Reporters at USA Today are suspicious that their parent company, Gannett, may be utilizing artificial intelligence to create content for a product review website.
This comes after articles with bylines from unknown writers began appearing on the website of Reviewed, a shopping recommendation site owned by USA Today.
According to The New York Post, the articles had names of reporters that other staff did not recognize, and their content and writing style appeared similar and somewhat “robotic.” The union that represents USA Today journalists, NewsGuild of New York, investigated the authors’ identity and discovered that they might not even exist as they had no profiles on LinkedIn, and Google searches of their stories didn’t turn up anything.
The union posted screenshots of two separate articles that contained similar language.
Two articles were featured side by side, one reviewing scuba masks and the other reviewing tumbler cups. The first article highlighted the important factors to consider when purchasing a scuba mask, while the second article discussed the factors to consider when shopping for a tumbler. The Tumbler cup review article advised shoppers to select a design that suits their style.
In contrast, the scuba mask review article recommended selecting a lens type to match one’s diving preferences and style. Gannett, in response to The Post’s inquiry, denied using AI-generated content for Reviewed, stating that the content was created by third-party freelancers hired by a marketing agency partner.
The union has accused Gannett of promoting products not reviewed by its staffers, including health supplements.
Additionally, the union claimed that Gannett favored promoting sponsored content on Google over articles written by Reviewed’s own staff. The review stated that the pages were deployed without accurate affiliate disclaimers and failed to meet editorial standards. The union further alleged that Gannett used AI as a means of union-busting by threatening reporters with job loss.
Recently, staff members of Reviewed staged a one-day strike to protest against the management’s failure to come to the bargaining table for a new agreement. Gannett, which owns over 200 newspapers in 43 states, has not addressed the union-busting charge in its statement to The Post.
Following its merger with GateHouse Media four years ago, Gannett has reduced more than half of its workforce and closed down numerous local newspapers, including the Arizona Republic, the Austin American-Statesman, and the Asbury Park Press.
