Top news app in U.S. has Chinese origins and ‘writes fiction’ with the help of AI

News Snapshot:

Billing itself as "the go-to source for all things local," Newsbreak says it has over 50 million monthly users. Last Christmas Eve, NewsBreak, a free app with roots in China that is the most downloaded news app in the United States, published an alarming piece about a small town shooting. It was headlined "Christmas Day Tragedy Strikes Bridgeton, New Jersey Amid Rising Gun Violence in Small Towns." The problem was, no such shooting took place. The Bridgeton, New Jersey police department posted a statement on Facebook on December 27 dismissing the article — produced using AI technology — as "entirely...