OT AI Slop Already Invading Oregon's Local Journalism

Everything Beagle · Dec 10, 2024

https://www.opb.org/article/2024/12/09/artificial-intelligence-local-news-oregon-ashland/

The Ashland Daily Tidings — established as a newspaper in 1876 — ceased operations in 2023, but if you were a local reader, you may not have known. Almost as soon as it closed, a website for the Tidings reemerged, boasting a team of eight reporters, Minihane included, who cranked out densely reported stories every few days.

And those reporters were covering a lot more than local news. They dove into Oregon’s fentanyl crisis (“Measure 110 might be in for a repeal”), homelessness in Eugene (“All In Lane County homeless program delivers impressive results”), and the food scene in Portland (“The fourth best burger in the U.S. is in Portland”) — essentially any issue that might draw attention from Oregonians.

The reality was that none of the people allegedly working for the Ashland Daily Tidings existed, or at least were who they claimed to be. The bylines listed on Daily Tidings articles were put there by scammers using artificial intelligence, and in some cases stolen identities, to dupe local readers.
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OT AI Slop Already Invading Oregon's Local Journalism

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