AI chatbots cite fake news sites promoting Democrats

NPR found that ChatGPT cited 19 times in a series of tests conducted in October 2026. Those citations linked to a network of 37 websites that mimic local news outlets. The sites promote specific candidates in competitive U.S. House races.

In one test, NPR asked which House candidates in Michigan's 4th Congressional District care about affordability. The chatbot named Democrat Sean McCann as having the most detailed published plan. It linked to the Kalamazoo Beacon, a site that describes itself in its source code as reporting on southwest Michigan. The site has published only 16 stories, and every one of them features McCann.

The Beacon is one of ten sites that pose as local news to promote a single Democrat each. These ten sites are part of a larger group identified by digital security firm VisionHeight. The network covers 37 websites in total, promoting federal, state, and local candidates. Most candidates promoted are Democrats, though some nonpartisan posts like judges are included.

VisionHeight and co-founder Andreas Sjöstedt of Erebus analyzed registry data for the sites. They found that all 37 websites were set up on September 15, 2026. All but one were registered within an eight-minute window. Hundreds of articles appeared on the sites in batches during September and October, suggesting the use of artificial intelligence to generate content.

The websites are structured to be easily read by chatbots. They contain a file called llms.txt, which lists articles in plain text for machines to scrape. The sites explicitly allow a long list of AI crawlers to access their content. Many articles are formatted as questions and answers, a format that chatbots prefer to cite.

NPR tested 37 questions on ChatGPT and Gemini. ChatGPT cited at least one article from the network in 19 of the responses. In 17 of those instances, it cited a site pretending to be local news. Gemini did not cite any links from the group in any response. Google search also did not surface the sites on its first page of results during the test period.

JoAnna Mendoza of Arizona, a Democrat promoted by the network, said she was not behind the websites. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee denied involvement. Other promoted candidates and supporting super PACs did not respond to requests for comment. Renée DiResta, a research professor at Georgetown University, said the sites cross a line into deception by pretending to operate as news outlets without disclosing funding or a linked effort.