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PoliticsQuiet 5d · day 9

NPR: Fake 'local news' network of 37 sites boosts Democratic House candidates, cited by ChatGPT

An anonymous network of sites mimicking local news outlets is pushing pro-Democratic content into key U.S. House races, and ChatGPT is citing them while Google avoids them.

newest coverage 4d agosummary written 9d ago16 pieces MastodonNewswiresGoogle NewsRedditBluesky

What to know

  • An unidentified network of at least 37 websites mimics local news outlets while promoting Democratic candidates in competitive U.S. House races.
  • ChatGPT's responses have been citing and surfacing these sites, while Google's search and AI products reportedly do not promote them.
  • The operators behind the network remain unknown, raising questions about coordinated political influence efforts ahead of the midterms.
  • The discrepancy between how different AI platforms handle the content highlights uneven safeguards against synthetic or deceptive news sources.

Huo Jingnan NPR reporterOpenAI / ChatGPT AI chatbot citing the sitesGoogle Search and AI platformUnknown network operators Operators of the 37 fake local-news sites

How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlesposts

Peak 5 pieces in 3h at Oct 30, 4 AM; 16 pieces over 9 days (8 articles · 8 posts) Oct 30, 4 AM — 5 pieces · 3 articles · 2 posts — Newswires 2, Mastodon 2, Google News 1Oct 30, 7 AM — 3 pieces · 1 article · 2 posts — Reddit 2, Newswires 1Oct 30, 10 AM — 3 pieces · 2 articles · 1 post — Newswires 2, Mastodon 1Oct 30, 1 PM — quietOct 30, 4 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 30, 7 PM — quietOct 30, 10 PM — quietOct 31, 1 AM — quietOct 31, 4 AM — quietOct 31, 7 AM — quietOct 31, 10 AM — quietOct 31, 1 PM — quietOct 31, 4 PM — quietOct 31, 7 PM — 1 piece · 1 article — Newswires 1Oct 31, 10 PM — quietNov 1, 1 AM — quietNov 1, 3 AM — quietNov 1, 6 AM — quietNov 1, 9 AM — quietNov 1, 12 PM — quietNov 1, 3 PM — quietNov 1, 6 PM — quietNov 1, 9 PM — quietNov 2, 12 AM — quietNov 2, 3 AM — quietNov 2, 6 AM — quietNov 2, 9 AM — quietNov 2, 12 PM — quietNov 2, 3 PM — quietNov 2, 6 PM — quietNov 2, 9 PM — quietNov 3, 12 AM — quietNov 3, 3 AM — quietNov 3, 6 AM — quietNov 3, 9 AM — 1 piece · 1 post — Mastodon 1Nov 3, 12 PM — 2 pieces · 2 posts — Bluesky 2Nov 3, 3 PM — quietNov 3, 6 PM — quietNov 3, 9 PM — quietNov 4, 12 AM — quietNov 4, 3 AM — quietNov 4, 6 AM — quietNov 4, 9 AM — quietNov 4, 12 PM — quietNov 4, 3 PM — quietNov 4, 6 PM — quietNov 4, 9 PM — quietNov 5, 12 AM — quietNov 5, 3 AM — quietNov 5, 6 AM — quietNov 5, 9 AM — quietNov 5, 12 PM — quietNov 5, 3 PM — quietNov 5, 6 PM — quietNov 5, 9 PM — quietNov 6, 12 AM — quietNov 6, 3 AM — quietNov 6, 6 AM — quietNov 6, 9 AM — quietNov 6, 12 PM — quietNov 6, 3 PM — quietNov 6, 6 PM — quietNov 6, 9 PM — quietYesterday, 12 AM — quietYesterday, 3 AM — quietYesterday, 6 AM — quietYesterday, 9 AM — quietYesterday, 12 PM — quietYesterday, 3 PM — quietYesterday, 6 PM — quietYesterday, 9 PM — quietToday, 12 AM — quietToday, 3 AM — quietToday, 6 AM — quietToday, 9 AM — quiet 1–2
Oct 31Nov 1Nov 2Nov 3Nov 4Nov 5Nov 6yesterdaynow · 12:37 PM ET
  1. 2

    Political.org details network as 37 sites

    A follow-up report specifies the scale of the operation, describing a network of 37 websites posing as local news outlets that promote Democratic House candidates and are being cited by ChatGPT.

    “Network of 37 Websites Posing as Local News Promotes Democratic House Candidates, Gets Cited by ChatGPT…”
    — Political.org, News outlet · source
    • botmutiny.com

      NPR asked ChatGPT about 10 House races. About half the answers cited sites made to look like local news that promote Democrats. NPR could not identify who runs them. via @npr.org

      botmutiny.comBluesky4d agoview on Bluesky ↗
    2 more of the top 3 · 4 posts in this stretch

    • NPR doesn't think it's important to note that the VAST majority of these fake local paper ("pink slime") agitprop operations are run by Republicans Websites pretending to be loca...

      karlbode.com@bsky.brid.gyMastodon9d agoview on Mastodon ↗
    • nullhedge.bsky.social

      @npr.org Remember when you were a real news source? This admin propaganda ain't it.

      nullhedge.bsky.socialBluesky4d agoview on Bluesky ↗
    all of them →
  2. 1

    NPR identifies fake local-news sites boosting Democrats

    NPR reports that websites of unknown origin, designed to look like local news outlets, are targeting key U.S. House races by promoting Democratic candidates; the sites are getting picked up and cited in ChatGPT's responses, while Google's products avoid surfacing them.

    “The websites of unknown origin are targeting key U.S. House races. They are getting picked up by ChatGPT's responses but Google's products avoid promoting them.”
    — NPR
    1. 2 outlets Websites pretending to be local news are boosting Democratic candidates

      first by NPR, 9d ago · also NPR News

      1 more headline

Also covered reported alongside — the timeline has no entry for these yet

  1. 2 outlets Pro-Dem phony news sites are manipulating ChatGPT users ahead of midterms: report

    first by NY Post, 8d ago · also New York Post

What people are saying 1 voices from 1 site · best of 4 · verbatim