2 responses to “Sunday’s Forum”

1. 

   Scott

   September 27, 2026 at 7:55 am

   Source of propaganda that I hadn’t heard about before. And an unholy alliance between these propaganda sites and AI.

   ‘Pink Slime’ Is Infecting AI Chatbots Ahead of the Midterms

   Leading AI chatbots cite partisan websites masquerading as independent local news outlets nearly half of the time when people ask about candidates and issues that the partisan sites have covered in the midterm campaign, according to a new audit by NewsGuard, an organization focused on news reliability where we work as analysts.

   These “pink slime” sites have gone into overdrive ahead of the 2026 elections, actively promoting articles designed to influence which party controls Congress in the last two years of Donald Trump’s presidency. Many of these sites, which don’t disclose their political orientation, are focused on the Senate and House races that are considered toss-ups and where small voter swings could be the deciding factor.
   …
   “Pink slime” describes sites that present themselves as legitimate news sources but in fact are funded — without any disclosure to readers — by political or ideological interests that are pushing an agenda. The term is derived from the pink-colored liquefied filler used as an additive in meat. As of September 2026, NewsGuard has identified 1,179 pink slime sites in the U.S., compared to 937 remaining daily newspapers.

   Pink slime operators give their sites innocent-sounding names such as “Ohio Independent,” “Peach State Post,” “Granite Post News,” “Iowa Starting Line” and “The North Carolinian.” These sites often obscure their ownership and funding to make it difficult for readers to discern who is behind the operation.
   …
   Summary: Pink slime journalism, a phrase that was coined in 2012, has been around for far longer than AI chatbots. But AI is now emerging as a force multiplier enabling partisan and ideological forces to reach bigger audiences in more subtle ways. Rather than alerting users to the hidden agenda, the bots are amplifying sources without disclosing their biases. And the midterms are just the beginning.

   This is a long article but well worth reading and digesting.
2. 

   Kathy

   September 27, 2026 at 8:05 pm

   The big assumption for Xtarship’s flight 14, is that they’re past the blow up stage of development.

   I don’t know. Orbiting a multimillion dollar rocket to support the internet service provider business must be nice. Blowing it up must be a thrill. No one watched Mythbusters strictly for the results.