Alex Mahadevan

Saint Petersburg

Director, MediaWise at Poynter Online

Director of @mediawise and faculty @poynter. Sometimes data journalist. https://t.co/K68NSp4hvT

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Articles

Two disinformation experts have launched a DIY news outlet

2 weeks ago | poynter.org | Alex Mahadevan

The typical online experience is not particularly pleasant nowadays. Artificial intelligence slop — from Shrimp Jesus to dogs with Coke cans for feet — is flooding our feeds, along with deepfake scams featuring our favorite celebrities, dehumanizing falsehoods about immigrants and spam of all stripes. Fact-checkers have been demonized, academics studying misinformation are intimidated and defunded and journalists have been crowded out by “new media” in the White House press pool.
TikTok to launch its own Community Notes-style fact-checking feature: Footnotes

1 month ago | poynter.org | Alex Mahadevan

TikTok is the latest social media platform to roll out a crowdsourced fact-checking experiment. Its version is called Footnotes. The social platform says the new feature won’t replace the partnerships with more than 20 fact-checkers that currently debunk misinformation on TikTok. Users in the U.S., over the age of 18, who have used the platform with no recent violations of community guidelines, can apply to contribute to Footnotes starting today.
Audiences are still skeptical about generative AI in the news - Editor and Publisher

1 month ago | editorandpublisher.com | Alex Mahadevan

Posted Wednesday, April 9, 2025 9:05 am The San Francisco Chronicle. The Texas Tribune. Time magazine. The Washington Post.
Audiences are still skeptical about generative AI in the news

2 months ago | poynter.org | Alex Mahadevan

The San Francisco Chronicle. The Texas Tribune. Time magazine. The Washington Post. Dozens of America’s most well-known newsrooms are experimenting with chatbots to help readers pick restaurants, learn more about political candidates and dive deeper into articles. But new research from Poynter and the University of Minnesota shows people may not be ready for it.
Is xAI’s Grok Fuelling Fake News by Playing Into Our Biases? Let's Find Out

2 months ago | news.abplive.com | Ilma Hasan |Alex Mahadevan

Over the last one week, users in India have been using Grok, xAI’s chatbot, to ask fiery questions and fact-check information related to news events, history, politics, and war. The chatbot seems to be using expletives, regional languages, and candour that commensurates with the manner in which the question has been phrased by a user. These answers have even drawn the attention of the government, who have reportedly gotten “in touch” with the platform.
Is xAI’s Grok spreading misinformation by confirming biases?

2 months ago | logicallyfacts.com | Alex Mahadevan

Over the last one week, users in India have been using Grok, xAI’s chatbot, to ask fiery questions and fact-check information related to news events, history, politics, and war. The chatbot seems to be using expletives, regional languages, and candour that commensurates with the manner in which the question has been phrased by a user. These answers have even drawn the attention of the government, who have reportedly gotten “in touch” with the platform.
Buyouts at the Sun-Times shrink the newsroom — and the dream - Poynter

2 months ago | poynter.org | Tom Jones |Rick Edmonds |Alex Mahadevan

Good morning. Today’s Poynter Report is not totally Donald Trump-free, but we will not be leading the newsletter with the president, as we have for much of the past two months since his return to the White House. We lead today, unfortunately, with some more grim media news. But it’s important media news. So for this lead item, I turn it over to someone who can best explain what’s going on — Rick Edmonds, Poynter’s media business analyst.
An Italian newspaper launched a generative AI experiment. It’s not going well

2 months ago | poynter.org | Alex Mahadevan

The image reeks of generative artificial intelligence. The warped, watercolor-esque style. Reuters spelled “Redutrs” and El País with an accent over the wrong letter. It’s currently the main image of the Italian newspaper Il Foglio’s article about AI use in newsrooms — which was written with AI. The image was created with ChatGPT, according to the cutline, as were several others in a new insert in its daily editions called Foglio AI.
Opinion | An Italian newspaper launched a generative AI experiment. It’s not going well - Editor and Publisher

2 months ago | editorandpublisher.com | Alex Mahadevan

Posted Thursday, March 20, 2025 10:00 am The image reeks of generative artificial intelligence. The warped, watercolor-esque style. Reuters spelled “Redutrs” and El País with an accent over the wrong letter.
Opinion | Buyouts at the Sun-Times shrink the newsroom — and the dream - Editor and Publisher

2 months ago | editorandpublisher.com | Tom Jones |Rick Edmonds |Alex Mahadevan

Posted Thursday, March 20, 2025 9:36 am The financially troubled Chicago Sun-Times announced Tuesday that it is shedding 23 newsroom employees through buyouts, more than 20% of staff.