In a disturbing trend, AI-generated obituaries are flooding search results, turning private individuals into clickbait. This phenomenon came to light when Brian Vastag, an advocate for disabled people, discovered that fake obituaries claiming he had died were circulating online. The obituaries were actually about his late wife, Beth Mazur, who had passed away. The articles, filled with clickbait-y headlines and search engine optimized structures, appeared on numerous websites and even YouTube videos. The Verge identified over a dozen websites publishing articles about Mazur’s death, all of which seemed to be generated using AI tools.
This issue highlights the long-standing struggle Google has faced in containing obituary spam. Low-quality websites have been capitalizing on the death of individuals for years by loading up pages with intrusive ads and monetizing the content. However, the availability of generative AI tools has accelerated the spread of fake obituaries. These AI-generated articles are detached and nearly identical to one another, often repeating inaccurate details. They are designed to attract search engine users by incorporating popular keywords.
The problem of obituary scraping is not limited to public figures but also affects average individuals. Funeral homes have been dealing with obituary aggregator sites for years. These sites scrape initial death announcements from news articles and local funeral home websites and republish them at scale. Legacy.com is one of the biggest aggregators, but countless smaller websites continuously pop up. These sites often contain inaccurate information and frustrate grieving families by outranking actual funeral homes.
Google has acknowledged the challenge of data voids in search results and is working on updates to improve the quality of information. However, the company’s response to flagged websites has been inconsistent. In some cases, Google has terminated YouTube channels sharing SEO-bait obituaries, but it has not clarified whether the flagged websites violated its spam policies.
One website that exemplifies the issue is The Thaiger, based in Bangkok, Thailand. The site publishes a constant stream of articles, including SEO-driven obituaries about average people who were not public figures. These articles have hallmarks of being generated using artificial intelligence, lacking personal details and quotes from family or friends. The obituaries on The Thaiger are written with an inhuman tone, promising comprehensive accounts of deaths and using unnatural phrasing. The site is loaded with ads, suggesting a profit-driven motive.
Another website, FreshersLive, ruthlessly optimizes its articles for search engines. It includes keywords and subheadings to attract users searching for specific information about the deceased. When questioned about their practices, the site’s representative denied using AI tools but did not provide further details.
The issue of AI-generated obituaries is deeply distressing for family and friends of the deceased. These articles lack the personal touch and authenticity that genuine obituaries provide. Brian Vastag expressed his anger at the misinformation surrounding his apparent death, emphasizing that those who generate these obituaries have no right to publish them.
Ultimately, this trend highlights the need for better regulation and monitoring of online content. Search engines like Google must take more proactive measures to combat obituary spam and ensure that accurate and respectful information is prioritized in search results.