automated journalism

Historically, the process involved an algorithm that scanned large amounts of provided data, selected from an assortment of pre-programmed article structures, ordered key points, and inserted details such as names, places, amounts, rankings, statistics, and other figures. These programs interpret, organize, and present data in human-readable ways. The output can also be customized to fit a certain voice, tone, or style. Early implementations were mainly used for stories based on statistics and numerical figures. Common topics include sports recaps, weather, financial reports, real estate analysis, and earnings reviews.

Data science and AI companies such as Automated Insights, Narrative Science, United Robots and Monok develop and provide these algorithms to news outlets.{{Cite journal |last=Carlson |first=Matt |date=2015-05-04 |title=The Robotic Reporter |journal=Digital Journalism |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=416–431 |doi=10.1080/21670811.2014.976412 |issn=2167-0811 |s2cid=143327230}}{{Cite web |last=Southern |first=Lucinda |date=2019-02-12 |title=Robot writers drove 1,000 paying subscribers for Swedish publisher MittMedia |url=https://digiday.com/media/robot-writers-drove-1000-paying-subscribers-swedish-publisher-mittmedia/ |access-date=2019-02-19 |website=Digiday |language=en-US}}{{cite web |date=12 November 2019 |title=AI-powered journalism: A time-saver or an accident waiting to happen? |url=https://www.americanpressinstitute.org/need-to-know/need-to-know-nov-12-2019/ |access-date=30 April 2021 |website=American Press Institute}} In 2016, early adopters included news providers such as the Associated Press, Forbes, ProPublica, and the Los Angeles Times.

StatSheet, an online platform covering college basketball, runs entirely on an automated program. In 2006, Thomson Reuters announced their switch to automation to generate financial news stories on its online news platform.{{Cite journal |last=Dalen |first=Arjen van |date=2012-10-01 |title=The Algorithms Behind the Headlines |journal=Journalism Practice |volume=6 |issue=5–6 |pages=648–658 |doi=10.1080/17512786.2012.667268 |issn=1751-2786}} Reuters used a tool called Tracer.{{cite web |date=2017 |title=Reuters Tracer: Toward Automated News Production Using Large Scale Social Media Data |url=https://arxiv.org/abs/1711.04068}} An algorithm called Quakebot published a story about a 2014 California earthquake on The Los Angeles Times website within three minutes after the shaking had stopped.

The Associated Press began using automation to cover 10,000 minor baseball leagues games annually, using a program from Automated Insights and statistics from MLB Advanced Media.{{Cite news |last=Mullin |first=Benjamin |date=June 30, 2016 |title=The Associated Press will use automated writing to cover the minor leagues |url=https://www.poynter.org/2016/the-associated-press-will-use-automated-writing-to-cover-the-minor-leagues/419489/ |access-date=April 19, 2017 |work=The Poynter Institute}} Outside of sports, the Associated Press also uses automation to produce stories on corporate earnings. Since 2014, Associated Press has been publishing quarterly financial stories with help from Automated Insights.{{cite web |date=Jan 2015 |title=AP’s ‘robot journalists’ are writing their own stories now |url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/1/29/7939067/ap-journalism-automation-robots-financial-reporting}}

In May 2020, Microsoft announced that a number of its MSN contract journalists would be replaced by robot journalism.{{cite news |date=30 May 2020 |title=Microsoft sacks journalists to replace them with robots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/30/microsoft-sacks-journalists-to-replace-them-with-robots |work=The Guardian |language=en}}{{cite news |date=30 May 2020 |title=Microsoft 'to replace journalists with robots' |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-52860247 |accessdate=31 May 2020 |work=BBC News}}{{cite news |date=29 May 2020 |title=Microsoft is cutting dozens of MSN news production workers and replacing them with artificial intelligence |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/business/local-business/microsoft-is-cutting-dozens-of-msn-news-production-workers-and-replacing-them-with-artificial-intelligence/ |work=The Seattle Times}} On 8 September 2020, The Guardian published an article entirely written by the neural network GPT-3, although the published fragments were manually picked by a human editor.{{cite web |author=GPT-3 |date=8 September 2020 |title=A robot wrote this entire article. Are you scared yet, human? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/sep/08/robot-wrote-this-article-gpt-3 |work=The Guardian}} Agentic Tribune produces all of its news articles automatically using AI.{{cite web |title=Agentic Tribune |url=https://agentictribune.com/article/about}}

News broadcasters in Kuwait, Greece, South Korea, India, China and Taiwan have presented news with anchors based on generative AI models, prompting concerns about job losses for human anchors and audience trust in news that has historically been influenced by parasocial relationships with broadcasters, content creators or social media influencers.{{Cite web |date=January 26, 2024 |title=TV channels are using AI-generated presenters to read the news. The question is, will we trust them? |url=https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240126-ai-news-anchors-why-audiences-might-find-digitally-generated-tv-presenters-hard-to-trust |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126141217/https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240126-ai-news-anchors-why-audiences-might-find-digitally-generated-tv-presenters-hard-to-trust |archive-date=January 26, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}{{Cite news |last=Tait |first=Amelia |date=October 20, 2023 |title='Here is the news. You can't stop us': AI anchor Zae-In grants us an interview |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/20/here-is-the-news-you-cant-stop-us-ai-anchor-zae-in-grants-us-an-interview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240128155805/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2023/oct/20/here-is-the-news-you-cant-stop-us-ai-anchor-zae-in-grants-us-an-interview |archive-date=January 28, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Kuo |first=Lily |date=November 9, 2018 |title=World's first AI news anchor unveiled in China |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/09/worlds-first-ai-news-anchor-unveiled-in-china |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220133227/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/09/worlds-first-ai-news-anchor-unveiled-in-china |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} Algorithmically generated anchors have also been used by allies of ISIS for their broadcasts.{{Cite news |date=May 17, 2024 |title=These ISIS news anchors are AI fakes. Their propaganda is real. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/17/ai-isis-propaganda/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240519204421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/17/ai-isis-propaganda/ |archive-date=May 19, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post}}

In 2023, Google reportedly pitched a tool to news outlets that claimed to "produce news stories" based on input data provided, such as "details of current events". Some news company executives who viewed the pitch described it as "[taking] for granted the effort that went into producing accurate and artful news stories."{{Cite news |last1=Mullin |first1=Benjamin |last2=Grant |first2=Nico |date=July 20, 2023 |title=Google Tests A.I. Tool That Is Able to Write News Articles |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/business/google-artificial-intelligence-news-articles.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240516135925/https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/19/business/google-artificial-intelligence-news-articles.html |archive-date=May 16, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In February 2024, Google launched a program to pay small publishers to write three articles per day using a beta generative AI model. The program does not require the knowledge or consent of the websites that the publishers are using as sources, nor does it require the published articles to be labeled as being created or assisted by these models.{{Cite web |last=Stenberg |first=Mark |date=February 27, 2024 |title=Google Is Paying Publishers Five-Figure Sums to Test an Unreleased Gen AI Platform |url=https://www.adweek.com/media/google-paying-publishers-unreleased-gen-ai/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240309144727/https://www.adweek.com/media/google-paying-publishers-unreleased-gen-ai/ |archive-date=March 9, 2024 |access-date=April 17, 2024 |website=Adweek |language=en-US}}

Meta AI, a chatbot based on Llama 3 which summarizes news stories, was noted by The Washington Post to copy sentences from those stories without direct attribution and to potentially further decrease the traffic of online news outlets.{{Cite news |last=Kelly |first=Heather |date=May 22, 2024 |title=Meta walked away from news. Now the company's using it for AI content. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/22/meta-ai-news-summaries/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240522100421/https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/05/22/meta-ai-news-summaries/ |archive-date=May 22, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}

Robot reporters are built to produce large quantities of information at quicker speeds. The Associated Press announced that their use of automation has increased the volume of earnings reports from customers by more than ten times. With software from Automated Insights and data from other companies, they can produce 150 to 300-word articles in the same time it takes journalists to crunch numbers and prepare information. By automating routine stories and tasks, journalists are promised more time for complex jobs such as investigative reporting and in-depth analysis of events.

Francesco Marconi{{Cite news|url=https://adexchanger.com/publishers/associated-press-uses-ai-boost-content-video-volume/|title=The Associated Press Uses AI To Boost Content And Video Volume {{!}} AdExchanger|date=2018-02-20|work=AdExchanger|access-date=2018-04-05|language=en-US}} of the Associated Press stated that, through automation, the news agency freed up 20 percent{{Cite news|url=https://digiday.com/media/washington-posts-robot-reporter-published-500-articles-last-year/|title=The Washington Post's robot reporter has published 850 articles in the past year|date=2017-09-14|work=Digiday|access-date=2018-04-05|language=en-US}} of reporters’ time to focus on higher-impact projects.

Automated journalism is cheaper because more content can be produced within less time. It also lowers labour costs for news organizations. Reduced human input means less expenses on wages or salaries, paid leaves, vacations, and employment insurance. Automation serves as a cost-cutting tool for news outlets struggling with tight budgets but still wish to maintain the scope and quality of their coverage.

In an automated story, there is often confusion about who should be credited as the author. Several participants of a study on algorithmic authorship attributed the credit to the programmer; others perceived the news organization as the author, emphasizing the collaborative nature of the work. There is also no way for the reader to verify whether an article was written by a robot or human, which raises issues of transparency although such issues also arise with respect to authorship attribution between human authors too.{{Cite journal|last1=Dörr|first1=Konstantin Nicholas|last2=Hollnbuchner|first2=Katharina|date=2017-04-21|title=Ethical Challenges of Algorithmic Journalism|journal=Digital Journalism|volume=5|issue=4|pages=404–419|doi=10.1080/21670811.2016.1167612|s2cid=31667318|issn=2167-0811}}

Concerns about the perceived credibility of automated news is similar to concerns about the perceived credibility of news in general. Critics doubt if algorithms are "fair and accurate, free from subjectivity, error, or attempted influence."{{Citation|last=Gillespie|first=Tarleton|chapter=The Relevance of Algorithms|date=2014-02-28|title=Media Technologies|pages=167–194|publisher=The MIT Press|doi=10.7551/mitpress/9780262525374.003.0009|isbn=978-0-262-52537-4|s2cid=123401265 }} Again, these issues about fairness, accuracy, subjectivity, error, and attempts at influence or propaganda has also been present in articles written by humans over thousands of years. A common criticism is that machines do not replace human capabilities such as creativity, humour, and critical-thinking. However, as the technology evolves, the aim is to mimic human characteristics. When the UK's Guardian newspaper used an AI to write an entire article in September 2020, commentators pointed out that the AI still relied on human editorial content. Austin Tanney, the head of AI at Kainos said: "The Guardian got three or four different articles and spliced them together. They also gave it the opening paragraph. It doesn’t belittle what it is. It was written by AI, but there was human editorial on that."{{cite web| url=https://syncni.com/view/4956/is-artificial-intelligence-the-future-of-journalism | title=Is Artificial Intelligence the Future of Journalism? | work=Sync NI | author=Niamh Campbell | date=12 October 2020}}

The largest single study of readers' evaluations of news articles produced with and without the help of automation exposed 3,135 online news consumers to 24 articles. It found articles that had been automated were significantly less comprehensible, in part because they were considered to contain too many numbers. However, the automated articles were evaluated equally on other criteria including tone, narrative flow, and narrative structure.{{Cite journal |last1=Thäsler-Kordonouri |first1=Sina |last2=Thurman |first2=Neil |last3=Schwertberger |first3=Ulrike |last4=Stalph |first4=Florian |date=2024-10-22 |title=Too many numbers and worse word choice: Why readers find data-driven news articles produced with automation harder to understand |journal=Journalism |language=en |doi=10.1177/14648849241262204 |issn=1464-8849|doi-access=free }}

Beyond human evaluation, there are now numerous algorithmic methods to identify machine written articles{{Citation|title=GLTR: Statistical Detection and Visualization of Generated Text|first=Sebastian|last=Gehrmann|date=2019|arxiv=1906.04043|bibcode = 2019arXiv190604043G}} although some articles may still contain errors that are obvious for a human to identify, they can at times score better with these automatic identifiers than human-written articles.{{Citation|last=Belz|first=Anya|title=Fully Automatic Journalism: We Need to Talk About Nonfake News Generation|date=2019|url=https://cris.brighton.ac.uk/ws/files/8575767/Fully_Automatic_Journalism.pdf|publisher=University of Brighton|access-date=2020-02-01}}

A 2017 Nieman Reports article by Nicola Bruno{{Cite web |date=28 September 2011 |title=Will Machines Replace Journalists? |url=http://niemanreports.org/articles/will-machines-replace-journalists/ |access-date=2017-04-21 |website=niemanreports.org |language=en-US}} discusses whether or not machines will replace journalists and addresses concerns around the concept of automated journalism practices. Ultimately, Bruno came to the conclusion that AI would assist journalists, not replace them. "No automated software or amateur reporter will ever replace a good journalist", she said.

In 2020, however, Microsoft did just that - replacing 27 journalists with AI. One staff member was quoted by The Guardian as saying: “I spend all my time reading about how automation and AI is going to take all our jobs, and here I am – AI has taken my job.” The journalist went on to say that replacing humans with software was risky, as existing staff were careful to stick to “very strict editorial guidelines” which ensured that users were not presented with violent or inappropriate content when opening their browser, for example.{{cite web |author=Jim Waterson |date=30 May 2020 |title=Microsoft Sacks Journalists To Replace Them With Robots |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/may/30/microsoft-sacks-journalists-to-replace-them-with-robots |work=The Guardian}}

In June 2024, Reuters Institute published their Digital News Report for 2024. In a survey of people in America and Europe, Reuters Institute reports that 52% and 47% respectively are uncomfortable with news produced by "mostly AI with some human oversight", and 23% and 15% respectively report being comfortable. 42% of Americans and 33% of Europeans reported that they were comfortable with news produced by "mainly human with some help from AI". The results of global surveys reported that people were more uncomfortable with news topics including politics (46%), crime (43%), and local news (37%) produced by AI than other news topics.{{Cite web |last1=Newman |first1=Nic |last2=Fletcher |first2=Richard |last3=Robertson |first3=Craig T. |last4=Arguedas |first4=Amy Ross |last5=Nielsen |first5=Rasmus Fleis |date=June 2024 |title=Digital News Report 2024 |url=https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/DNR%202024%20Final%20lo-res-compressed.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240616234226/https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2024-06/DNR%202024%20Final%20lo-res-compressed.pdf |archive-date=June 16, 2024 |access-date=June 20, 2024 |publisher=Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism |page=20 |doi=10.60625/risj-vy6n-4v57}}

Among the concerns about automation is the loss of employment for journalists as publishers switch to using AIs.{{Cite journal|last1=Caswell|first1=David|last2=Dörr|first2=Konstantin|date=2017-05-09|title=Automated Journalism 2.0: Event-driven narratives|journal=Journalism Practice|volume=12|issue=4|pages=477–496|doi=10.1080/17512786.2017.1320773|s2cid=57746143|issn=1751-2786|url=https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/137060/1/Automated_Journalism_2.0_EventDriven_Narratives.pdf}} The use of automation has become a near necessity in newsrooms nowadays, in order to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for news stories, which in turn has affected the very nature of the journalistic profession. In 2014, an annual census from The American Society of News Editors announced that the newspaper industry lost 3,800 full-time, professional editors.{{Cite news|url=https://www.poynter.org/2015/newspaper-industry-lost-3800-full-time-editorial-professionals-in-2014/360633/|title=Newspaper industry lost 3,800 full-time editorial professionals in 2014|last=Edmonds|first=Rick|date=July 28, 2015|work=The Poynter Institute|access-date=April 20, 2017}} Falling by more than 10% within a year, this is the biggest drop since the industry cut over 10,000 jobs in 2007 and 2008.{{Cite journal|last1=Thurman|first1=Neil|last2=Dörr|first2=Konstantin|last3=Kunert|first3=Jessica|date=2017-03-01|title=When Reporters Get Hands-on with Robo-Writing|journal=Digital Journalism|volume=5|issue=10|pages=1240–1259|doi=10.1080/21670811.2017.1289819|s2cid=55367290|issn=2167-0811|url=http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/id/eprint/16350/8/robo%20writing%20-%20aor.pdf}}

United States Senators Richard Blumenthal and Amy Klobuchar have expressed concern that generative AI could have a harmful impact on local news.{{Cite news |last=Lima-Strong |first=Cristiano |date=January 11, 2024 |title=Senators warn AI could lead to 'destruction' of local news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/11/senators-warn-ai-could-lead-destruction-local-news/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240111155153/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/01/11/senators-warn-ai-could-lead-destruction-local-news/ |archive-date=January 11, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}} In July 2023, OpenAI partnered with the American Journalism Project to fund local news outlets for experimenting with generative AI, with Axios noting the possibility of generative AI companies creating a dependency for these news outlets.{{Cite web |date=July 18, 2023 |title=OpenAI strikes $5 million-plus local news deal |url=https://www.axios.com/2023/07/18/openai-local-news-deal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719062419/https://www.axios.com/2023/07/18/openai-local-news-deal |archive-date=July 19, 2023 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Axios}}

There has been a significant amount of recent scholarship on the relationship between platform companies, such as Google and Facebook, and the news industry with researchers examining the impact of these platforms on the distribution and monetization of news content, as well as the implications for journalism and democracy.{{Cite book |last1=Nielsen |first1=Rasmus Kleis |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-power-of-platforms-9780190908867?cc=de&lang=en& |title=The Power of Platforms: Shaping Media and Society |last2=Ganter |first2=Sarah Anne |date=2022-07-08 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-090886-7 |series=Oxford Studies in Digital Politics |location=Oxford, New York}}{{Cite book |url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/digital-dominance-9780190845124?cc=gb&lang=en& |title=Digital Dominance: The Power of Google, Amazon, Facebook, and Apple |date=2018-07-26 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-084512-4 |editor-last=Moore |editor-first=Martin |location=Oxford, New York |editor-last2=Tambini |editor-first2=Damian |editor-last3=Moore |editor-first3=Martin |editor-last4=Tambini |editor-first4=Damian}}{{Cite journal |last1=Chua |first1=Sherwin |last2=Duffy |first2=Andrew |date=2019-12-17 |title=Friend, Foe or Frenemy? Traditional Journalism Actors' Changing Attitudes towards Peripheral Players and Their Innovations |url=https://www.cogitatiopress.com/mediaandcommunication/article/view/2275 |journal=Media and Communication |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=112–122 |doi=10.17645/mac.v7i4.2275 |issn=2183-2439|doi-access=free |hdl=10356/138193 |hdl-access=free }} Some scholars have extended this line of thinking to automated journalism and the use of AI in the news. A 2022 paper by the Oxford University academic Felix Simon, for example, argues that the concentration of AI tools and infrastructure in the hands of a few major technology companies, such as Google, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services, is a significant issue for the news industry, as it risks shifting more control to these companies and increasing the industry's dependence on them.{{Cite journal |last=Simon |first=Felix M. |date=2022-11-26 |title=Uneasy Bedfellows: AI in the News, Platform Companies and the Issue of Journalistic Autonomy |journal=Digital Journalism |volume=10 |issue=10 |pages=1832–1854 |doi=10.1080/21670811.2022.2063150 |issn=2167-0811|doi-access=free }} Simon argues that this could lead to vendor lock-in, where news organizations become structurally dependent on AI provided by these companies and are unable to switch to another vendor without incurring significant costs. The companies also possess artefactual and contractual control{{Cite journal |last1=Kenney |first1=Martin |last2=Bearson |first2=Dafna |last3=Zysman |first3=John |date=October 2021 |title=The platform economy matures: measuring pervasiveness and exploring power |url=https://academic.oup.com/ser/article-abstract/19/4/1451/6224398?redirectedFrom=fulltext |journal=Socio-Economic Review |volume=19 |issue=4 |pages=1451–1483|doi=10.1093/ser/mwab014 |url-access=subscription }} over their AI infrastructure and services, which could expose news organizations to the risk of unforeseen changes or the stopping of their AI solutions entirely. Additionally, the author argues the reliance on these companies for AI can make it more difficult for news organizations to understand the decisions or predictions made by the systems and can limit their ability to protect sources or proprietary business information.

In January 2023, Futurism.com broke the story that CNET had been using an undisclosed internal AI tool to write at least 77 of its stories; after the news broke, CNET posted corrections to 41 of the stories.{{Cite news |last=Roth |first=Emma |date=January 25, 2023 |title=CNET found errors in more than half of its AI-written stories |url=https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/25/23571082/cnet-ai-written-stories-errors-corrections-red-ventures |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231106142152/https://www.theverge.com/2023/1/25/23571082/cnet-ai-written-stories-errors-corrections-red-ventures |archive-date=November 6, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |work=The Verge}}

In April 2023, the German tabloid Die Aktuelle published a fake AI-generated interview with former racing driver Michael Schumacher, who had not made any public appearances since 2013 after sustaining a brain injury in a skiing accident. The story included two possible disclosures: the cover included the line "deceptively real", and the interview included an acknowledgment at the end that it was AI-generated. The editor-in-chief was fired shortly thereafter amid the controversy.{{Cite news |date=April 28, 2023 |title=A magazine touted Michael Schumacher's first interview in years. It was actually AI |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/04/28/1172473999/michael-schumacher-ai-interview-german-magazine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230617222319/https://www.npr.org/2023/04/28/1172473999/michael-schumacher-ai-interview-german-magazine |archive-date=June 17, 2023 |access-date=June 17, 2023 |work=NPR}}

Other outlets that have published articles whose content or byline have been confirmed or suspected to be created by generative AI models – often with false content, errors, or non-disclosure of generative AI use – include:{{div col|colwidth=30em}}

• NewsBreak{{Cite web |last=Al-Sibai |first=Noor |date=January 3, 2024 |title=Police Say AI-Generated Article About Local Murder Is "Entirely" Made Up |url=https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-ai-article-murder-false |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240105013116/https://futurism.com/the-byte/police-ai-article-murder-false |archive-date=January 5, 2024 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}{{Cite web |date=June 5, 2024 |title=NewsBreak: Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and 'writes fiction' using AI |url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/top-news-app-us-has-chinese-origins-writes-fiction-with-help-ai-2024-06-05/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20240606070419/https://www.reuters.com/technology/top-news-app-us-has-chinese-origins-writes-fiction-with-help-ai-2024-06-05/ |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |access-date=June 7, 2024 |website=Reuters}}
• outlets owned by Arena Group
• Sports Illustrated{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=November 27, 2023 |title=Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers |url=https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231215085937/https://futurism.com/sports-illustrated-ai-generated-writers |archive-date=December 15, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• TheStreet
• Men's Journal{{Cite web |last=Christian |first=Jon |date=February 9, 2023 |title=Magazine Publishes Serious Errors in First AI-Generated Health Article |url=https://futurism.com/neoscope/magazine-mens-journal-errors-ai-health-article |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231226230358/https://futurism.com/neoscope/magazine-mens-journal-errors-ai-health-article |archive-date=December 26, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• B&H Photo{{Cite web |last=Schneider |first=Jaron |date=December 14, 2023 |title=B&H Photo Published an AI-Generated Guide Written by a Fake Person |url=https://petapixel.com/2023/12/14/bh-photo-published-an-ai-generated-guide-written-by-a-fake-person/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104183848/https://petapixel.com/2023/12/14/bh-photo-published-an-ai-generated-guide-written-by-a-fake-person/ |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=PetaPixel |language=en}}
• outlets owned by Gannett
• The Columbus Dispatch{{Cite web |last=Harrison |first=Maggie |date=August 29, 2023 |title=USA Today Owner Pauses AI Articles After Butchering Sports Coverage |url=https://futurism.com/the-byte/usa-today-owner-ai-articles-sports |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104042314/https://futurism.com/the-byte/usa-today-owner-ai-articles-sports |archive-date=January 4, 2024 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}{{Cite web |last=Buchanan |first=Tyler |date=August 28, 2023 |title=Dispatch pauses AI sports writing program |url=https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/08/28/dispatch-gannett-ai-newsroom-tool |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101222158/https://www.axios.com/local/columbus/2023/08/28/dispatch-gannett-ai-newsroom-tool |archive-date=January 1, 2024 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Axios}}
• Reviewed{{Cite news |last=Sommer |first=Will |date=October 26, 2023 |title=Mysterious bylines appeared on a USA Today site. Did these writers exist? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/10/26/usa-today-gannett-reviewed-ai-fake-writers/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231026175009/https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2023/10/26/usa-today-gannett-reviewed-ai-fake-writers/ |archive-date=October 26, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}
• USA Today{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2024 |title=Meet AdVon, the AI-Powered Content Monster Infecting the Media Industry |url=https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240604210707/https://futurism.com/advon-ai-content |archive-date=June 4, 2024 |access-date=June 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• Journal Star{{Cite web |date=May 12, 2025 |title=Gannet Is Using AI to Pump Brainrot Gambling Content Into Newspapers Across the Country |url=https://futurism.com/gannett-ai-gambling-content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250512145837/https://futurism.com/gannett-ai-gambling-content |archive-date=May 12, 2025 |access-date=May 15, 2025 |website=Futurism}}
• El Paso Times
• Fort Collins Coloradoan
• The Record
• The Augusta Chronicle
• The Providence Journal
• Argus Leader
• Southwest Times Record
• The Des Moines Register
• North Jersey Media Group
• Pocono Record
• MSN{{Cite web |last1=O'Sullivan |first1=Donie |last2=Gordon |first2=Allison |date=November 2, 2023 |title=How Microsoft's AI is making a mess of the news {{!}} CNN Business |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/tech/microsoft-ai-news/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231102160647/https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/tech/microsoft-ai-news/index.html |archive-date=November 2, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}
• News Corp{{Cite news |last=Meade |first=Amanda |date=July 31, 2023 |title=News Corp using AI to produce 3,000 Australian local news stories a week |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/aug/01/news-corp-ai-chat-gpt-stories |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202042808/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/aug/01/news-corp-ai-chat-gpt-stories |archive-date=December 2, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
• outlets owned by G/O Media{{Cite web |last=Tangermann |first=Victor |date=June 30, 2023 |title=Gizmodo Staff Furious After Site Announces Move to AI Content |url=https://futurism.com/gizmodo-kotaku-staff-furious-ai-content |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206021431/https://futurism.com/gizmodo-kotaku-staff-furious-ai-content |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• Gizmodo{{Cite web |last=Kafka |first=Peter |date=July 18, 2023 |title=Coming to your internet, whether you like it or not: More AI-generated stories |url=https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/7/18/23798164/gizmodo-ai-g-o-bot-stories-jalopnik-av-club-peter-kafka-media-column |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230718191401/https://www.vox.com/technology/2023/7/18/23798164/gizmodo-ai-g-o-bot-stories-jalopnik-av-club-peter-kafka-media-column |archive-date=July 18, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Vox |language=en}}
• Jalopnik
• A.V. Club{{Cite web |last1=Landymore |first1=Frank |last2=Christian |first2=Jon |date=September 13, 2023 |title=The A.V. Club's AI-Generated Articles Are Copying Directly From IMDb |url=https://futurism.com/the-av-club-imdb |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206021429/https://futurism.com/the-av-club-imdb |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• Quartz{{Cite web |last1=Stiaplame |first1=Nordiisk |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Quartz Is Publishing AI-Generated Articles Based on Other AI Slop, Along With Warning They May Be Filled With Errors |url=https://futurism.com/quartz-ai-generated-articles-slop-errors |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250129002111/https://futurism.com/quartz-ai-generated-articles-slop-errors |archive-date=January 29, 2025 |access-date=January 30, 2025 |website=Futurism}}
• Deadspin{{Cite web |last1=Dupré |first1=Maggie |date=October 4, 2023 |title=Deadspin's AI Is Suddenly Publishing Dozens of New Articles |url=https://futurism.com/deadspin-restarts-ai-articles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250320111032/https://futurism.com/deadspin-restarts-ai-articles |archive-date=March 20, 2025 |access-date=May 15, 2025 |website=Futurism}}
• The Takeout
• The Irish Times{{Cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=May 14, 2023 |title=Irish Times apologises for hoax AI article about women's use of fake tan |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/14/irish-times-apologises-for-hoax-ai-article-about-womens-use-of-fake-tan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230514170404/https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/may/14/irish-times-apologises-for-hoax-ai-article-about-womens-use-of-fake-tan |archive-date=May 14, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}
• outlets owned by Red Ventures
• Bankrate{{Cite web |last=Christian |first=Jon |date=February 1, 2023 |title=CNET Sister Site Restarts AI Articles, Immediately Publishes Idiotic Error |url=https://futurism.com/cnet-bankrate-restarts-ai-articles |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231127172628/https://futurism.com/cnet-bankrate-restarts-ai-articles |archive-date=November 27, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• BuzzFeed{{Cite web |last1=Al-Sibai |first1=Noor |last2=Christian |first2=Jon |date=March 30, 2023 |title=BuzzFeed Is Quietly Publishing Entire AI-Generated Articles |url=https://futurism.com/buzzfeed-publishing-articles-by-ai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231206021435/https://futurism.com/buzzfeed-publishing-articles-by-ai |archive-date=December 6, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Futurism}}
• Newsweek{{Cite web |date=April 17, 2024 |title=Newsweek is making generative AI a fixture in its newsroom |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/inside-newsweek-ai-experiment/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240515190853/https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/04/inside-newsweek-ai-experiment/ |archive-date=May 15, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |website=Nieman Lab}}
• Hoodline{{Cite web |date=June 3, 2024 |title=What's in a byline? For Hoodline's AI-generated local news, everything — and nothing |url=https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/06/whats-in-a-byline-for-hoodlines-ai-generated-local-news-everything-and-nothing/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606185322/https://www.niemanlab.org/2024/06/whats-in-a-byline-for-hoodlines-ai-generated-local-news-everything-and-nothing/ |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |access-date=June 8, 2024 |website=Nieman Lab}}{{Cite web |date=May 8, 2024 |title=AI-generated news is here from S.F.-based Hoodline. What does that mean for conventional publishers? |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ai-news-story-hoodline-19442459.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240605130937/https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/ai-news-story-hoodline-19442459.php |archive-date=June 5, 2024 |access-date=June 7, 2024 |website=San Francisco Chronicle}}{{Cite web |last=Gold |first=Hadas |date=May 30, 2024 |title=A national network of local news sites is publishing AI-written articles under fake bylines. Experts are raising alarm |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/30/media/ai-bylines-local-news-hoodline/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240606013555/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/05/30/media/ai-bylines-local-news-hoodline/index.html |archive-date=June 6, 2024 |access-date=June 8, 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}
• outlets owned by Outside Inc.
• Yoga Journal
• Backpacker
• Clean Eating
• Hollywood Life
• Us Weekly
• The Los Angeles Times
• Cody Enterprise{{Cite web |date=August 14, 2024 |title=Wyoming reporter caught using artificial intelligence to create fake quotes and stories |url=https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-reporter-resigns-journalism-ed076e2f276d9811f3b9ba051a03b7ae |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824055332/https://apnews.com/article/artificial-intelligence-reporter-resigns-journalism-ed076e2f276d9811f3b9ba051a03b7ae |archive-date=August 24, 2024 |access-date=August 27, 2024 |website=Associated Press}}
• Cosmos{{Cite web |date=August 7, 2024 |title=Cosmos Magazine publishes AI-generated articles, drawing criticism from journalists, co-founders |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-08/csiro-cosmos-magazine-generating-articles-using-ai/104186330 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240824171800/https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2024-08-08/csiro-cosmos-magazine-generating-articles-using-ai/104186330 |archive-date=August 24, 2024 |access-date=August 27, 2024 |website=ABC News}}
• outlets owned by McClatchy
• Miami Herald
• Sacramento Bee
• Tacoma News Tribune
• The Rock Hill Herald
• The Modesto Bee
• Fort Worth Star-Telegram
• Merced Sun-Star
• Ledger-Enquirer
• The Kansas City Star
• Raleigh News & Observer{{Cite web |date=May 16, 2024 |title=AI-generated articles are permeating major news publications |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251917136/ai-generated-articles-are-permeating-major-news-publications |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240619210806/https://www.npr.org/2024/05/16/1251917136/ai-generated-articles-are-permeating-major-news-publications |archive-date=June 19, 2024 |access-date=July 8, 2024 |website=National Public Radio}}
• outlets owned by Ziff Davis
• PC Magazine
• Mashable
• AskMen
• outlets owned by Hearst
• Good Housekeeping
• outlets owned by IAC Inc.
• People
• Parents
• Food & Wine
• InStyle
• Real Simple
• Travel + Leisure
• Better Homes & Gardens
• Southern Living
• outlets owned by Street Media
• LA Weekly{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=July 30, 2024 |title=Zombie Alt-Weeklies Are Stuffed With AI Slop About OnlyFans |url=https://www.wired.com/story/zombie-alt-weeklies-are-stuffed-with-ai-slop-about-onlyfans/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240811211913/https://www.wired.com/story/zombie-alt-weeklies-are-stuffed-with-ai-slop-about-onlyfans/ |archive-date=August 11, 2024 |access-date=August 27, 2024 |magazine=Wired}}
• The Village Voice
• Riverfront Times
• Apple Intelligence{{Cite web |date=January 7, 2025 |title=Apple says it will update AI feature after inaccurate news alerts |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/07/apple-update-ai-inaccurate-news-alerts-bbc-apple-intelligence-iphone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250114022838/https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jan/07/apple-update-ai-inaccurate-news-alerts-bbc-apple-intelligence-iphone |archive-date=January 14, 2025 |access-date=January 14, 2025 |website=The Guardian}}{{div col end}}In May 2024, Futurism noted that a content management system video by AdVon Commerce, who had used generative AI to produce articles for many of the aforementioned outlets, appeared to show that they "had produced tens of thousands of articles for more than 150 publishers."

Many defunct news sites (The Hairpin, The Frisky, Apple Daily, Ashland Daily Tidings, Clayton County Register, Southwest Journal) and blogs (The Unofficial Apple Weblog, iLounge) have undergone cybersquatting, with articles created by generative AI.{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=February 7, 2024 |title=Confessions of an AI Clickbait Kingpin |url=https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-of-an-ai-clickbait-kingpin/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240518230916/https://www.wired.com/story/confessions-of-an-ai-clickbait-kingpin/ |archive-date=May 18, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=January 26, 2024 |title=How Beloved Indie Blog 'The Hairpin' Turned Into an AI Clickbait Farm |url=https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-hairpin-blog-ai-clickbait-farm/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414194251/https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-hairpin-blog-ai-clickbait-farm/ |archive-date=April 14, 2024 |access-date=May 24, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last=Koebler |first=Jason |date=July 9, 2024 |title=A Beloved Tech Blog Is Now Publishing AI Articles Under the Names of Its Old Human Staff |url=https://www.404media.co/a-beloved-tech-blog-tuaw-is-now-publishing-ai-articles-under-the-names-of-its-old-human-staff/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712044925/https://www.404media.co/a-beloved-tech-blog-tuaw-is-now-publishing-ai-articles-under-the-names-of-its-old-human-staff/ |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |access-date=August 27, 2024 |website=404 Media |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Hollister |first=Sean |date=July 10, 2024 |title=Early Apple tech bloggers are shocked to find their name and work have been AI-zombified |url=https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/10/24195858/tuaw-unofficial-apple-tech-blog-ai-web-orange-khan |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712041619/https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/10/24195858/tuaw-unofficial-apple-tech-blog-ai-web-orange-khan |archive-date=July 12, 2024 |access-date=August 27, 2024 |website=The Verge |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=December 9, 2024 |title=AI slop is already invading Oregon's local journalism |url=https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/09/artificial-intelligence-local-news-oregon-ashland/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241209154659/https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/09/artificial-intelligence-local-news-oregon-ashland/ |archive-date=December 9, 2024 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |website=Oregon Public Broadcasting |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |last=Knibbs |first=Kate |date=February 26, 2024 |title=How a Small Iowa Newspaper's Website Became an AI-Generated Clickbait Factory |url=https://www.wired.com/story/iowa-newspaper-website-ai-generated-clickbait-factory/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240226120806/https://www.wired.com/story/iowa-newspaper-website-ai-generated-clickbait-factory/ |archive-date=February 26, 2024 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}{{Cite web |last1=Koebler |first1=Jason |last2=Cole |first2=Samantha |last3=Maiberg |first3=Emanuel |last4=Cox |first4=Joseph |date=January 26, 2024 |title=We Need Your Email Address |url=https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202213628/https://www.404media.co/why-404-media-needs-your-email-address/ |archive-date=December 2, 2024 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |website=404 Media |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=February 16, 2024 |title=Meet the Serbian Businessman/DJ Who Runs the Zombie AI Southwest Journal – Racket |url=https://racketmn.com/southwest-journal-minneapolis-mn-vujo-ai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241113172137/https://racketmn.com/southwest-journal-minneapolis-mn-vujo-ai |archive-date=November 13, 2024 |access-date=December 10, 2024 |website=Racket |language=en}}

In response to potential pitfalls around the use and misuse of generative AI in journalism and worries about declining audience trust, outlets around the world, including publications such as Wired, Associated Press, The Quint, Rappler or The Guardian have published guidelines around how they plan to use and not use AI and generative AI in their work.{{Cite magazine |title=How WIRED Will Use Generative AI Tools |url=https://www.wired.com/about/generative-ai-policy/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231230055221/https://www.wired.com/about/generative-ai-policy/ |archive-date=December 30, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Barrett |first=Amanda |date=November 15, 2018 |title=Standards around generative AI |url=https://blog.ap.org/standards-around-generative-ai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230923042459/https://blog.ap.org/standards-around-generative-ai |archive-date=September 23, 2023 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |website=Associated Press}}{{Cite news |last1=Viner |first1=Katharine |last2=Bateson |first2=Anna |date=June 16, 2023 |title=The Guardian's approach to generative AI |url=https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2023/jun/16/the-guardians-approach-to-generative-ai |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240103230448/https://www.theguardian.com/help/insideguardian/2023/jun/16/the-guardians-approach-to-generative-ai |archive-date=January 3, 2024 |access-date=January 8, 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last1=Becker |first1=K. B. |last2=Simon |first2=F. M. |last3=Crum |first3=C. |date=2023 |title=Policies in parallel? A comparative study of journalistic AI policies in 52 global news organisations |url=https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:b527b298-a12b-4f0d-bf77-543e3375cdf7 |pages=8–9 |language=en |doi=10.31235/osf.io/c4af9}}

== References ==

{{reflist}}

Category:Journalism

Category:Applications of artificial intelligence

Category:Natural language generation

Category:Types of journalism