The Great Glorbo Hoax
The World of Warcraft (WoW) community recently displayed a cunning play of trickery. They managed to fool an AI-driven games news website into publishing an article about a fictitious game feature known as ‘Glorbo’.
The prank, which successfully deceived the website Zleague.com, comes at a time when the expansion of AI-generated news has sparked heated discussions and controversy.
Reddit user kaefer_kriegerin stands as the mastermind behind this audacious hoax. They posted a highly detailed yet entirely false account of Glorbo’s anticipated arrival to WoW, baiting the bot to scoop up the story.
In their post, they wrote, “I just really want some major bot-operated news websites to publish an article about this”.
Kaefer_kriegerin’s declaration was soon noted by PC Gamer, adding further momentum to this sophisticated troll.
In the light of absurdity, the author provocatively stated, “I feel like Dragonflight has been win after win so far, like when they brought back Chen Stormstout as the end boss of the new Karazhan? Absolutely amazing!”
While these words bear no actual meaning or relevance to the game, they successfully bewildered the AI. Consequently, the AI at Zleague.com produced an over-processed news item.
Unpacking the Glorbo Hoax
For any seasoned WoW player or human journalist with a nose for the genuine article, it would have been glaringly evident that Glorbo is nothing more than a concocted joke.
However, the AI writing the article failed to exercise this discernment, further amplifying concerns about the proliferation of AI-generated news.
Despite the article’s removal (archived page) from the Zleague.com site, its impact remains a topic of conversation in the WoW community.
Fellow Reddit users added fuel to the fire by discussing the imaginary ‘Klikclac’ item purportedly accompanying the Glorbo update.
“Making Klikclac a mandatory item is a huge punch in the gut for casual players. I don’t have the time to farm Zoop for that!” expressed kaefer_kriegerin, echoing the sentiment of a divide between players.
The Role of AI in Journalism
Such stunts, although amusing, highlight the pitfalls and complexities of relying on AI-generated content in journalism.
Many online publications have started employing AI tools to generate vast amounts of content each day. This practice has raised concerns about the quality and reliability of these articles.
For instance, the author of the Zleague piece produced over 50 articles in a 24-hour span – an alarming figure suggesting automation.
With tech giants like Google reportedly developing tools that can generate news articles, the Glorbo saga highlights the limitations of AI in journalism.
In this context, AI lacks the ability to conduct critical thinking or exercise healthy scepticism, unlike human journalists. Therefore, understanding the balance between human and AI roles in journalism is crucial.
The Broader Impact on the WoW Community
The WoW community continues to be a vibrant space of human and AI-generated news creation. Nonetheless, pranks like the Glorbo saga could potentially impede crucial discussions and feedback sessions within the community.
The game, despite being almost 20 years old, still sees regular updates that require in-depth player discourse.
Moreover, the ‘Glorbo’ incident has sparked fear that these important dialogues might be overwhelmed by a flurry of bot-generated, low-quality content.
