AI ILLUSTRATION: HOWARD MCWILLIAM


Ways to spot fake experts by Alex Cassidy


Suspicious or missing photos No picture at all or only a single, overly polished headshot that may be AI generated.


including those working in PR and comms, sign up to the union’s code of conduct to adhere to ethical standards. This includes ‘striving to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair.’ “However, this investigation shows there are plenty of


anonymous bad actors out there who have little regard for observing ethical standards. This investigation highlights the dangers AI technology presents in spreading fake news and contributing to declining public trust in journalism. “The NUJ will continue to campaign for urgent regulatory


oversight of AI and stands ready to work collaboratively with other organisations, including the CIPR and PRCA, to find solutions that protect our members and sectors.” Waugh says services such as Response Source, Quoted and


HARO (Help A Reporter Out) are trying to clean up their acts by targeting people who are doing this. But perhaps the solution is in the hands of the newspapers? Press Gazette published a dossier of more than 500 stories


appearing in major news brands based on press releases sent from MyJobQuote featuring fake and misleading comments, then created a league table of the hardest hit news bodies. Publications that featured the quotes included Reach (which


Reluctance to speak directly The expert is never available for a call, with the PR acting as a barrier between journalist and source.


Each character feels more jaw-droppingly absurd than the last. As well as Santini, there was Anne Simmons. In a print feature in The Times, she spoke about her role as a cleaner at Buckingham Palace, including how they had prepared for Donald Trump’s state visit. Plates Express and Pure Window Cleaning got a mention as part of her top tips for a sparkling home. It seems Simmons didn’t exist either or, if she did, she had never worked at any royal palace. The Times and other publications took these features down. How are they getting there in the first place? Alex Cassidy, managing director at NeoMam, says: “Unfortunately, the UK press remains too easily exploitable. When journalists are forced to source comment under unrealistic deadlines, they are actively disincentivised from checking whether a quoted expert is real. And in that vacuum, the fastest PR wins, not necessarily the most credible.” Waugh agrees: “It’s the culture of doing 10 stories a day. The


back bench will just throw stories at the junior reporters so people don’t feel connected to the material they’re working on. If you say to the back bench ‘this looks dodgy’, you’re not going to get rewarded for that. You’re just going to get told off.” The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) have written a joint letter to journalism membership bodies and media trade titles following concerns about PR professionals pitching stories using fake experts. They’re asking journalists to use their public membership registers to verify the credentials of PRs and expert sources where concerns arise – but that only works if the PR is a member of one of these associations. Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, says that all members,


Vague or inflated job titles Encouragement to use broad labels such as ‘spokesperson’ or ‘topic expert’ instead of specific, verifiable roles.


No credible online footprint Legitimate experts should be cross referenceable and be listed on a company site and LinkedIn or other social profiles showing both professional and personal substance.


Templated, AI-style quotes Quotes may contain familiar AI-style phrasing and rely on rhetorical patterns such as negative parallelisms (it’s not just X, it’s Y).


produces The Mirror, The Express, Daily Record, Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo), Future (Woman and Home, Ideal Home, Homes and Gardens), News UK (The Sun) and Newsquest (regional papers including The Northern Echo and The Bradford Telegraph and Argus). I put interview requests in for all four companies. Only Reach replied. Chief content officer David Higgerson said: “The rise of fake experts is not good for anyone – media, PR or the public. We’ve made several changes which have driven this down but we’re determined to do more, especially as the tactics used become more sophisticated. “What makes this even more complicated is that we have


recently seen previously trusted and very well established PR agencies sharing fake quotes. We have created our own directory of trusted PR agencies and won’t hesitate to remove agencies and PRs as well as add them. We are considering more severe steps for agencies who haven’t shown us they are taking enough steps on their side – including wholesale blocking of emails from those domains. All of this is on top of working with our journalists to make sure they interrogate even the most convincing-looking releases. We appreciate this is a cross-industry issue that we can all support each other on.” Many stories appear low stake. You’ll have seen lots of these types of clickbait headlines: ‘There’s a right place to put your wheelie bins – getting it wrong is a real security risk’, ‘Simple fence trick that will make your garden look much bigger’ and ‘The grim reason you should never leave your towel on the floor’. Waugh and Cassidy have looked at some of this advice and


discovered it to be completely wrong. Cassidy says that targeting the lifestyle end of journalism does not make stories benign. “We’ve seen examples of AI hallucinations producing dangerous misinformation, from deadly ‘recipes’ involving bleach to absurd suggestions such as glue sandwiches. Whether AI generated or not, fabricated advice in low-stakes verticals is the thin end of a much wider wedge.” A few clarifying questions often expose whether the


authority is real or not. If there are photos of your spokesperson, have a good look. I’m not saying nutritionist Kristy Thomas (pictured left) doesn’t exist. She looks very friendly. But that’s an awfully big banana.


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