The rise of low-quality, AI-generated content farms that aim to profit from programmatic advertising revenue is becoming increasingly alarming, according to a report by NewsGuard, a misinformation tracking company. The report reveals that over 141 internationally recognized brands, known as “blue chip” ventures, are inadvertently supporting numerous low-effort AI content farms.
While the specific names of these blue chip ventures were not disclosed, NewsGuard mentioned that the list includes major banks and financial services firms, two of the largest consumer technology companies globally, and a prominent Silicon Valley digital platform, among others.
The report suggests that programmatic advertising serves as the primary revenue source for these AI-generated websites. NewsGuard analyst Lorenzo Arvanitis stated, “We have identified hundreds of Fortune 500 companies and well-known, prominent brands that are advertising on these sites and that are unwittingly supporting it.”
The concerning aspect of these findings lies in several factors. Firstly, the proliferation of consumer-facing AI tools enables the easy launch of such websites filled with low-quality content. Tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT allow for generating vast amounts of text, with little regard for quality.
These operations operate at an astounding scale. NewsGuard highlights that these websites often generate hundreds of articles daily. Recently encountered AI content farms, which were rife with misinformation and false citations, exhibited similarly alarming production rates.
Furthermore, advertisements from reputable companies may inadvertently legitimize and obscure the dark reality of these low-quality websites, which may peddle misinformation.
The most concerning aspect, however, is the prominent role that Google, along with the broader digital advertising landscape, plays in facilitating the AI spam business model. NewsGuard found that over 90% of the ads encountered on these websites were served by Google Ads.
While Google claims to have strict policies governing the type of content eligible for monetization on its platform, NewsGuard’s report highlights the need for better enforcement. Google acknowledges the challenge posed by bad actors using generative AI to circumvent policies and enforcement systems.
The findings expose the concerning relationship between Google, ad tech companies, and the emergence of misinformation sites posing as news platforms and content farms fueled by AI. The opaque nature of programmatic advertising inadvertently turns major brands into unwitting supporters of unreliable AI-generated sites, unbeknownst to them.
This reality highlights the sobering fact that scammers have found new and effective ways to exploit programmatic advertising and generative AI for financial gain. As tech companies push generative AI tools, they face a paradoxical situation where these tools are used against their financial interests, requiring better measures for enforcement and transparency.
