.
  4. Regulation and legislation: Governments and international organizations should work together to create legal frameworks that curb the spread of disinformation and hold those responsible accountable.

We must be aware of the growing challenge posed by AI-driven disinformation sites and take proactive measures to limit their influence. Collaboration between different actors – from individuals to organizations to governments – is essential to combat the misuse of AI technologies to spread fake news and maintain the integrity of the media landscape.

If you want to improve your media literacy, you can count on Mimikama to help you. Our goal is to help you strengthen your skills in using digital media and promote your media literacy. No matter the target group, we are the ideal partner to help you successfully master the challenges of the digital world. [ Requests ]

Media companies and educational institutions must focus more on teaching media literacy and helping to improve the public's ability to recognize and avoid disinformation and manipulative content. Strengthening media literacy is a long-term process, but it is crucial to reducing the negative impact of AI-driven disinformation websites on public opinion formation and trust in news sources.

The rapid development of AI technologies shows that the challenges associated with disinformation and false news will continue to grow. To effectively address these issues, a holistic approach is required that includes both technological solutions and education and outreach efforts. This is the only way we can maintain trust in news sources and protect the media landscape from the influence of manipulative, AI-controlled content.


Sources: the Standard , NewsGuard


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )