AI's trust crisis hits the newsroom

A fabricated "Dr Eleni Nicolaou" was quoted in dozens of outlets including Vice, Forbes and Psychology as part of an SEO link-building scheme, while the WSJ defended a columnist's AI-written op-ed and the NYT ran an AI-generated quote.

The crux

Fake experts and undisclosed AI writing are eroding the exact credibility premium publishers monetise through subscriptions and sponsored content.

Sell-side read

Provenance and human verification are becoming a sellable feature; publishers who can prove their reporting is human-made will command a premium as advertisers and readers grow wary of AI slop.

Watch

Whether more fake-expert networks surface and whether outlets adopt verification tools before publication.