The Var Actu information site, suspected of making massive use of artificial intelligence, obtains the status of an online press service

This status allows press organizations to obtain economic advantages and was allocated for six months to the Var Actu site.

The information site Var Actu obtained last week the status of an online press service issued by the Joint Commission of Publications and Press Agencies (CPPAP), although it is suspected of having massively used artificial intelligence to produce its content. This recognition, which opens access to the economic advantages of the press regime, was confirmed on Wednesday December 3 to the Radio France verification agency by several corroborating sources.

This approval, which allows the news site based in Var to benefit in particular from reduced VAT and a tax exemption on donations, was granted for six months on November 27, according to information from the Radio France verification agency. The CPPAP, composed equally of representatives of the State and professionals from the sector, issues these statuses after examining the files submitted by the media.

This decision raises serious concerns in the press world. Var Actu, which claims to have a million monthly readers on its Instagram page, publishes up to thirty articles per day even though the editorial staff only has two journalists. His particularly impersonal writing style fuels suspicions of intensive use of artificial intelligence. Many unsourced quotes also seem directly inspired by reports from the daily Var Matin.

Questioned by Radio France, Guilhem Ricavy, deputy director of Var Morningclaims to have “lots of examples of topics covered“in his diary and”taken and posted online at home twenty minutes later” : “It’s an interview with a mayor who tells us something. This is information known only to us. They keep it brief. Except that we have already asked our interlocutor if he had already received a call from one of their journalists, he did not receive one.“. The director of Var Matin sent two formal notices to Var Actu, which refutes any accusation of plagiarism. In its legal notices, the site affirms that artificial intelligence is used only to “optimize formatting“.

Why, in this context, did the commission grant this approval to Var Actu? According to an internal source at the CPPAP, who wished to remain anonymous, the members of the body themselves have serious doubts about the site’s methods but wish to have irrefutable proof before making a decision. The commission fears that in the event of refusal, the administrators of Var Actu will refer the matter to the Council of State. If the highest administrative court ruled in their favor, other sites relying heavily on AI could invoke this case law.

Last month, the specialist site Next identified 8,000 media outlets making extensive use of artificial intelligence. These platforms often see their audience boosted by Google Discover, a personalized flow of article recommendations that has become one of the main gateways to the French press. According to Vincent Berthier, technology referent at Reporters Without Borders (RSF), this flow “is a promise of substantial gains and for a while we have seen a number of publishers who create fake news sites with the prospect of being referenced in Google Discover, to sell advertising“. To fight against this unverified content, RSF calls on the “true“media to certify their investigations.