A news publication called The Wire by Acutus has been operating since late 2025, publishing nearly 100 articles across tech, energy, media, science, and healthcare. It describes its work as "collaborative journalism" led by an "editorial team." There is just one problem: the journalists do not appear to exist, and the journalism appears to be almost entirely generated by AI.

An investigation by journalist Tyler Johnston, published through The Midas Project's Model Republic, found that of the site's 94 articles, 69% were flagged as fully AI-generated by Pangram, an AI detection tool with a claimed 99.98% accuracy rate. Another 28% were flagged as partially AI-generated. Only three articles were classified as human-authored.

That alone would be a curiosity. What makes it a story is where the money trail leads.

Follow the PAC Money

The Wire by Acutus has no masthead. No editors are credited. No journalists are named. Its About page claims articles emerge from "structured conversations" with contributors whose perspectives are "synthesized and edited into stories."

Johnston found that half of the site's engagement on X came from Patrick Hynes, the president of PR firm Novus Public Affairs. Novus's client list includes Targeted Victory, the consulting firm at the center of OpenAI's lobbying efforts in Washington. Targeted Victory works on behalf of Leading The Future, an OpenAI-backed super PAC focused on pro-AI regulatory outcomes.

The Verge confirmed the financial trail in its own reporting. Nathan Calvin, from advocacy group Encode, received an interview request from "Michael Chen," a reporter at The Wire by Acutus. Chen probably does not exist.

The Content Is Not Subtle

The editorial slant of The Wire by Acutus is not ambiguous. It is overwhelmingly in favor of AI development and dismissive of critics. One article warns of "Escalating Anti-AI Radicalism" and frames concern about AI risks as an ideological movement converging around "funding and power." Another asks whether Republicans will "let blue states set America's AI rules," turning AI regulation into a partisan wedge issue.

This is not journalism. It is influence infrastructure dressed in the visual language of a news outlet.

The Policy Hypocrisy

If Johnston's reporting is correct, this operation would appear to violate OpenAI's own usage policies, which prohibit using its products for political campaigning or lobbying. OpenAI's safety framework previously warned about the risk of AI-generated political influence campaigns. That language has since been removed.

The irony is thick enough to cut. A company that built its brand on responsible AI deployment and safety research appears to be bankrolling an AI-generated propaganda operation targeting the very critics who argue that AI companies cannot be trusted to police themselves.

A Template for What Comes Next

The Wire by Acutus is not a sophisticated operation. The detection rates are high. The money trail is traceable. The fake reporter names are clumsy. If this is what a well-funded AI company's influence operation looks like when it is trying to be subtle, it raises a harder question: what do the ones we have not found look like?

We are four years into the generative AI era and the first documented case of an AI company using its own technology to manufacture political support has already arrived. It will not be the last.

OpenAI, The Wire by Acutus, Novus Public Affairs, and Targeted Victory did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

This story was first reported by Tyler Johnston at Model Republic. Additional reporting by Mashable and The Verge.