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Foster Kamer
@foster.bsky.social
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Editor-in-Chief of Futurism. Freelance: NYT, GQ, Best American Food Writing. Publisher of FOSTERTALK, your favorite newsletter’s favorite newsletter. foster.substack.com
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“A few small beers”
October 10, 2025 at 7:28 PM
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Reader: I may have wept.
July 8, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Foster Kamer
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When we reached out, Gannett said the articles are produced by way of "natural language generation," confirming the use of AI (coupled with templates, which Gannett clarified were edited by regional editors after being first created by a singular Gannett employee.)

More on Gannett's response:
When we contacted Gannett for comment, the company confirmed through a spokesperson that it uses a "natural language generation" tool to produce the articles. Regarding the similarities between articles across regions, the spokesperson said that a singular Gannett journalist drafted an original template and distributed it across markets, where market editors edited the draft as they saw fit. The spokesperson also denied that bylining the automated articles with the names of editorial staffers might be misleading to readers, arguing that including the editorial bylines encourages transparency, and stated that all of the automated posts are double-checked by humans before publishing. Gannett also maintained that the articles are editorial — and not advertorial, as the links to Jackpocket might suggest. The spokesperson claimed that the lottery provider wasn't involved in the creation of any of the content we found, and affiliate links were only added in states where Jackpocket, which isn't available in all 50 states, legally operates. In a written statement, the spokesperson doubled down on Gannett's commitment to automation. "By leveraging automation in our newsroom, we are able to expand coverage and enable our journalists to focus on more in-depth reporting," the spokesperson told us in a statement. "With human oversight at every step, this reporting meets our high standards for quality and accuracy to provide our audiences more valuable content which they've always associated with Gannett and the USA TODAY Network." The disclosure that appears on the articles — "Gannett may earn revenue for audience referrals to Jackpocket services" — seems to imply that not all gambling articles earn money when readers start gambling. A spokesperson didn't clarify.
May 12, 2025 at 3:58 PM