AI Journalism Errors and the PR Battles That Follow

The hardest part of PR used to be explaining to clients why their product that's essentially a banana with Bluetooth isn't actually newsworthy. Now? PR professionals face a far greater challenge - having to ask for corrections from robots who apparently skim press releases the same way high schoolers skim summer reading assignments.

WHEN ROBOTS MISREAD YOUR GOOD NEWS

Picture this scenario: It's late 2024, trading hours just wrapped up, and a publicly-traded client drops some genuinely fantastic news. Not "we're using sustainable packaging" fantastic, but "your stock portfolio might actually pay for your kid's college" fantastic.

Then, faster than anyone can craft a witty response, an AI-generated article from a news site completely botches the story. The AI spots the word "cancel" in the headline and apparently decides, "Yeah, that's definitely bad news," despite the context clearly indicating it was positive. It's like when someone reads just the subject line of an email and responds with a paragraph-long solution to a problem that doesn't exist.

This AI-written story wasn't buried on page 37 where only the most dedicated stakeholders would find it. No, thanks to the lightning speed of robot journalism, it rocketed to the top of Google News. The client went from celebration mode to damage control faster than celebrities change outfits at award shows.

TRYING TO REASON WITH A BOT (SPOILER: IT DOESN'T WORK)

Normally, when there's an error in reporting, PR professionals reach out to the journalist or editor, show them where they went wrong, and they fix it. Simple. Human. Logical.

But in this brave new world of AI journalism, there was no journalist to contact. The byline was obviously fake – probably something like "Alex Reporter" or "Journo McJournalist." The article had a little disclaimer at the bottom claiming every piece is "reviewed by a human," which seems about as accurate as claims of having "read the terms and conditions."

The PR team tried the general contact emails and phone numbers listed on the site. Nothing but automated responses and voicemails that might as well have said, "Your call is important to us, but not important enough for us to actually answer it."

Meanwhile, the client was watching their positive announcement get mangled in real-time, wondering why they pay for PR services if the team can't even get a robot to report their news correctly.

In desperation, the team contacted the site's "Help" section for paid members. Finally, a human name appeared in an automated response – only to immediately return an "out of office" message. There have been more meaningful relationships with Amazon delivery confirmation emails.

A full 18 hours later, the outlet finally responded that "The story was under review." Under review? It was objectively, factually incorrect. That's like saying you need to review whether water is wet or if gravity is just a passing trend.

After sending several more emails (with language colorful enough to make a sailor blush), they finally removed the incorrect story – a mere 24 hours after publication. By which point the damage was already done, much like attempts at home haircuts during lockdown.

HOW TO SURVIVE WHEN AI JOURNALISM GETS IT WRONG

This whole experience left the PR team feeling like they were fighting a ghost in the machine. As AI-generated content becomes more common, PR professionals need to prepare for a future where battling bad AI is just another Tuesday. Based on this recent technological trauma, here's some advice:

• Write headlines so clear that even the most basic AI couldn't misinterpret them. Especially for publicly traded companies. Think less "XYZ Corp to Cancel Debt Obligations Through Refinancing" and more "GOOD NEWS: XYZ Corp Saves Money Through Refinancing, Definitely Not Bad News, AI Please Read Carefully."
• Monitor media coverage with extreme vigilance. The moment a press release goes out is when AI bots pounce, because their whole selling point is speed. Not accuracy. Definitely not nuance.
• Have the AI journalism talk with executives before it becomes an issue. It's like explaining social media to grandparents – painful but necessary. 

Despite this frustrating experience, AI-generated articles aren't all bad. Sometimes they can amplify news in positive ways, according to a recent study from the Reuters Institute. But as this experience shows, preparation is key – especially when explaining to clients why a robot just misinterpreted their biggest announcement of the year.

In the end, the AI-generated article that caused so much stress disappeared from the internet like motivation on a Monday morning. But the lessons learned? Those are sticking around longer than regrettable vacation tattoos.

Want to handle media disasters like a pro? Check out Winsome Marketing’s other PR resources.

Note: This article describes a representative scenario based on emerging challenges in PR. While inspired by real industry trends, the specific case described is a composite and does not reference any particular client or media outlet.