News24 finds ‘hornet’s nest’ of fake news, with Andrew Thompson

Like most fake news these days, it all started with a friend’s WhatsApp message, sharing an article with the header: “Cape Town drivers to face congestion tax starting June 1st”. With a quick Google search, we found that the City of Cape Town had already rubbished this article as fake news. But when News24 Disinformation Desk Editor Andrew Thompson investigated the source of the article, he found a whole lot more than he bargained for. An Indian digital agency was using hijacked South African websites to publish fake, AI-generated articles under the byline of a fabricated journalist.“ These were very generic WordPress websites, using an easy and cheaply-available template called ‘GP Marketer’, and its URL was only registered about two, three weeks ago, which makes the viral breakout success quite alarming”. Thompson tells The Lead how he went to work and why  the rapid spread of fake news is so alarming. Later, we look at the day’s headlines about crimes against women and children. Finally, News24 Food has the hot ticket to all the top events this winter. Mail your comments and voice notes to thelead@24.com. Editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube.