--- title: "Four Financial Journalists Accused of Being Fake AI-Generated Puppets That Shill Crypto in Forbes, HuffPost, and More" description: "An investigation by Press Gazette found that four financial journalists appear to be fake puppets operated by a crypto publicity outfit." date: "2026-05-13" modified: "2026-05-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/financial-journalists-accused-ai-fakes" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Ethics" - "Future Society" --- # Four Financial Journalists Accused of Being Fake AI-Generated Puppets That Shill Crypto in Forbes, HuffPost, and More ![A faceless person in a black suit and tie is sitting behind a white laptop with a large yellow Bitcoin symbol on it, set against an orange background with a grid pattern.]() *Illustration by Tag Hartman-Simkins / Futurism. Source: Getty Images* Four prolific financial journalists are facing serious questions over whether they're actually real. Welcome to digital media in 2026! An [investigation by *The Press Gazette*]() found that four allegedly human [freelance]() journalists who've published articles shilling specific crypto coins — in outlets including *Forbes, Investing.com, HuffPost, CoinTelegraph, VentureBeat,* [and *The Street*](), no less — strongly appear to be fake. And each of them, tellingly, bear striking connections to a publicity firm called MarketAcross, which on its website describes itself as offering "PR for the world's leading blockchain companies." Per *Press Gazette,* the four writers in question — their bylines identify them as Nikolai Kuznetsov, Reuben Jackson, Luis Aureliano, and Joe Liebkind — each boast headshots that are either likely-AI-generated pictures or easily-traceable stock photos. None of them have any clear online history beyond their collective financial publishing careers, which total more than 1,000 articles. The human journalists at *Press Gazette* also found that each writer has frequently pushed readers to invest in cryptocurrencies hawked by MarketAcross clients, including a particularly dubious crypto effort dubbed "Gladius" that collapsed in 2017. And a defunct website for Kuznetsov, the most prolific writer among the seemingly phony cohort, was listed under the same address as a company called InboundJunction, a "media and PR group for tech, AI, and cyber brands" that has the same founders as — you guessed it! — MarketAcross. None of the outlets where the allegedly faux financial writers have published content were able to provide *Press Gazette* with evidence that the freelance contributors were real. And none of the writers accused of being fake responded to *Press Gazette*'s questions. In sum, according to *Press Gazette*'s reporting, it very much looks like crypto marketers have been operating made-up financial journalists like digital puppets, a scheme presumably designed to garner interest and legitimacy for their clients. A managing partner for both MarketAcross and InboundJunction told *Press Gazette* in a lengthy statement that "we do not employ journalists, and our employees do not operate any of the profiles you referenced. We do not hold personal contact details for the individuals you mentioned and any activity associated with them appears to be years ago." Crypto is a realm uniquely wrought with scammery, and zooming out, the information world overall is a [mess of fake slop]() right now. Before you make any consequential decisions, or choose to trust a particular writer or poster, you'd do well to be extra careful. Hopefully, the editors actually letting possibly-fake freelancers publishing this kind of content will start doing the same. **More on media:** *[A Prominent PR Firm Is Running a Fake News Site That’s Plagiarizing Original Journalism at Incredible Scale]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()