GoKawiilNewsGuard audit finds AI chatbots frequently cite 'pink slime' partisan sites
NewsGuard, a news-reliability research organization, tested seven major AI chatbots with 168 queries about midterm candidates and issues covered by 12 partisan 'pink slime' websites disguised as local news outlets. Collectively the chatbots cited these sites in 48.2% of responses, with ChatGPT citing them in 70.8% of answers and Grok in 29.2%; only one response flagged the sources as partisan.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
Because chatbots are increasingly used as a substitute for search engines and traditional news, their failure to disclose a source's partisan origin could let political messaging reach voters under a false appearance of neutrality, according to the researchers. The researchers note the left-leaning sites were cited three times more often than right-leaning ones, but suggest this may reflect posting frequency rather than political bias in the AI systems themselves. The findings could pressure AI companies to improve source vetting and disclosure ahead of future elections.
- NewsGuard's audit found chatbots cited 'pink slime' partisan sites in 48.2% of responses on midterm topics.
- ChatGPT had the highest rate (70.8%) and Grok the lowest (29.2%) among the seven tools tested.
- Only 1 of 168 chatbot responses disclosed that a cited source was partisan in nature.
Source: politics.slashdot.org — Posted, 2026-09-28
Published there as: “Are AI Chatbots Spreading Misinformation to US Voters?”
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