NewsBreak, the popular news app with its roots in China, has been embroiled in a scandal involving the publication of erroneous stories and the use of AI technology to create fictitious bylines. The app, which is the most downloaded news app in the United States, has faced scrutiny for publishing inaccurate stories and lifting content from competitors. In at least 40 instances since 2021, NewsBreak has faced criticism for its use of AI tools, which has affected the communities it serves.
One such instance occurred on Christmas Eve, when NewsBreak published a false article about a shooting in Bridgeton, New Jersey. The local police department quickly dismissed the article as entirely false, stating that no such shooting had occurred. NewsBreak removed the article four days later and attributed the inaccurate information to the content source.
NewsBreak, headquartered in Mountain View, California, and with offices in Beijing and Shanghai, fills the void left by the closure of many local news outlets in the US. The app boasts over 50 million monthly users and publishes licensed content from major media outlets. It also uses AI to scrape the internet for local news and press releases, rewriting the content to fit its format.
However, the app’s use of AI technology has led to several problems. It has published erroneous stories, created fictitious bylines, and lifted content from competitors. Two local community programs, Food to Power and Harvest912, have experienced the negative consequences of NewsBreak’s inaccurate stories. Food to Power had to turn people away from food distributions because NewsBreak provided incorrect times, while Harvest912 had to deal with misinformation about a non-existent foot-care clinic for homeless people.
NewsBreak generates revenue through advertisements and primarily targets female users above the age of 45 who live in suburban or rural parts of the US. The company has faced copyright infringement lawsuits, including a recent settlement with Patch Media for $1.75 million. Another copyright lawsuit is ongoing.
The company’s ties to China have also raised concerns. While NewsBreak is privately held, it is backed by private equity firms Francisco Partners and IDG Capital, the latter of which was recently added to a Pentagon list of Chinese companies allegedly working with the military. NewsBreak has denied any ongoing commercial relationship with Yidian, the Chinese aggregation company that divested from NewsBreak in 2019.
NewsBreak has 200 employees, and approximately half of them are based in China. CEO Jeff Zheng divides his time between China and the US, and job advertisements posted by NewsBreak suggest a focus on data mining of user behavior. These factors have raised concerns that American user data could be accessed in China.
However, NewsBreak insists that it complies with US data and privacy laws and stores data on US-based Amazon servers, with staff in China only accessing anonymous data. The company maintains that as a US-based business, it is not subject to Chinese data laws.
Despite these controversies, NewsBreak continues to be a dominant force in the news app market, emphasizing its position as “the go-to source for all things local.” However, the recent scandal surrounding its use of AI technology and the publication of inaccurate stories has raised questions about the app’s credibility and impact on local communities.
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