Press freedom group’s concern at AI-generated news sites sapping ad revenues

PARIS – Reporters Without Borders, a global nongovernmental organization that advocates for the right to freedom of information, has called on search engines and advertisers to slow the spread of artificial intelligence (AI)-generated news websites.

In a statement the organization said the AI-generated sites were siphoning off advertising revenue, thus denying real journalism access to funds.

The organization’s tech desk director, Vincent Berthier, said AI should not be allowed to fuel a parasitic economy that diverts financial resources that should be going to the news media.

He said there is a real risk of a further decline in funding that is vital to online media.

“As well as an overall fall in the quality of online information, there is also a real danger of a further decline in funding essential to online media,” said Berthier. “We urge search engines and advertisers not to allow these AI-generated sites to become profitable,” the statement said. 

Earlier this month, NewsGuard, which rates the reliability of online news and information, identified at least 49 purported news sites generated by artificial intelligence.

NewsGuard’s report describes them as automated content farms that attract millions of Internet users and optimize advertising revenue.

Some of these sites publish hundreds of articles per day.

They maximize clicks and minimize the effort to optimize profits.

Reporters Without Borders said that advertisers have a great responsibility to redirect their funds only to trusted news sources.

“These content farms will inevitably proliferate if they can continue to make money from advertising. The ad industry must give a firm undertaking to ensure ads are placed above all with media that are reliable news sources,” said the media freedom advocacy group.