37 fake local news sites influence AI chatbots in 10 House races
A network of websites created in September is steering ChatGPT recommendations toward Democratic candidates in competitive congressional districts.
By Cecilia Martin ·
A digital security firm identified 37 websites that promote political candidates in a coordinated effort to influence artificial intelligence chatbots. Ten of these sites are designed to look like local news outlets in competitive U.S. House districts. The websites primarily feature Democratic candidates, with one site dedicated to each of the ten targeted races.
The network includes the Kalamazoo Beacon, which lists itself in its source code as reporting on southwest Michigan. The site has published only 16 stories, all concerning Democrat Sean McCann. When NPR asked ChatGPT which House candidate in Michigan's 4th District cares about affordability, the chatbot cited the Beacon and labeled McCann as having the most detailed published plan on the issue.
VisionHeight found that all 37 domains were registered on September 15, with 36 of them registered within an eight minute window. Articles appeared in large batches during September and October, suggesting the use of AI tools to generate content. The sites include files called llms.txt, which list articles in plain text for machine reading. Most traditional news organizations do not use these files, and many block AI crawlers entirely.
NPR tested the system using 37 questions across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google Search. ChatGPT cited at least one article from the network in 19 of the responses. In 17 of those instances, the chatbot referenced the sites posing as local news. Gemini did not cite any links from the group in any response. Google Search also did not surface the sites on its first page, although one site previously ranked higher than Ballotpedia before Google detected a policy violation.
It is unclear who operates the network. JoAnna Mendoza of Arizona, one of the promoted candidates, said she was not behind the sites. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee denied involvement. Super PACs including American Bridge 21st Century, Tomorrow Together, and House Majority PAC did not respond to requests for comment. The sites often link to external sources like voting records, but opposing candidates appear rarely and usually in negative contexts.
Renée DiResta, an associate research professor at Georgetown University, noted that disclosing funding or linking efforts would be the ethical standard. She described a competition for curation as AI companies try to filter out bad information. Alisha Ukani, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Washington, observed that the presence of llms.txt files is rare and typically found on tech and business sites. The websites were polished after launch, with descriptions becoming more tailored to specific regions in October.
Nate Evans, a spokesperson for OpenAI, stated that ChatGPT cites a range of sources to allow users to make their own judgments. He added that the company takes action when issues are brought to its attention. Davis Thompson, a Google spokesperson, said the company detected a policy violation and took swift action. Patrick Warren, a professor at Clemson University, compared the tactic to old ad flyers that looked like newspapers, calling it a familiar form of deception in the digital age.
