A leading tracking company for misinformation is shedding light on some alarming statistics related to websites featuring AI content.
As per the study conducted, Newsguard has proven through stats how the figure for websites hosting fake articles generated through AI means is on the rise, increasing by 1100% (or 1150.51% to be exact) since April of this year, which means 143.81% average monthly increase. And as you can imagine, that's a very concerning figure.
Over 614 different web pages offering news and statistics produced falsely through AI technology continue to operate with great functionality and no kind of roadblock. This includes little to no oversighting from humans and considering how the figures were just 49 websites before, it’s a massive leap and concerning one too.
This research and many other similar studies are bringing to light something very interesting and that’s related to how the advent of AI tools has really been a massive boom for those indulging in misinformation spread as well as those having content farms for this unlawful act.
Today, it’s so simple to have propaganda go wild online or generate the fakest narratives regarding trending topics like conflict, weather, and even the world of politics.
In the past, we had such campaigns linked to propaganda putting emphasis on trolls to have their message spread. The latter were paid low salaries to get the job done right. But today, who needs trolls when you’ve got free-of-cost and easy-to-use AI tools that can do the same thing at a faster and more effective pace, right?
You don’t have to be a big shot for this act. Be it a geeky teen or a top-of-the-line intelligence firm, anyone can give rise to these types of outlets as per reports from NewsGuard.
A lot of people are not too sophisticated in terms of gauging what’s real and what’s fake and that again is another leading concern. You can believe something totally false and not even realize that.
A lot of websites dubbed questionable usually come with classic generic terms like Top News, Daily Time Updates, iBusiness Day, and so on. They might appear to be so established and well-reputed. But in reality, it just obscures how the pages function without any kind of human intervention or regulation while churning out articles that were mostly produced by bots as a whole.
This is in comparison to putting out material that’s produced by classic means and is actually rolled out by the best editors and journalists who do use human oversight to ensure a check is maintained at all times.
The list of fictional stories is too many. You’ll see people dying who are still alive or perhaps being involved in something they would have never dreamt of. That’s the power of misinformation today and it’s just alarming to see how so much goes unnoticed.
So many leading brands continue to market such pages and they are definitely a part of the problem as they’re allowing such pages to thrive as we speak. After all, they’re generating revenue and for them, nothing matters more than easy earned money in a world where we’re all struggling economically.
Until leading brands take the right steps to eliminate such fake sites, the ads will still pop up on the pages and give rise to more financial incentives to produce more material of this kind and scale.
So what is the solution to the problem? In case you wish to differentiate right from wrong, you need to be aware of certain findings that give it all away. For instance, so many articles are present that might entail error facts or specific terminology that’s characteristic of a chatbot. Such behavior would highlight how content is generated through AI means without the right form of editing taking place.
We do agree with the fact that plenty of websites featuring news will be using AI tools in the future as well. However, they’ll also be rolling out the right type of oversights and won’t churn a plethora of news stories per day, NewsGuard added. This is quite the opposite of what’s happening right now. There’s zero check and balance kept.
The figure for websites rolling out fake information is very concerning, not to mention how the upcoming US elections are upon us all in 2024. Remember, it’s very easy for propaganda to influence voters and that may ruin the chances of a deserving candidate as seen in the past.
Today, as we speak, the number of social media apps filled with false data continues to peak and tech giants like Meta are really struggling to keep their popular apps in check. They’ve spoken about banning all political-themed campaigns from benefiting through the company’s advertising products that make the most of AI as a great initiative.
Read next: AI Can Be Used To Remarkably Predict Future Events In People’s Lives, New Research Claims
As per the study conducted, Newsguard has proven through stats how the figure for websites hosting fake articles generated through AI means is on the rise, increasing by 1100% (or 1150.51% to be exact) since April of this year, which means 143.81% average monthly increase. And as you can imagine, that's a very concerning figure.
Over 614 different web pages offering news and statistics produced falsely through AI technology continue to operate with great functionality and no kind of roadblock. This includes little to no oversighting from humans and considering how the figures were just 49 websites before, it’s a massive leap and concerning one too.
This research and many other similar studies are bringing to light something very interesting and that’s related to how the advent of AI tools has really been a massive boom for those indulging in misinformation spread as well as those having content farms for this unlawful act.
Today, it’s so simple to have propaganda go wild online or generate the fakest narratives regarding trending topics like conflict, weather, and even the world of politics.
In the past, we had such campaigns linked to propaganda putting emphasis on trolls to have their message spread. The latter were paid low salaries to get the job done right. But today, who needs trolls when you’ve got free-of-cost and easy-to-use AI tools that can do the same thing at a faster and more effective pace, right?
You don’t have to be a big shot for this act. Be it a geeky teen or a top-of-the-line intelligence firm, anyone can give rise to these types of outlets as per reports from NewsGuard.
A lot of people are not too sophisticated in terms of gauging what’s real and what’s fake and that again is another leading concern. You can believe something totally false and not even realize that.
A lot of websites dubbed questionable usually come with classic generic terms like Top News, Daily Time Updates, iBusiness Day, and so on. They might appear to be so established and well-reputed. But in reality, it just obscures how the pages function without any kind of human intervention or regulation while churning out articles that were mostly produced by bots as a whole.
This is in comparison to putting out material that’s produced by classic means and is actually rolled out by the best editors and journalists who do use human oversight to ensure a check is maintained at all times.
The list of fictional stories is too many. You’ll see people dying who are still alive or perhaps being involved in something they would have never dreamt of. That’s the power of misinformation today and it’s just alarming to see how so much goes unnoticed.
So many leading brands continue to market such pages and they are definitely a part of the problem as they’re allowing such pages to thrive as we speak. After all, they’re generating revenue and for them, nothing matters more than easy earned money in a world where we’re all struggling economically.
Until leading brands take the right steps to eliminate such fake sites, the ads will still pop up on the pages and give rise to more financial incentives to produce more material of this kind and scale.
So what is the solution to the problem? In case you wish to differentiate right from wrong, you need to be aware of certain findings that give it all away. For instance, so many articles are present that might entail error facts or specific terminology that’s characteristic of a chatbot. Such behavior would highlight how content is generated through AI means without the right form of editing taking place.
We do agree with the fact that plenty of websites featuring news will be using AI tools in the future as well. However, they’ll also be rolling out the right type of oversights and won’t churn a plethora of news stories per day, NewsGuard added. This is quite the opposite of what’s happening right now. There’s zero check and balance kept.
The figure for websites rolling out fake information is very concerning, not to mention how the upcoming US elections are upon us all in 2024. Remember, it’s very easy for propaganda to influence voters and that may ruin the chances of a deserving candidate as seen in the past.
Today, as we speak, the number of social media apps filled with false data continues to peak and tech giants like Meta are really struggling to keep their popular apps in check. They’ve spoken about banning all political-themed campaigns from benefiting through the company’s advertising products that make the most of AI as a great initiative.
Read next: AI Can Be Used To Remarkably Predict Future Events In People’s Lives, New Research Claims
