NOTE69|電経新聞

NOTE69

It seems that “Pink slime journalism” is on the rise in the United States. Pink slime journalism refers to malicious falsehoods and biased articles being mixed in with general articles.
In the United States, local newspapers are in marked decline, and the reporting vacuum is expanding. Weaving through the gaps are a forest of news sites that claim to be closely connected to the local community, creating a landscape where pink slime flourishes.

In the United States, the decline of local newspapers became noticeable from the late 1990s, and since the Internet became popular around 2005, more local newspapers have disappeared, and the reporting vacuum has expanded. In areas where there was no media coverage, corruption among local politicians and other influential people became commonplace, causing confusion for residents. The role of journalism, which has a watchdog function, is now being reconsidered.
Under these circumstances, community-based news sites have come to be expected to play a role as a watchdog. However, local news sites have now become breeding grounds for pink slime.
Up until now, pink slime has been created by humans, but as AI advances, AI will likely be able to generate pink slime that is more sophisticated and difficult to spot. Moreover, it should be able to spread large amounts of pink slime around the world at a speed dozens of times faster than humans.

The people behind the AI will probably make it write sensational pink slime in order to generate advertising revenue. This is a malicious act that takes advantage of PV supremacy. There are also hints of groups with extreme political views.
The problem in the United States is not the fires on the other side. It will definitely come to Japan. In fact, it may already be surging.

The rampant use of pink slime is likely to undermine trust not only in news sites but also in existing media. It’s time to seriously consider what kind of prescription you need to get rid of pink slime. (Kei Kitajima)