A new report from Model Republic, a publication of The Midas Project, finds that Acutus’ news site The Wire relies almost entirely on content generated by AI. The publication has been running since the end of 2025 and features approximately 100 articles spanning technology, energy, media, science, business, and healthcare. Still strangers, they Overview page describes its work as “collaborative journalism” led by an “editorial team,” but the site has no masthead and does not credit editors or journalists in its publications.
The official explanation for this anonymity can be found under the How It Works subheading.
Our editorial team identifies timely topics and invites contributors with relevant first-hand experience to share their perspectives through structured conversations. These perspectives are synthesized and edited into stories that reflect where contributors align, where they diverge, and what it all means, providing depth, balance, and clarity beyond the headlines.
But when journalist Tyler Johnston took a thorough look at the site’s content, pangramWith an AI detection tool that boasts an accuracy rating of 99.98%, he discovered how widely relied on AI is. “Of the 94 articles, 69% were flagged as completely AI-generated, and an additional 28% were flagged as partially AI-generated. Only three articles were classified as human-authored.”
Johnston’s skepticism was reinforced by the very content that overwhelmingly supported the development of artificial intelligence and belittled critics of AI. For example, One Piece warns:Escalating anti-AI radicalism” some people chide their readers.Will Republicans let blue states set America’s AI rules?”
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The deeper Johnston dug, the clearer the picture became. As a new site with little social media presence, The Wire articles rarely get retweeted, but Johnston found that half of the involvement in X came from Patrick Hines, president of PR firm Novus Public Affairs. If you take a quick look, their customer list They disclosed that they were working on behalf of Targeted Victory, a consulting firm that represents regulatory interests and is central to OpenAI’s lobbying efforts in Washington.
Generative artificial intelligence is already creating cracks in our collective perception of reality. With enough computing power, you can: create a fake trailer A movie that has never been made and will never be made, or Stealing politicians’ voices for deepfakesor even inventing absurd and unbelievable scenarios such as: shark attacking a planeAnd fool at least a few credulous internet newbies.
If Johnston’s reporting is correct and his reasoning accurate, there may be instances of AI companies intentionally misidentifying their work as “independent journalism” and lobbying on their behalf (something Johnston points out violates their own content). Usage policy).
Disclosure: Mashable’s parent company, Ziff Davis, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging that the company infringed on Ziff Davis’ copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.
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