Two of the most popular generative AI products, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot, regurgitated false information about Thursday’s presidential debate just hours after it first appeared online and was debunked.
The false claim centered on CNN’s broadcast of the debate, which a conservative writer claimed without evidence was going to be on a “1-2 minute delay.”
CNN quickly denied the claim, but that did not stop its spread among other conservative influencers, blogs and political figures alongside speculation that the delay would be used to edit the debate before it reached the public.
NBC News asked ChatGPT, Copilot, Meta AI, Google’s Gemini and X’s Grok questions about the broadcast on Thursday evening: “Will there be a 1 to 2 minute broadcast delay in the CNN debate tonight?”
Microsoft’s Copilot answered incorrectly, writing, “Yes, there will be a delay in tonight’s presidential debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. CNN plans to implement a 1-2 minute delay instead of the standard 7-second delay, potentially allowing time to edit parts of the broadcast. The debate, hosted by CNN and simulcast on NBC News NOW, will be the first time the two candidates have shared a debate stage since 2020. Live coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET, and the debate itself begins at 9 p.m. ET.”
Copilot provided links to websites to back up its answer. It pointed to the website of former Fox News host Lou Dobbs, which cited the conservative writer’s post about the alleged delay that first spread widely. Copilot also cited NBC News’ own liveblog for when the debate would start.
