GSAN: AI ‘eats the world’ | Climate journalists threatened

Hi reader,

Welcome back to Get Smart About News! Starting with today’s issue, this newsletter has transitioned to its special summer format. It’s lighter (and brighter!), but still packed with useful information. We’re excited to share summer reading recs, news literacy tips, debunked viral rumors and occasional videos. So kick back, take a sip of ice-cold lemonade and enjoy!

Sincerely,
The Get Smart About News team

Top reads

A roundup of the latest topics in news literacy and misinformation.

Misinformation

"La Periodista de Iowa" (Jack Herrera, Columbia Journalism Review).
“After Jan. 6, Twitter banned 70,000 right-wing accounts. Lies plummeted.” (Will Oremus, The Washington Post).
Opinion: “To fight cancer misinformation, we need better health literacy” (Karen E. Knudsen and Clifford A. Hudis, Chicago Sun-Times).
“Russian propaganda in 2024 includes deepfakes, sham websites and social media swarms” (Shannon Bond, NPR).

Artificial intelligence

“It Looked Like a Reliable News Site. It Was an A.I. Chop Shop.” (Kashmir Hill and Tiffany Hsu, The New York Times).
“NewsBreak: Most downloaded US news app has Chinese roots and ‘writes fiction’ using AI” (James Pearson, Reuters).
“What’s in a byline? For Hoodline’s AI-generated local news, everything — and nothing” (Neel Dhanesha, Nieman Lab).
“This Is What It Looks Like When AI Eats the World” (Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic).

Press freedom

“Being a Journalist in Mexico Can Be a Life-or-Death Experience” (Ray Mark Rinaldi, The New York Times).
“Nearly half of journalists covering climate crisis globally received threats for their work” (Nina Lakhani, The Guardian).

Look at the hands… and the source.
How can you determine whether or not an image of a person is generated by artificial intelligence? Try examining the fingers, teeth, shoes, clothing, lighting and background details, which many AI image generators have struggled to create accurately. But as AI technology becomes more advanced, many such visual cues are no longer useful. Checking the source of online content to verify its origin and legitimacy is vital.

Share this NewsLit tip:

Did you see the viral image of a giant octopus washing ashore? Turns out it was AI generated. And no, Fox News did not air a story about Taco Bell’s menu the day of former President Donald Trump’s felony convictions. Check out more of the latest debunked rumors on NLP’s RumorGuard®!

Featured video

It’s important to check multiple news sources, especially during breaking news events. Learn more in this NLP TikTok video. (This video can also be viewed on Instagram.)

Alexa Volland, senior manager of multimedia content at the News Literacy Project, with an image of a courtroom behind her. Text on screen says, “Donald Trump is convicted.”

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Your weekly issue of Get Smart About News is created by Susan Minichiello (@susanmini), Dan Evon (@danieljevon), Peter Adams (@PeterD_Adams), Hannah Covington (@HannahCov) and Pamela Brunskill (@PamelaBrunskill). It is edited by Mary Kane (@marykkane) and Lourdes Venard (@lourdesvenard).

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