Scholars’ names ‘stolen’ in propaganda written by AI

Unknown actors are targeting editors with propaganda about Kazakhstan — sold as the opinion of renowned academics
David Leask
The Sunday Times
The articles were submitted to the broadcaster Euronews — but a diligent editor sensed they had not been written by people
The articles were submitted to the broadcaster Euronews — but a diligent editor sensed they had not been written by people
GETTY IMAGES
David Leask
The Sunday Times

Academics are having their names “stolen” to pitch international propaganda written by artificial intelligence to mainstream news outlets.

In another warning of the dangers of AI, two international relations scholars were impersonated by unknown actors attempting to push positive, but fake, articles about the central Asian country Kazakhstan into the media.

Dr Oliver Turner, a senior lecturer at Edinburgh University, and Dr Adam Bower, an academic at St Andrews, discovered that their bylines were being used for bogus articles about the country’s authoritarian regime thanks to a vigilant editor at European television news network.

Kazakhstan was referred to in a piece outlining the rise of “middle powers”
Kazakhstan was referred to in a piece outlining the rise of “middle powers”
ALAMY

The broadcaster Euronews, based in Brussels, rejected the copy but one of the submitted articles, under Turner’s name, was subsequently published by another news organisation at the end of December. It