![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/investigativepost.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/shutterstock_2307129769.jpg?ssl=1\")
<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
You\u2019re no doubt familiar with the phrase \u201cgarbage in, garbage out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concept can be applied to much of what you find on the Internet. Propaganda, disinformation and flat-out lies passing as news, distributed on websites and social media platforms, facilitated by artificial intelligence to a growing degree.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s getting harder and harder to know what to trust.<\/p>\n
Enter a new service: NewsGuard AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s produced by NewsGuard<\/a>, which since 2018 has reviewed and rated some 36,000 online news and information platforms for accuracy and transparency based on nine, nonpartisan standards. Some 12,000 have received a passing grade.\u00a0<\/p>\n Content from those sites will be mined to produce AI-generated stories. Every fact and claim will be footnoted with a link to the publication it was drawn from. Subscribers can create custom searches or choose from story lines generated by NewsGuard AI. It functions as a personalized news service.<\/p>\n I recognize that artificial intelligence has a stigma attached to it. It goes back to \u201cgarbage in, garbage out.\u201d Most chatbots generate content from online sources regardless of their credibility. The result: The leading AI models spread false claims on controversial topics 35 percent of the time, according to a NewsGuard analysis.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stories generated by NewsGuard AI only draw from reliable sources of news and information. No garbage in, no garbage out.<\/p>\n Subscribe to our free weekly newsletters<\/p>\n<\/p>\n NewsGuard AI launched in late June and is rolling out in partnership with select outlets, including Investigative Post. Other inaugural launch partners include The Atlantic magazine, whose CEO praised NewsGuard AI for its \u201cverified sources, clear citations, and a compensation model for publishers,\u201d referring to its 50-50 revenue sharing with news publishers whose journalism is cited.\u00a0<\/p>\n Readers of Investigative Post \u2014 that\u2019s you \u2014 are eligible for a free one-month trial subscription to NewsGuard AI, after which you\u2019re eligible for a 33 percent discount off the $6 monthly subscription fee, half of which goes to Investigative Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n You can sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was turned on to NewsGuard last summer when I read The Death of Truth, an eye-opening book by Steven Brill that details, in the words of the book\u2019s subtitle, \u201cHow Social Media and the Internet Gave Snake Oil Salesmen and Demagogues the Weapons They Needed to Destroy Trust and Polarize the World.\u201d<\/p>\n Brill, co-CEO of NewsGuard, is a journalist, entrepreneur and media watchdog. The other CEO is Gordon Crovitz, former publisher of The Wall Street Journal. They\u2019re smart, serious people.<\/p>\n I was sufficiently impressed by the book and my subsequent interactions with Brill and his team that I invited them to make a presentation on their work<\/a> at an event Investigative Post is hosting Oct. 22 at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, adjacent to Buffalo State University.\u00a0<\/p>\n Brill will discuss the key findings of his book, while Sofia Rubinson, a senior editor, will detail how NewsGuard goes about rating online news outlets for credibility and accuracy. Their presentation will also include a demonstration of NewsGuard AI<\/a>,\u00a0<\/p>\n Tickets are only $10 and can be purchased here<\/a>.<\/p>\n