Dispatch editor James Cracknell on the disturbing new trend in artificial intelligence (AI) that threatens to undermine real local journalism

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest big threat to the local media landscape – as if there weren’t enough already.

AI companies develop their large language models using existing, human-created content on the internet, essentially profiting from the hard work of others without seeking their permission or sharing any of the revenues they make.

But this is only part of the problem.

Late last year a local ‘news’ website emerged in our area that at first appears to be a genuine publisher. But it only takes a quick read of any of their stories to notice something strange about them.

North London News features stories about Enfield and Barnet and other boroughs that are put together by AI bots using existing stories published on other websites, including our own. This is bad enough – but what’s worse is that they are also adding fake quotes, fake people (including fake councillors), fake organisations and fake facts into these stories as well. Whatever AI system they are using, it is massively flawed.

After a particularly egregious example lifted parts of a story from Barnet Post – one of the sister papers owned by our publisher Social Spider CIC – Press Gazette ran a story about North London News.

Managing director David Floyd told them: “Our instinctive worry as local news publishers is that AI driven sites will just regurgitate our original material in pursuit of profit and help to make genuine local journalism even more difficult to sustain than it is already.

“But it now seems that there are sites that are combining that with something even worse: publishing AI generated material that is literally made up.

“The worry is that, in these examples, AI-generated fiction is mixed with key points that are broadly correct, so a member of public coming across this could easily not realise it’s mostly rubbish.”

Press Gazette attempted to contact North London News but both of their listed email addresses bounced back, while the claimed publisher “Times Intelligence Media Group” offered “no traces” of its existence.

AI is allowing bad actors to use technology for nefarious motives, attempting to hijack internet algorithms to generate income while polluting the public information space. These fake news websites rack up millions of views – and because of their slick presentation it’s likely that many people won’t realise what they’re reading is total bullshit.

I wish there was an easy solution to all of this, or something we could ask you as a reader to do to help us combat it. But it feels like we fighting a losing battle against disinformation.

At least we can reassure you that every story you read in Enfield Dispatch is written by real, local people, who care about where they live, and have no other motive than informing readers of what is happening in their borough. If you can, support us!

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