Despite recent algorithm changes aimed at improving search quality, Google News continues to face challenges with AI-generated spam content appearing in its top results, frequently outranking original reporting.
Wired reports that while artificial intelligence becomes more commonplace across the internet, Google News finds itself grappling with a persistent issue: the proliferation of AI-generated spam content in its search results. This problem persists even after the search giant implemented significant algorithm updates earlier this year to combat unhelpful and unoriginal content.
The issue came to light when a journalist, while searching for information on Adobe’s AI policies, stumbled upon a plagiarized article at the top of Google News results. The article, published on a website called Syrus #Blog, was a near-exact copy of a piece originally published by Wired, with only minor alterations in phrasing. Further investigation revealed that this was not an isolated incident, as similar plagiarized content was found in multiple languages, affecting articles from various reputable news sources.
Elizabeth Tucker, a director of product management at Google, had announced in April that the company had completed a major rollout of changes to its search engine ranking system. These updates were intended to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 45 percent. However, the persistence of AI-generated spam in Google News suggests that the problem is far from solved.
Lily Ray, senior director of search engine optimization at Amsive, describes this as a “rampant problem” on Google. She notes that many clients have reported instances of their articles being rewritten and republished using AI tools. This practice not only undermines the work of original content creators but also poses a significant challenge to Google’s efforts to provide high-quality, reliable information to its users.
The creators of Syrus #Blog, when contacted, claimed that their content creation process involves AI tools that “analyze and synthesize information from various sources while always respecting intellectual property.” They pointed to a single hyperlink at the bottom of their articles as sufficient attribution. However, SEO experts and content creators argue that this practice falls far short of ethical standards and violates Google’s spam policies.
Google’s spokesperson, Meghann Farnsworth, stated that the company’s updated spam policies prohibit “creating low-value, unoriginal content at scale for the purposes of ranking well on Google.” However, when pressed about specific cases like Syrus #Blog, Google declined to comment on individual websites.
The prevalence of AI-generated spam in search results has created a sense of anxiety within the SEO and content creation industries. Andrew Boyd, a consultant at Forte Analytica, likens the situation to a form of trauma for the industry, noting that publishers can suddenly lose a significant portion of their traffic due to algorithm changes.
Read more at Wired here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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