No. 019 · · PR & AI
Campaign website posted more than 30 news stories generated by ChatGPT
Sheriff Bilal’s campaign website listed dozens of news stories under the heading “Record of Accomplishments,” with purported publication dates, attributed to the Inquirer, NBC10, WHYY, and CBS3. None could be found in those outlets’ archives. William Bender of The Inquirer and Futurism each counted 31 headlines; the Associated Press reported “more than 30.”
The campaign removed the stories after Bender reported on them, and issued a statement: “Our campaign provided the outside consultant talking points which were then provided to the AI service. It is now clear that the artificial intelligence service generated fake news articles to support the initiatives that were part of the AI prompt.”
The list ended with a disclaimer that the information “makes no representations or warranties of any kind” about its accuracy.
Sources
- William Bender. “Did Philadelphia Sheriff Rochelle Bilal's campaign make up dozens of false news stories?” The Philadelphia Inquirer, .
- William Bender. “The Philly sheriff's good news headlines? AI generated them.” The Philadelphia Inquirer, .
- MaryClaire Dale and Ali Swenson, The Associated Press. “Philly sheriff's campaign takes down bogus 'news' stories posted to site that were generated by AI.” WHYY / Associated Press, .
- Maryclaire Dale and Ali Swenson. “Philly Sheriff's Office takes down fake AI-generated 'news' headlines.” NBC10 Philadelphia / Associated Press, .
- Noor Al-Sibai. “Embattled Sheriff Caught Posting AI-Generated Headlines About How She's Awesome.” Futurism, .