The Bridgeton Police Department in New Jersey has issued a statement urging the public to disregard a false report regarding a Christmas Day shooting that never occurred.
In a post on Instagram, the police stated, “This article is circulating widely on the internet and has been brought to BPD’s attention.” They emphasized that the information is entirely false, clarifying that no such incident resembling the described events took place in the region around Christmas or recently.
The misleading article, titled “Christmas Day Tragedy Strikes Bridgeton, New Jersey Amid Rising Gun Violence in Small Towns,” was published on News Break on Monday. It falsely detailed a shooting incident involving a local resident and delved into the sensitive topic of gun control.
Authorities have debunked the narrative, highlighting that the article contains a disclaimer indicating the use of artificial intelligence tools in its creation, potentially leading to inaccuracies.
The Bridgeton police expressed concern over the proliferation of fabricated stories generated by AI on certain news platforms. They criticized the site for publishing fictional content without verification.
Despite inquiries from the Daily News regarding the allegations raised by the New Jersey authorities, News Break has not responded. The platform boasts a user base exceeding 50 million, but efforts to locate the purported prosecutors mentioned in the fictitious article have been unsuccessful.
The surge in misinformation, attributed to the rise of AI-generated content, has prompted scrutiny. NewsGuard identified over 600 publishers disseminating AI-fueled misinformation, spanning various topics and languages. Reports indicate a significant spike in websites sharing such content, increasing by 1,000% since May.
In a notable development, The New York Times filed a lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging that their AI-powered chatbots, trained on the newspaper’s extensive article database, are now competing with traditional media outlets as sources of trusted information.
Requests for comments from OpenAI and Microsoft regarding the lawsuit were unanswered at the time of reporting, despite the companies’ established collaboration.
