NewsBreak publishes untrue story about Harvest19 charity
US-based news app NewsBreak published two inaccurate, AI-generated stories about a charity hosting a 24-hour foot-care clinic for homeless people , prompting concerns that homeless people might attend the non-event. The two false stories, neither of which was labeled as having been generated by AI, alleged that Erie, Pennsylvania charity Harvest912 was hosting a 24-hour foot-care clinic for homeless people. The article prompted the charity to issue a 'cease and desist' to NewsBreak to pull the stories due to concerns that homeless individuals might travel to the non-existent event, potentially causing harm. “You are doing HARM by publishing this misinformation - homeless people will walk to these venues to attend a clinic that is not happening,” Harvest912 told NewsBreak in an email seen by Reuters . NewsBreak said it removed the articles and blamed Harvest 19 for hosting incorrect information on its website. The incident was one of a series involving NewsBreak, and raised questions about the accuracy and reliability of the company's AI technology. It also raised questions about NewsBreak's business model, governance and integrity. System 🤖 Interest Engine Operator: Particle Media/NewsBreak Developer: Particle Media/NewsBreak Country: USA Sector: NGO/non-profit/social enterprise Purpose: Generate news articles Technology: Chatbot Issue: Business model; Mis/disinformation
- Date it happened
- 2024-01-01
- Organisation involved
- Particle Media/NewsBreak
- Product, system or model
- Interest Engine
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