So, as a board member at the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, I think I need to point out that MSN has a content partnership with what appears to be an entirely fake AI site dedicated to spreading climate denial talking points while disguised as climate news. - ThreadSky

maggiek.bsky.social • 24 days ago

So, as a board member at the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing, I think I need to point out that MSN has a content partnership with what appears to be an entirely fake AI site dedicated to spreading climate denial talking points while disguised as climate news.

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not-the-lawyer.bsky.social•24 days ago

Wut

cingraham.bsky.social•24 days ago

oh fuckin yikes!

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

YEP

aaronsterling.bsky.social•24 days ago

@microsoft.com @msftresearch.bsky.social

eubiedrew.bsky.social•23 days ago

These faux websites will eventually be quite hard to detect, likely only a couple years away. MSN needs to get on their game, supposing they actually care.

uxchampion.bsky.social•24 days ago

The truth is, these are not very bright guys [at MSN], and things got out of hand. 🤨

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

Some background for those not aware: https://MSN.com used to hire freelance writers to produce its site content (and paid well back in the day, it was one of my first clients). Now, mostly, they rely on paid partnerships with other websites. Some are legit (@undark.org, for example).

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

But looking at the sign up page for these paid partnerships it appears to be a ... maybe not super vetted system. And one of the partners that has been turning up in my Google News a lot lately is this place called Climate Cosmos.

This site sets off enough red flags to fill a bullfight arena.

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

What got my attention at first was that this site seems to publish nothing but articles that are set up to be slideshows ... in other words, optimized for places like MSN. And the stories are a very weird mix of climate pablum, business-friendly promotion, and straight up denialism talking points.

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

Curious, I looked at the masthead.
It's a bunch of eerily on-the-cusp-of-uncanny-valley people in the same pose with bios that read like AI text and nonsensical title conventions like "M.SC. John Dyson, Chief Scientist" and "B.SC Jessica Taylor, Chief of Staff".

markmauer.bsky.social•21 days ago

Def AI fakes.

jakefattie.bsky.social•24 days ago

disgusting

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

The contact page has an address in Germany paired with a map of Ft. Lauderdale. (Also it cheerfully says they use AI ... I just think this is one guy using AI to run an astroturf climate denial site rather than a publication using AI to "assist" its work).

maggiek.bsky.social•24 days ago

Climate Cosmos is succeeding in getting a bunch of biased articles sent out on MSN, which means tons of eyeballs. And all of this is mixed in with run-of-the-mill stuff like fun facts about weather, listicles of sustainable corporations, and "how to deal with weather extremes in x state".

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