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In late December 2023, many friends of Brian Vastag and Beth Mazur were saddened to learn that the couple had died suddenly. Vastag and Mazur dedicated their lives to advocating for people with disabilities. writing about chronic illness, As soon as the tributes surfaced on Google, members of their community began calling each other to share the terrible news, even reaching out to people on vacation around the world.
Except that Brian Vastag was completely alive, unaware of the fake obituaries that rose to the top of Google search results. Beth Mazur actually died on December 21, 2023. But now spam articles flooding the web claim that Vastag also died on the same day.
,[The obituaries] This had a real-world impact where at least four people I know called [our] Were mutual friends, and I felt like I’d died with him, like we’d made a suicide pact or something,” says Vastag, who was married to Mazur for a time and remained close to him. “It caused extra trouble for some of my friends and it made me very angry.”
“Beth Mazur and Brian Vastag obituaries, 2 die from chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS/ME),” reads an article On a website called Eternal Honoring. Another site called In Loving Memories News They say, “Beth Mazur and Brian Vastag Obituary, Chronic Fatigue Findrom (CFS/ME).” There were more than just articles claiming Vastag was dead Very forged Obituaries about Mazur, written with clickbait-y headlines and search engine optimized structures,
“…at least four people I know called [our] We were mutual friends, and I felt like I’d died with her, like we’d made a suicide pact or something.”
the verge More than a dozen websites were identified that published articles about Mazur’s death, as well as several others. Youtube video People reading obituaries from a script. The sites have strange, unfamiliar names and maintain a constant stream of articles on a variety of topics, including the deaths of individuals around the world. Articles are disorganized and provide little information but are filled with keywords that Google users are searching for. In addition to the dozens of sites writing about Mazur, there is a vast network of high-ranking websites that make money when family, friends and acquaintances search for information about a deceased person.
The sites have the hallmarks of being designed using artificial intelligence tools. Vastag suspects that, for example, misinformation about his apparent death could be attributed to someone An op-ed co-authored by Vastag and Mazur (One article appears to claim that Vastag has died AI summary of op-ed, The obituaries vary and are almost identical to each other, with some words crossed out and repeating incorrect details, such as where Mazur lived. Articles started appearing within a day An announcement by the MEAction NetworkA non-profit organization he co-founded.
Google has long struggled to prevent obituary spam – for years, low-effort SEO-bait websites languished in the background and rose to the top of search results after a person’s death. Sites then aggressively monetize content Loading pages With intrusive ads and profit when searchers click on results. Now, the widespread availability of generative AI tools appears to be accelerating the flood of low-quality fake obituaries.
“Obituary scraping” is a common practice that affects not only celebrities and public figures, but also average, private individuals. Courtney Gold Miller, chief strategy officer of MKJ Marketing, which specializes in marketing funeral services, says funeral homes have been working with obituary aggregator sites for at least 15 years. The sites trawl news articles and local funeral home websites, looking for preliminary death announcements that contain basic details such as name, age and where the service may be held. then they Scrape and republish content at scaleUsing templated formats or, increasingly, AI tools.
The obituaries vary and are almost identical to each other, with some words thrown around and incorrect details repeated.
Legacy.com is the largest, most established of the aggregators – but countless smaller, sketchier websites continue to pop up. Some of these sites contain incorrect information, such as the date or location of a memorial service. Gold Miller says others collect orders for flowers or gifts that don’t arrive on time, frustrating family and friends and creating headaches for local funeral homes. Aggregation sites routinely outnumber actual funeral homes that have relationships with bereaved families.
“I think [Google is] Looking at who has the most backlinks, who has the most authority, who has the most traffic, specific things that their algorithms are looking for. Of course, an aggregator will have more of all this than a local funeral home,” says Gold Miller. “This is the core of the business for aggregators, right? They know the Google search algorithms are in their favor.
“Google’s goal is always to surface high-quality information, but data voids are a known challenge for all search engines,” said Ned Adriance, a Google spokesperson. the verge In an email. “We understand how disturbing this content can be, and we are working to launch updates that will significantly improve search results for these types of queries.” Adriaans said that Google has eliminated many of the YouTube channels that have been flagged the verge which were sharing SEO-bait obituaries and death notices, but declined to say whether the flagged websites violated Google’s spam policies.
When Vastag discovered articles that claimed he too had died, he reported them to Google, in hopes that the pages would be removed from search. company sent back a canned replyStating that the flagged sites did not violate its policies.
Some websites offer a constant stream of clickbait news articles about the deceased. AI has made the problem worse, making it harder to tell the validity of an obituary at first glance when grieving family and friends aren’t looking carefully at the URL of an article or its author.
A site called TheThigher is full of news on every topic imaginable. Its writers follow viral news cycles like political dust-ups at Ivy League colleges. Under Thailand News category: “Man’s public defecation in Thai car showroom creates buzz online.” The trending section includes articles like “Pedro Pascal’s surprising revelation steals the show at the 2024 Emmy Awards.” And other pastiches of early 2010s Internet clickbait.
Stories about deaths are often tagged as “trending” even if there is no indication that the person was known outside their community.
But scattered among the hundreds of articles of celebrity gossip and recaps of TikTok videos are morbid, robotic articles about the deaths of average people who were not public figures. The author of The Tiger – who is based in Bangkok, Thailand – brainstorms More than 20 stories a day Sometimes, SEO obituary articles about people who died following illnesses are also included; College students who died by suicide; and minors who were in fatal car accidents. The stories follow a similar structure, sometimes using the same vague phrases about the deceased. Stories about deaths are often tagged as “trending” even if there is no indication that the person was known outside their community, and the articles are based on local news reports, social media posts, or family stories. They appear to have collected or rewritten actual obituaries from.
Thaiger’s content features features created using artificial intelligence. Obituary articles are written with a non-descriptive seriousness, using an unflattering phrase such as the “indelible mark” left by a person or their “untimely demise”, but giving no actual details about their life. . The articles are written like typical obituaries and news articles, but they lack quotes from the deceased’s family or friends and do not cite outside reporting.
Tributes appearing on The Tiger There is an inhuman, unfair quality to them. Some articles promise “comprehensive details” of the death, or that “the Internet is awash” with interest in the incident. An article on the death of a woman in Calgary, Canada, reads, “Further updates are expected, and the curious and concerned public are advised to stay tuned for verified information.” Every corner of the site is filled with advertisements.
Tiger staff page Lists eight authors, none of whom have a LinkedIn profile, and at least three of whom appear to have AI generated headshots. For example, “Luke Chapman”, who covers Australian and New Zealand news, is wearing an open button-down shirt with buttons down both sides. “Jane Nelson”, described as “an experienced financial journalist”, wears a gold necklace that disappears halfway down her chest. Even for profiles that show photos of real people, the writers are like ghosts – no record of these journalists exists anywhere else.
Tiger And CEO Darren Lyons did not respond to multiple requests for comment. after the verge When asked about AI-generated headshots, Thaiger quietly removed the authors from the staff page along with a collection of their articles.
On another site called FreshersLive, articles about people dying have been ruthlessly optimized for Google. Keywords like “Beth Mazur,” “MEAction Network,” and “chronic fatigue syndrome” are sprinkled in every few sentences. The copy is divided into several sections with SEO-driven subheadings, such as “Who was Beth Mazur?” and “Is Beth Mazur dead?” There’s even an FAQ section at the bottom – a darker, brutal version of this A trick that’s all over the web,
In response to an email the vergeTo questions, a person who identified himself only as “Dileep” denied that the site used AI tools, and said that staff make efforts to contact the family of the deceased. When asked how FreshersLive tracks and assesses deaths, “Dileep” replied, “It is highly confidential.”
“Whoever came along [the articles] – They didn’t know Beth, they didn’t know anything about her,” Vastag said. The verge. “They have no right to publish an obituary on him.”
it’s thick Obituary for Mazur It was published on 12 January, a few weeks after his death. And although spam sites were rampant, only Vastag’s obituary reflects the actual person who worked.
Vastag said he worked in tech before becoming ill – during the last months of his life he also experimented with generative AI tools like ChatGPT. the verge, She was witty and smart, and friends and colleagues remember her as a visionary organizer who did not seek recognition for her work. She planned and hosted themed parties for friends, danced at Burning Man, and helped patients access care and resources. Of course, no spam obituary mentions these facts.
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