--- title: "Sites Busted Running AI Content Farm That Rips Off Real Journalists’ Work When They Accidentally Left Prompt in Published Article" description: "Australian broadcaster the ABC discovered a \"parasitic\" content farm that's churning out poorly plagiarized news stories." date: "2024-05-15" modified: "2024-05-15" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/ai-content-farm-ripping-off-journalists" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai chatbots" - "ai content" - "chatgpt" --- # Sites Busted Running AI Content Farm That Rips Off Real Journalists’ Work When They Accidentally Left Prompt in Published Article ![Australian broadcaster the ABC discovered a "parasitic" content farm that's churning out poorly plagiarized news stories.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* Australian broadcaster the *ABC* [discovered a "parasitic" content farm]() that's churning out poorly plagiarized news stories through a number of publications being run by a company called Initiative Media. In its investigation, the *ABC* came across an article about a local rugby player with a headline that was eerily similar to a real piece that was published by sports journalist Patrick Woods at the *Townsville Bulletin*. "Not only \[do they\] hurt my ability to report on the \[National Rugby League\], but also damage the integrity of sports journalism," Woods told the broadcaster, calling out the operation as a new breed of "parasitic plagiarism merchants that are becoming all too common." Just hours after the *ABC* reached out to a lawyer called James Raptis, whose byline was previously listed on one of the sites, the entire operation was shut down. Raptis, who works for a large media company called Australian Community Media, issued a [puzzling statement]() in which he admitted to hosting the websites but said he had "never written any content for them." "After becoming aware of the specific nature of the sites, I advised the operator that the server would no longer host the sites and they were taken down," he wrote. "The content of these websites was unacceptable and I do not endorse the use of AI in this way." The story is indicative of a much broader trend. The internet is [facing a tidal wave of AI-generated garbage]() that's actively drowning out real journalism by real human beings — sometimes by shadowy spam operators, but other times by prominent outlets ranging from *[CNET]()* to [*USA* *Today*'s publisher Gannett](). Just last this week, [*Futurism* reported]() on a company called AdVon that's used AI to patch together low quality e-commerce articles — complete with fictional biographies and in some cases AI-generated profile pictures — for clients ranging from the *Los Angeles Times* to *Sports Illustrated.* With the proliferation of AI chatbot tools like ChatGPT, the trend has steadily grown. Last year, online news credibility rating website NewsGuard found that a [whopping 49 websites]() were producing content that appeared to be either mostly or entirely AI-generated in April of last year alone. Given the latest reports, that number is likely considerably higher now. To some, this kind of polluting of the internet is a source of pride. In November, Jake Ward, founder of a UK-based SEO content marketing agency called Content Growth, [bragged]() that "we pulled off an SEO heist that stole 3.6 million total traffic from a competitor." His company made a business out of stealing competitors' sitemaps, turning them into URLs, and then generating thousands of articles from them using AI. Microsoft's *MSN* news portal has also given a platform dubious publications pumping out AI-generated articles. In September, one of these news sites [published a story]() declaring just-deceased NBA player Brandon Hunter "useless at 42," in a nonsensical garbling of an existing news story about his tragic death. Hilariously, the *ABC* came across the smoking gun while investigating Initiative Media's shady publications in the form of what appears to be a simplistic AI chatbot prompt. "You are an experienced sports journalist," read the prompt, which was inadvertently included in an October article. "You are required to rewrite the following article. You are required to be extremely detailed. You are required to utilize Australian English spelling." "You must ensure the article you generate is different from the original article to avoid plagiarism detection," it continued. **More on AI garbage:** *[Meet AdVon, the AI-Powered Content Monster Infecting the Media Industry]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()