Press Gazette has been unable to verify the credentials of two journalists who front a new IT publication which appears to be largely AI-generated.
US-based ‘Levelact’, which makes extensive use of AI-generated imagery, offers news and features on topics including: cloud, cybersecurity and quantum networking, It claims in outreach emails to have 97,000 subscribers.
But the site’s editor, Marc Mawhirt, has no Linkedin profile, and does not appear to have been published elsewhere despite an a claimed 20 years of experience in the tech sector.
His name is also spelt as Marc and Mark on the same page of the site, despite Mawhirt claiming to have a “keen eye for detail” and to be a “trusted voice in the tech community”.
His colleague, Barbara Capasso, likewise has no LinkedIn profile and no visible output in any publication other than Level Act.
The publication’s office address is a bleak-looking car park behind a charity shop in Atlanta in the United States. Information available on HypeStat shows that the website started life in November 2024.
A apparent team photo on the “About Us” page features a picture of nine people standing in front of the Levelact logo. The picture is in fact an edited stock image posed by models available via the agency Shutterstock.
Press Gazette reached out to the publication and its writers and has not heard back at time of publication.
The publication appears to use AI extensively to produce copy, according to Mark Kember, Head of Content at Onebite, a writer and public relations executive who spotted the site.
Kember received an unsolicited email from Level Act, and said his suspicions were raised immediately as he researched the publication to work out what stories might potentially work for it.
One email said: “At LevelAct, we’re not just sharing information — we’re shaping the future of tech. With over 100,000 monthly visitors and a rapidly growing community of 97,000 subscribers, we bring you the latest in AI, DevOps, Cloud Computing, and Cybersecurity every single day.
“Join the LevelAct revolution where innovation meets expertise. We’re here to keep you ahead of the curve — always.”
Kember said: “When I looked at this one, something felt off. The content looked like it was fully AI-generated, rather than being based on journalist insights or even human-led AI research.
“The journalist profiles themselves were lacking and there were no social profiles or other publications where those people were credited.”
Kember says that within the B2B space, there are various dubious publications which charge for posting content and pictures.
Kember said that there is a chance that Levelact is simply attempting to bootstrap its way to profitability and using AI to establish itself.
There are commercial links on the site offering marketing and event services. Kember said: “This one looks like it is specifically aimed at the IT security sector, where companies have budgets available and are willing to spend if they think there is an advantage to be had.”
Levelact also offers customers lead generation services, saying: “We use advanced data analytics and AI-powered tools to validate leads, ensuring they meet your ideal customer profile.”
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