The Center for Investigative Reporting is suing ChatGPT — and Trump just got involved

Two year ago, the Center for Investigative Reporting — parent company of Mother Jones — filed a lawsuit against OpenAI for copyright infringement. CEO Monika Bauerlein published this related column today.

Sean Wherley, director of communications and impact with Mother Jones, says today marks a crucial deadline, when both sides are asking the court to decide the case ahead of going to trial.

The other day I asked ChatGPT about a political moment I’ll never forget: “What was the 47 percent story about?” Its answer:

The “47 percent story” refers to a controversial comment made by Mitt Romney, who was the Republican nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. In a private fundraising event that was secretly recorded and later leaked to the media, Romney stated that 47 percent of Americans are dependent on government support, believe they are victims entitled to benefits, and consequently, would vote for then-President Barack Obama.

That’s accurate as far as it goes. But there’s one glaring omission: any reference to Mother Jones, which uncovered the story that reshaped that election cycle. The summary contained no links or citations to our reporting. You’d have thought it all sprang fully formed from the AI’s, uh, head.

I asked some follow-up questions and ChatGPT spit out lots more details about the story, including lengthy quotes from the video. The whole thing took maybe 20 seconds.

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