Ghost Site Resurrects Old News Articles Under Fake AI Byline

Compiled by the editorial desk with reference to public statements from journalists Spencer Ackerman and Lydia DePillis, as well as reports on the revival of the Washington Independent.

In a disquieting twist for the journalism industry, a defunct news outlet has been resurrected online, but the articles it once published are now credited to a writer who never existed. Spencer Ackerman, a journalist and author of Forever Wars, discovered that a piece he wrote more than a decade ago for the now-defunct Washington Independent had reappeared on a revived version of the site — this time under the byline of one “Tyreece Bauer,” described as an “analyst and photographer in the field of technology.”

Ackerman, who detailed the finding in his newsletter, said the byline belonged to someone “unlikely to have ever existed,” yet the article carried their name as if it were their own work. The Washington Independent, which ceased operations years ago, has been brought back to life by unknown operators who appear to be using AI to generate new content and to reattribute old articles to fabricated authors.

The revived site is not merely a static archive. It is actively publishing new material, including clickbait about celebrities and cryptocurrency, as well as hastily rewritten versions of other outlets’ reporting. The content, according to Ackerman, “strongly appears to be AI-generated,” a pattern that has become increasingly common in the fragmented digital media environment of 2024.

Beyond a Single Site

Ackerman’s discovery is not an isolated case. In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), New York Times journalist Lydia DePillis reported that another website tied to the original Washington Independent’s parent organization had also been revived. She noted that the site “looks legit at first but quickly degenerates into gibberish,” a description that echoes the broader problem of AI-generated content masquerading as legitimate journalism.

DePillis described the phenomenon as “the saddest encapsulation of the trajectory of the media industry over the past 15 years,” adding that “everything is trash.” Her remarks highlight a growing unease among journalists about the erosion of trust in digital news sources.

Why This Matters

The implications extend beyond the personal shock of seeing one’s work misattributed. The practice of buying defunct websites to exploit their remaining search engine credibility is not new, but doing so under the banner of a once-respected news outlet adds a layer of deception that can be exploited to spread misinformation. The inclusion of fake authors and AI-generated content creates a “grotesque misinformation cocktail,” as Ackerman put it.

There is a glimmer of hope: Google has stated that its updated spam policies will target such practices. However, for now, this incident serves as another grim reminder of the challenges facing the internet and the media industry.