Uncanny Valley | WIRED Introducing Kill Switch Podcast: Uncovering an AI Journalist
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Mar 18, 2026 Nicholas Hewn-Brown, editor at The Local in Toronto who investigated a suspected AI-generated journalist. He describes a polished pitch that raised red flags. He traces fabricated interviews and bylines across publications. He recounts confronting the writer, spotting disappearing online identities, and the editorial changes that followed.
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Fake Pitch From A Convincing Freelancer
- Nicholas Hewn-Brown received a polished pitch from "Victoria Goldie" claiming bylines at major outlets and pre-reported interviews for a Toronto healthcare piece.
- He suspected fabricated quotes and bylines after quick checks showed no evidence of her claimed Canadian clips.
AI Can Invent Plausible Yet False Sources
- Investigating past articles showed many quoted experts who said they never spoke to Victoria, suggesting AI-generated quotes tailored from scraped sources.
- Pieces appeared across respected outlets with invented regular-people anecdotes and plausible-sounding expert quotes.
Confrontation Ended With Sudden Disappearance
- Nicholas scheduled a call with Victoria who claimed to be Toronto-based and answered inconsistencies with implausible but confident explanations.
- She hung up when confronted about a specific fabricated quote and then disappeared online.