Google Search Puts AI Spam Ahead of Original News Reporting—What’s Going On?

The Rising Tide of AI-Generated Spam

In mid-2024, publishers noticed a troubling trend: AI-generated spam articles, often lightly paraphrased or plagiarized from reputable outlets like WIRED, Reuters, and TechCrunch, began showing up at the top of Google News results—sometimes outranking the original reporting WIRED CO/AI. One such site, dubbed Syrus #Blog, copied content from WIRED with only minor changes and displaced the original in search rankings Stan Ventures CO/AI.

This proliferation builds on known older tricks like spamdexing—manipulating search rankings through low-quality content engineered for maximum reach Wikipedia.

Why Is Google Letting This Happen?

Google has responded with algorithm updates and stronger spam policies, claiming a 45% reduction in low-quality content by April 2024 Stan Ventures CO/AI. However, despite these moves, AI-generated spam continues to slip through the cracks, climbing above original journalism on search pages The FPS Review WIRED.

According to Google’s guidelines, content should be judged on E-E-A-T (Expertise, Experience, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness), regardless of whether it’s AI-generated Google for Developers. Still, Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines were updated in January 2025 to flag AI-generated content more explicitly—rating it as “Lowest” when it lacks effort or originality Search Engine Land.

AI Overviews: Another Layer of Disruption

Google’s AI Overviews—brief, AI-generated summaries at the top of search results—have recently become pervasive, appearing in over half of user queries Xponent21. These overviews often attract attention away from the original articles.

Studies show this shift is devastating for traffic: one analysis found click-through rates dropped by up to 80% when an AI summary appears, particularly for news publishers The Guardian. Independent publishers have taken the matter to regulators, filing antitrust complaints with the EU, arguing that AI Overviews unfairly siphon traffic and use publisher content without consent or fair compensation Reuters New York Post.

The Consequences for Journalism

This dynamic is not just a technical glitch—it’s a threat to the journalism ecosystem. Original reporting is being devalued and outpaced by cheap, mass-produced AI content farms. Many reputable publishers are seeing sharp traffic declines, lost ad revenue, and eroded public trust New York Post The Guardian.

What Publishers Can Do

Embed unique, multimedia-rich features like custom graphics or interactive elements that AI content farms can’t easily replicate.
Monitor search standings closely and issue copyright takedown claims or use SEO/legal measures against plagiarizing domains.
Advocate for transparency and opt-out mechanisms—especially regarding how AI summaries use publisher content.
Collaborate on industry standards and regulatory pressure to make AI summary features fairer to content creators.

This crisis underscores a critical moment: the need for search engines to better distinguish between truly valuable journalism and the “AI slop” of rapidly churned content