Gannett Is Using AI to Pump Brainrot Gambling Content Into Newspapers Across the Country

The media giant Gannett, the largest owner of American local newspapers and the publisher of USA Today, is using AI to churn out a nationwide torrent of automated articles about lottery results that often pointedly direct readers toward a gambling site with which Gannett has a financial relationship, giving the company a financial kickback when readers visit it. Gannett appears to have started publishing the automated gambling posts around February of this year, with the articles published en masse by dozens of local newspapers across many US states — an eyebrow-raising editorial move, especially during an explosive rise in gambling addiction that Gannett itself has covered extensively. In many cases, the posts are outfitted with vague bylines, attributed to simply a paper's "Staff" or "Staff reports." Other times, the posts are attributed to a Gannett editor or digital producer, suggesting at first glance that the articles were written by humans. Until you get to the foot of each p ... Read full article.