A false news story claiming comedian and long-time “Family Feud” host Steve Harvey has died circulated this week. Now, the media site “The Wrap” says that original now-debunked story was generated by artificial intelligence.
The article’s headline reportedly read, “Steve Harvey Passed Away Today: Remembering the Legacy of a Comedy Legend.”
The story was posted by Trend Cast News on Tuesday, Dec. 17. The article gained traction after being shared by NewsBreak, which is a news aggregate site that generates articles with AI, and reportedly has more than 50 million monthly users.
Straight Arrow News found the hoax article on NewsBreak’s site had apparently been removed as of the morning of Thursday, Dec. 19.
Harvey hasn’t publicly addressed the story but he has been active on his social media accounts throughout the week.
Other social media users wasted no time expressing relief the article wasn’t true.
Additionally, this isn’t even the first time there’s been a Steve Harvey death hoax. The comedian responding to one last year with a meme of himself.
This also isn’t NewsBreak’s first run in with AI-generated articles spreading false rumors.
The news aggregate site reportedly published news of a Christmas Day mass shooting in New Jersey that turned out to be a hoax.
The site is also reportedly under scrutiny for publishing several stories with erroneous information about a Colorado-based food bank’s distribution times.
NewsBreak told Reuters earlier this year that when it “identifies any inaccurate content or any violation of our community standards, we take prompt action to remove that content.” Although the site didn’t specify any safeguards it had in place.
However, NewsBreak did add a disclaimer to its site in March, noting, its content “may not always be error-free.”