Artificial intelligence has been one of the most powerful tools that has been shaping our information and how it is created. While AI isn’t all bad (it does offer some benefits like being able to have a deeper understanding of the topic you’re looking into). Its influence on the spread of misinformation is deeply concerning. AI has become so powerful that it has created its own content instead of simply mirroring existing problems. It actively accelerates and amplifies them. Generative AI has become advanced. It has become widespread. It has a big part in the creation and distribution, and also the normalization of misinformation in today’s social media.
To have a better understanding of how this became such a problem and how AI fuels misinformation, we have to understand how generative AI systems are designed. Generative AI uses large language models, which generate content by predicting what sounds plausible instead of checking if it’s factually correct.This tool in 2022 mostly went off of mirroring existing information by analyzing data and patterns. According to “Using AI as a Student: Background, Risk and Benefits,” generative AI is able to produce content that appears factorable and credible even when it is incorrect. These errors are often referred to as “hallucinations” because of the way that AI is not able to understand what is true and what isn’t in the content. This is why generative AI content must be overseen by human resources because of its inaccurate information. If humans oversee this work, it would stop the amount of AI generated content that is falsely made to be spread on social media.
AI is also known to increase the speed and amount in which misinformation is produced. Critics have argued that AI is able to generate persuasive and credible narratives that are untrue at an uncontrollable pace (“Artificial intelligence”). The opponents note that AI-generated misinformation can resemble legitimate journalism, propaganda, or natural reporting, which makes it harder for the reader to be able to identify what is human made and what is made by AI. Social media also has a big part in the spread of misinformation because of the platform prioritizing engagement over accuracy in the content that they are posting. Without the content being verified before being posted, it allows misleading AI generated content to be spread faster and more worldwide. This weakens informed decision-making and poses a serious risk to democratic processes because of the fact that AI creates biased content that is related to the patterns that it has already learned.
In addition, generative AI misinformation is also supported by big brands, even though sometimes it is unintentional. A news guard investigation discussed in Brewster ETAI’s article “How big brands support unreliable AI generated sites” shows that AI is also used in a lot of advertising in well-known brands, which appear on low quality and AI generated websites. The issue here is that because of online advertising being automated, companies unintentionally may fund sites that publish these generated AI misleading, plagiarized or even harmful content. Because of the companies’ funds to these platforms, it gives generative AI misinformation more visibility and legitimacy, which makes the reader believe that it is true and be persuaded by this information because it is coming from a well-known brand.
AI misinformation does affect how people consume and trust information that they see on the internet. Because it is so normalized in today’s generation,it has become extremely hard for the users to be able to tell apart from credible journalism and generative AI information. Users also think that because the misinformation is presented in a professional format and repeated frequently that it is true, and they don’t have to fact check. This weakens trust that the audience has even with reliable new sources, which blur the line between fact and fiction after a while.
In conclusion, artificial intelligence influences the creation and spread of misinformation by creating plausible but false content, making its distribution faster in systems where they prioritize attention rather than the truth. The lack of transparency and human oversight makes this tool powerful for the spread of misinformation and its spread. Even though AI itself is not all harmful, it is when it’s not controlled. To be able to address this problem, we need stronger accountability from technology companies, and for the public to be more educated on AI generated content and the normalization of the misinformation in this generation.
Sources:
Johnson, Sarah Z. “Using AI as a Student: Background, Risks, and Benefits.” The Facts on File Guide to Literary Research, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2025. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=106210&itemid=WE54&articleId=666074. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
How Artificial Intelligence Fuels the Creation and Spread of Misinformation
By Mia Collazo ‘26
Artificial intelligence has been one of the most powerful tools that has been shaping our information and how it is created. While AI isn’t all bad (it does offer some benefits like being able to have a deeper understanding of the topic you’re looking into). Its influence on the spread of misinformation is deeply concerning. AI has become so powerful that it has created its own content instead of simply mirroring existing problems. It actively accelerates and amplifies them. Generative AI has become advanced. It has become widespread. It has a big part in the creation and distribution, and also the normalization of misinformation in today’s social media.
To have a better understanding of how this became such a problem and how AI fuels misinformation, we have to understand how generative AI systems are designed. Generative AI uses large language models, which generate content by predicting what sounds plausible instead of checking if it’s factually correct.This tool in 2022 mostly went off of mirroring existing information by analyzing data and patterns. According to “Using AI as a Student: Background, Risk and Benefits,” generative AI is able to produce content that appears factorable and credible even when it is incorrect. These errors are often referred to as “hallucinations” because of the way that AI is not able to understand what is true and what isn’t in the content. This is why generative AI content must be overseen by human resources because of its inaccurate information. If humans oversee this work, it would stop the amount of AI generated content that is falsely made to be spread on social media.
AI is also known to increase the speed and amount in which misinformation is produced. Critics have argued that AI is able to generate persuasive and credible narratives that are untrue at an uncontrollable pace (“Artificial intelligence”). The opponents note that AI-generated misinformation can resemble legitimate journalism, propaganda, or natural reporting, which makes it harder for the reader to be able to identify what is human made and what is made by AI. Social media also has a big part in the spread of misinformation because of the platform prioritizing engagement over accuracy in the content that they are posting. Without the content being verified before being posted, it allows misleading AI generated content to be spread faster and more worldwide. This weakens informed decision-making and poses a serious risk to democratic processes because of the fact that AI creates biased content that is related to the patterns that it has already learned.
In addition, generative AI misinformation is also supported by big brands, even though sometimes it is unintentional. A news guard investigation discussed in Brewster ETAI’s article “How big brands support unreliable AI generated sites” shows that AI is also used in a lot of advertising in well-known brands, which appear on low quality and AI generated websites. The issue here is that because of online advertising being automated, companies unintentionally may fund sites that publish these generated AI misleading, plagiarized or even harmful content. Because of the companies’ funds to these platforms, it gives generative AI misinformation more visibility and legitimacy, which makes the reader believe that it is true and be persuaded by this information because it is coming from a well-known brand.
AI misinformation does affect how people consume and trust information that they see on the internet. Because it is so normalized in today’s generation,it has become extremely hard for the users to be able to tell apart from credible journalism and generative AI information. Users also think that because the misinformation is presented in a professional format and repeated frequently that it is true, and they don’t have to fact check. This weakens trust that the audience has even with reliable new sources, which blur the line between fact and fiction after a while.
In conclusion, artificial intelligence influences the creation and spread of misinformation by creating plausible but false content, making its distribution faster in systems where they prioritize attention rather than the truth. The lack of transparency and human oversight makes this tool powerful for the spread of misinformation and its spread. Even though AI itself is not all harmful, it is when it’s not controlled. To be able to address this problem, we need stronger accountability from technology companies, and for the public to be more educated on AI generated content and the normalization of the misinformation in this generation.
Sources:
Johnson, Sarah Z. “Using AI as a Student: Background, Risks, and Benefits.” The Facts on File Guide to Literary Research, Second Edition, Facts On File, 2025. Bloom’s Literature, online.infobase.com/Auth/Index?aid=106210&itemid=WE54&articleId=666074. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
Brewster, Jack, et al. “How Big Brands Support Unreliable AI-Generated Sites.” Newsweek Global, vol. 181, no. 3, 4 Aug. 2023, pp. 16-19. Points of View Reference Source, research.ebsco.com/linkprocessor/plink?id=eaec25cc-cbb4-3269-bdee-7a7611aff709.
“Artificial Intelligence (Ai).” Issues & Controversies, Infobase, 11 Feb. 2025, icof.infobase.com/articles/QXJ0aWNsZVRleHQ6MTYyMjA=?aid=106210. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.