U.S. lawmakers are sounding the alarm on the popular news app NewsBreak after a report alleged that the company has Chinese roots and utilizes AI to propagate false stories.
NewsBreak created an article in December 2023 called “Christmas Day Tragedy Strikes Bridgetown, New Jersey Amid Rising Gun Violence in Small Towns.”
However, no shooting incident occurred. The Bridgeton Police Department released a statement on Facebook denying the article’s accuracy.
“Nothing even similar to this story occurred on or around Christmas, or even in recent memory for the area they described,” the statement read, Reuters reported. “It seems this ‘news’ outlet’s AI writes fiction they have no problem publishing to readers.”
Several NewsBreak employees revealed to Reuters that China manages the app’s algorithm engineering. NewsBreak is headquartered in California but also maintains offices in Beijing and Shanghai.
Despite much of the app’s algorithmic behind-the-scenes work being done in China-based offices, NewsBreak is only available in the United States and has over 50 million monthly users.
Another example of inaccurate information occurred during the first three months of 2024. A Colorado-based food bank reported to Reuters that it had to turn away people because NewsBreak misinformed the public about its operating times.
The charity complained to NewsBreak but did not receive a response.
Similarly, Harvest912, a charity in Pennsylvania, claimed NewsBreak posted two inaccurate, AI-generated articles about a foot care clinic they were supposedly hosting.
“You are doing HARM by publishing this misinformation — homeless people will walk to these venues to attend a clinic that is not happening,” Harvest912 told NewsBreak in a January 12 email, reported Reuters.
In response, NewsBreak promised to correct any errors it may have committed and claimed it was committed to the ethical use of AI, per Tech Times.
The company’s ties to China and its reported use of AI to generate false information have prompted concerns from lawmakers, which has led to scrutiny of other companies tied to China, such as TikTok.
Tarrant County Republican Party Chairman Bo French has criticized the Chinese influence of media sites such as NewsBreak and TikTok.
“The Chinese Communist Party are our enemies. They are playing a long game of infiltrating our country and using their technology to brainwash our young. There is no circumstance where we should tolerate influence over American media,” French told The Dallas Express.
As previously reported by DX, an East Texas real estate mogul allegedly made millions of dollars selling land to a Chinese billionaire with ties to the country’s Communist Party.
David Frankens allegedly sold 130,000 acres of Texas land to Sun Guangxin, a former captain in the Chinese military.
DX reached out to NewsBreak but did not receive a response by the time of publication.