ATLANTA—Journalist Fred Riehl logged onto ChatGPT on May 4, 2023, to research a lawsuit between the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and Washington state’s attorney general.
The chatbot handed over an explosive story.
According to ChatGPT, popular SAF podcaster Mark Walters was accused of “defrauding and embezzling funds from the SAF.”
The chatbot reported that as the foundation’s treasurer and chief financial officer, Walters had “misappropriated funds for personal expenses without authorization or reimbursement, manipulated financial records and bank statements to conceal his activities, and failed to provide accurate and timely financial reports and disclosures to the SAF’s leadership.”
It’s the kind of story reporters are always searching for. It was also completely false….