AI Poses Existential Threat to Local News, Advocates Propose AI Taxation for Support
Artificial intelligence is significantly jeopardizing the business models of local news organizations, according to an amicus brief filed by Rebuild Local News and other groups in The New York Times lawsuit against Microsoft. The brief argues that AI companies scrape journalistic content without compensation to train their models and provide answers, reducing the need for readers to visit news websites. This practice has led to a nearly 50% decline in web traffic for the top 100 newspapers since ChatGPT's release in 2022, with smaller publishers experiencing even steeper drops. Consequently, consumers are less likely to subscribe or donate to news outlets if they can access information for free via AI chatbots. Furthermore, AI often makes the creators of journalism invisible, undermining the ability of news organizations, especially nonprofits, to demonstrate their value and secure funding. This situation is exacerbated by AI's accuracy issues with current events, with a 2025 NewsGuard study finding major ...
