AI is making it easier than ever to post online—and plagiarize.

Erik Chalhoub here, having learned not to plagiarize in elementary school.

Any writer knows that copying another’s work is grossly unethical, not to mention illegal. In journalism, the facts are the facts, so there will obviously be overlap among articles of the same subject among different outlets.

But when one article is released on the heels of another, and it reads eerily similar, that is a problem. In today’s age of the general public posing as journalists online, coupled with the plethora of AI tools available to them, that becomes even more of an issue.

Weekly Editor Sara Rubin examines the proliferation of AI-assisted local news sites and social media accounts in this week’s edition. What she found runs the gamut: from the snarky and sometimes mean-spirited Sardine Sentinel, to the MyPG News aggregator, the way people are sharing information is changing.

But the rules of plagiarism will never change. While those examples rely on original work or credit others, there was one site Rubin discovered that did neither and skirted the line of copyright infringement.

I’m happy to report a positive outcome thanks to Rubin’s questioning. Read her column to find out.