Armed with artificial intelligence, anyone can create false news, resulting in a flood of content on the internet often in the guise of factual articles but spreading lies about election, war and disaster. A website called NewsGuard found over 600 AI-generated news and information sites on the internet, an increase of 1000% since last May. (The Washington Post, December 17, 2023, by Pranshu Verma)
It will be some time before the public can be alerted and educated to ferret out the false news generated in the U.S. or by foreign adversaries. In the meantime, NewsGuard discovered a network of more than a dozen TikTok accounts that used AI to spread falsehoods and politics and health, reaching over 300 million viewers. (MSNBC, December 21, 2023, by Zeeshan Aleem)
Pen American, December 2023, offers guidance to journalists to navigate the world of AI-generated content including bringing a hard edge skepticism to images and information on the internet. Journalists are advised to examine for bias and to fact-check.