EPISODE · Nov 6, 2025 · 40 MIN
Fake news! The impact of AI on journalism
from Media Storm · host Mathilda Mallinson and Helena Wadia
Like this episode? Support Media Storm on Patreon! Margaux Blanchard is a widely published journalist. She has written everything from essays about motherhood to investigations about disused mines. But what her editors didn’t realise? Margaux Blanchard doesn’t exist. At least, not as a human being. A company called Inception Point AI is using artificial intelligence to publish 3,000 podcast episodes a week at the cost of $1 a piece. Reviewers call it ‘AI sludge’ – is it coming for our jobs (and brains)? Big Tech firms are using journalists’ work without permission to train AI to do their jobs. The AI summaries often get the facts wrong while putting human news publishers out of business. Where does this leave us in an era of disinformation warfare? Can the mainstream media blame AI when it’s already churning out sensationalist clickbait and poorly fact-checked news? And could AI ever be used to improve chronic problems in our news, instead of exploiting them? Press Gazette editor Charlotte Tobitt and tech journalist Rob Waugh join Media Storm to breakdown the best and worst impacts of AI on the news. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia) The music is by @soundofsamfire Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What this episode covers
Like this episode? Support Media Storm on Patreon! Margaux Blanchard is a widely published journalist. She has written everything from essays about motherhood to investigations about disused mines. But what her editors didn’t realise? Margaux Blanchard doesn’t exist. At least, not as a human being. A company called Inception Point AI is using artificial intelligence to publish 3,000 podcast episodes a week at the cost of $1 a piece. Reviewers call it ‘AI sludge’ – is it coming for our jobs (and brains)? Big Tech firms are using journalists’ work without permission to train AI to do their jobs. The AI summaries often get the facts wrong while putting human news publishers out of business. Where does this leave us in an era of disinformation warfare? Can the mainstream media blame AI when it’s already churning out sensationalist clickbait and poorly fact-checked news? And could AI ever be used to improve chronic problems in our news, instead of exploiting them? Press Gazette editor Charlotte Tobitt and tech journalist Rob Waugh join Media Storm to breakdown the best and worst impacts of AI on the news. The episode is hosted and produced by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia) The music is by @soundofsamfire Follow us on Instagram, Bluesky, and TikTok Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Fake news! The impact of AI on journalism
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