The rise of fake experts: Why keeping it real in PR is so important

Written by Bernie Pegg from R&Co Communications

It’s been a big couple of weeks in the PR and SEO world.

At last week’s BrightonSEO – the UK’s biggest conference dedicated to search engine optimisation - one talk sent ripples through the world of digital PR and SEO when it advocated using AI to create fake expert content.

When I first heard about the fake experts phenomenon via Rob Waugh’s Press Gazette article, I was genuinely shocked. And since the Brighton SEO talk, the AI fakery debate has been all over my LinkedIn feed.

I think my colleague Ian spoke for most of us when his reaction was, “What’s the point?”.

What is the benefit of quoting an expert?

Including an expert in PR content demonstrates expertise and can lead to much-coveted coverage for businesses and their spokespeople in top-tier media titles, such as nationals.

Any online coverage of expert commentary which mentions a company and an expert from their team, and perhaps even links back to their website, also demonstrates E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness) to Google – important signals to search engines that give the business an SEO boost.

In our PR campaigns, sometimes the expert we offer commentary from is our client, who has a wealth of knowledge in their field.

A recent example is a piece in Good Homes magazine I worked on with Sophia Mellor, head of family law at Blythe Liggins Solicitors, in Leamington Spa, where she gave a legal view on how to make living with an ex easier.

For some campaigns, we use commentary from an expert in a specific field who can give an authoritative voice on a topic, giving more credibility and context.

A good example is when R&Co linked up with a psychologist to give her view on why people leave their tax returns until the last minute for a campaign for Prime Accountants Group.

But what’s the point in creating an expert who isn’t real?

Rob Waugh’s article includes an example of a journalist request service being used to source comment which was subsequently supplied from an expert who, upon further examination, appeared to actually be someone from an SEO agency.

So the ‘why’ is potentially to build links back to a website through whatever means possible, even if that means faking it.

What impact is this having so far?

With the rise of ChatGPT, now anyone can turn out an expert quote on any topic and it might well be believable and include all the right buzzwords – but journalists are rightly suspicious.

A journalist I spoke to recently said that about 60 per cent of the PR pitches hitting his inbox each day were AI-generated and that there are tell-tale signs he now spots.

Following the original story on fake experts in Press Gazette, publishers including News UK, Reach and Yahoo News have removed stories from their archives in response to concerns over experts quoted.

At R&Co, we’ve already noticed journalists placing greater weight on verifying expert comments – with requests for credentials such as a biography, links to their website and social media profiles, all becoming more commonplace.

So what does this mean for AI in PR?

Personally, I hope this news will lead to greater cynicism and scrutiny of experts. I also think it could strengthen the trust between quality PRs and journalists.

PR teams like ours are working hard every day to provide quality commentary from genuine experts, and we turn out proactive commentary from our clients who are experts in law, logistics, property and more.

To have those submissions bumped from news stories by experts who don’t even exist would be a shame at best and, at worst, an abuse of trust – of both the journalists and the readers.

I hope this means that genuine, authentic expertise becomes even more valuable.

If PRs like us go to greater lengths to provide credentials and evidence to journalists that our experts are real, they will appreciate that and it will strengthen the relationship, which is essentially what PR is all about.

While PRs like me are getting to grips with the role which AI can play in our professional world and the ways it can help us, fake experts are definitely not on that list – at R&Co, we’re all about keeping it real.

If you’re a real expert in your niche, talk to our team to find out how we can help you to achieve coverage with our PR services.