In the US, fake news websites now outnumber real local media sites

Fake websites posing as news now outnumber legitimate sites, and Russia plays a key role in their proliferation, media analysts say.

An investigation by disinformation watchdog NewsGuard shows a rise in “pink slime” websites. Known for posting low-quality content or misinformation, the sites take their nickname from a meat byproduct used as filler.

The producers of these sites are generally partisan entities or produce clickbait content for maximum profit, NewsGuard says. The watchdog said the use of technology and generative artificial intelligence has enabled an increase in the production of fake sites.

NewsGuard editor for artificial intelligence (AI) and foreign influence, McKenzie Sadeghi, told the Voice of America that the figures are a grim fact that could represent a threat to press freedom and the US presidential elections. It contributes to the already declining trust in online media, he said.

“The number of these sites has increased in size, scope and sophistication,” Sadeghi said. “Now we find that the number of 1,265 has surpassed the number of daily local newspapers in the United States, which is a little alarming.”

Data from the Medill Local News Initiative, managed by Northwestern University’s School of Journalism, shows that the number of legitimate local news sites in the United States is at an all-time low of 1,213.

“We have an acceleration and loss of local news organizations across the country,” said Tim Franklin, director of the Medill Local News Initiative. “More than half of America’s counties are now news deserts or have only limited access to local news.”

News deserts are large geographic swaths where communities have limited or no access to local news. Declining profits and declining audiences are two of the factors contributing to the decline.

“I think…these types of cynical actors who run these pink slime operations understand that we’ve seen the collapse of the local news business model across the country,” Franklin said.

“They’re going to try to fill the void of the loss of legitimate local news,” he said. “I think we will be inundated by a tsunami of misinformation and disinformation.”

Sadeghi claimed that more than 150 Russian-backed sites are contributing to the proliferation of fake news.

“These sites rely heavily on artificial intelligence to generate their content,” Sadeghi said. “Even the text, images and logos. “They are spread widely on social media and people have fallen in love with them, thinking they are normal, trusted local publications.”

One of the key players in the Russian-backed sites, NewsGuard says, is John Mark Dougan, a former Florida sheriff’s deputy who fled to Moscow in 2016 to escape US criminal charges. NewsGuard says all 167 sites on the Russian network appear connected to Dougan.

According to NewsGuard, Dougan lives under the protection of the Kremlin and propagates fake American news sites with names like DC Weekly and Boston Times.

Clemson University’s Media Forensics Hub traced the fake website DCWeekly.org to Dougan in Moscow via his IP address. The center says the site is most likely backed by the Russian government.

NewsGuard reports that when it asked Dougan about the sites, he denied any involvement.

“This Russia-aligned narrative laundering scheme may be a glimpse into the future of influence operations,” Media Forensics Hub wrote in a December 2023 report.

“AI and other new digital technologies “They allow these same bad actors to create false systems and organizations, entire publications that, barring careful investigation, are capable of offering credibility to the most absurd narratives,” the report concluded.

Franklin believes the rise of pink slime websites is related to the US elections.

“We may have this toxic stew of misinformation and disinformation in the fall,” he said, “and at a volume we’ve never seen before, and that’s what worries me a lot heading into this fall election.”

Sadeghi said he believes the sole purpose of the new pink slime sites is to influence the US elections.

“The last time they increased was in the 2022 midterm elections,” Sadeghi said. “They reappear in election years and simply expand in size and scope to influence voters and boost candidates.”

Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channels Youtube, WhatsApp and to newsletter. Turn on notifications and follow us on Facebook, x and instagram.