USA TODAY’s Disclaimers on Its Automated Sports Stories Are Longer Than the Actual Articles

USA TODAY is publishing automated sports stories that serve as SEO-targeted vehicles for sports gambling ads, toeing ethical lines and blurring the boundaries between sports journalism and the rapidly growing sports betting industry, the rise of which has been linked to a tidal wave of gambling addiction. At a quick glance, the posts — which list the day's Major League Baseball (MLB) schedule in a minimal, bullet-pointed list — look like any other USA TODAY sports article. They have fairly normal headlines, underneath which are a USA TODAY editor's name and headshot; then comes an opening few sentences and the skeletal list of professional baseball games slated for that day. "Here is the full Major League Baseball schedule for May 5 and how to watch all the games," reads the opening line of a typical post. It's identical to the one in the post that came before it, and the one before that. The only thing that changes is the date, and of course, the schedule that follows. There are doz ... Read full article.