Partisans masquerading as news outlets now outnumber U. S. newspaper sites, a research organization that tracks misinformation said Tuesday, signaling a local news crisis in a high-stakes election year.
Hundreds of media-mimicking sites have sprung up in recent months, many of them powered by synthetic intelligence, fueling an explosion of polarized or false narratives that stoke fear as the race for the White House intensifies.
At least 1,265 politically motivated “pink slime” media outlets have been identified as offering themselves as independent local media outlets, the U. S. think tank NewsGuard said in a report.
By comparison, 1,213 local newspapers were active in the U. S. last year, according to Northwestern University’s Local News Initiative project.
“The chances now are greater than 50-50 that if you see a news story that claims to cover local news, it’s fake,” the NewsGuard report says.
According to an investigation by news site Axios, nearly a portion of the partisan sites were targeting swing states, in what appears to be an attempt to influence political ideals in the run-up to the November election that is expected to take a stand between President Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
These sites come with a network of 167 Russian disinformation sites that NewsGuard said were connected to John Mark Dougan, a former U. S. law enforcement officer who fled to Moscow.
The other sites are supported by conservative and influential left-wing outfits, such as Metric Media, Courier Newsroom and States Newsroom, according to the report.
The rise in pink slime comes amid an immediate decline in local newspapers, many of which have closed their doors or suffered layoffs due to economic hardship.
Last year, Northwestern University called 204 counties out of about 3,000 in the U. S. “information deserts,” with “no newspapers, no local websites, no public radio newsrooms, and no ethnic publications. “
According to the study, newspapers continue to disappear at an average of more than two per week.
He adds that the U. S. has lost about two-thirds of its sleuths since 2005.
“With the disappearance of the classic newspapers. . . pink slime sites are going to fill the void,” the NewsGuard report said.
“As a result, millions of Americans have valid local coverage. “
Internet sites that spout partisan propaganda usually rely on armies of writers, but generative AI teams now offer a particularly less expensive and faster way to create hard-to-decipher content from original information.
These websites highlight the potential for AI-based tools (chatbots, image generators, and voice cloners) to boost misinformation while further eroding acceptance in classical media, the researchers say.
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