Ethan Carter
A recent investigation conducted by The Midas Project’s Model Republic publication revealed that the news platform, The Wire by Acutus, is predominantly dependent on AI-generated content. Established at the close of 2025, the site has released nearly 100 articles covering diverse topics such as technology, energy, media, science, business, and healthcare. Intriguingly, their About page claims to embody “collaborative journalism” spearheaded by an “editorial team”; however, the site lacks a visible masthead and does not acknowledge any editors or journalists within its published works.
The rationale behind this anonymity is subtly embedded in their “How It Works” section:
Our editorial team identifies timely topics and invites contributors with relevant, firsthand experience to share their perspective through structured conversations. Those perspectives are synthesized and edited into stories that reflect where contributors align, where they diverge, and what it all means — offering depth, balance, and clarity beyond the headline.
However, journalist Tyler Johnston put the site’s content through Pangram, an AI detection tool boasting an impressive 99.98% accuracy rate, and his findings were revealing: “Of the 94 articles, 69% were flagged as fully AI-generated, while an additional 28% were marked as partially AI-generated. Only three articles were identified as human-authored.”
Johnston’s concerns intensified when he examined the articles, which overwhelmingly supported the advancement of artificial intelligence while being dismissive of its critics. One article cautioned against “Escalating Anti-AI Radicalism,” while another provocatively questioned: “Will Republicans Let Blue States Set America’s AI Rules?“
Mashable Light Speed
As Johnston continued his investigation, the overall picture emerged more distinctly. Despite being a relatively new site with minimal social media engagement, articles from The Wire rarely receive retweets. Johnston found that a significant portion of its engagement on X stemmed from Patrick Hynes, the president of the PR firm Novus Public Affairs. A brief look at their client list shows they represent Targeted Victory, the consulting firm deeply involved in OpenAI’s lobbying efforts in Washington concerning its regulatory interests.
The rise of generative artificial intelligence has already caused significant disruptions in our shared understanding of reality. With sufficient computing power, one can create fake trailers for movies that never existed or fabricate a politician’s voice for a deep fake. There are even instances where absurd, implausible scenarios, such as a shark attacking a plane, can mislead unsuspecting internet users.
If Johnston’s findings and inferences hold true, we may be witnessing a case where an AI firm is intentionally misrepresenting its operations as “independent journalism” to advocate for its interests, a claim that Johnston argues contradicts its own usage policies.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, the parent company of Mashable, filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in April, alleging that it violated Ziff Davis copyrights in the training and operation of its AI systems.
Topics
Artificial Intelligence
Daniel Mercer
