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This AI Startup Made a 24-Hour AI News Channel. Who Wants This?
Mirage, the AI company behind the Captions video-editing app, ran a 24-hour livestreamed news experiment featuring entirely AI-generated anchors. The project tested whether audiences might accept a cable-news-style format in which the presentation, hosts and interviews were artificial, while the underlying stories came from licensed Reuters reporting; it also served to promote Mirage’s Avatar X model.
The broadcast reportedly cost about $50,000 and attracted 50,000 viewers on X, while its livestream post received 824,000 impressions after paid promotion by several accounts. Mirage CEO Gaurav Misra said the aim was not to deceive viewers and that the AI nature of the output was made clear, but the experiment raised questions about transparency, journalistic standards and the demand for AI-delivered news. AI guests included authorised likenesses of more than a dozen people, largely venture-capital professionals, with scripts approved by those depicted.
In short
- Mirage tested a 24-hour AI-generated news channel on X.
- Reuters stories supplied the factual reporting.
- The stunt drew attention but raised journalism ethics questions.
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The case for
This experiment demonstrates how AI can make professional-quality news production dramatically more efficient and accessible. The company disclosed the AI nature of the content, used legitimate Reuters reporting, and obtained explicit consent from those depicted. Rather than spreading misinformation, this approach offers a cost-effective way to deliver continuous news coverage without traditional overhead, whilst the underlying reporting remains subject to established journalistic standards. As technology inevitably transforms media, thoughtful experiments help us understand how AI might democratise news production and make quality journalism reach wider audiences.
The case against
Whatever the technical disclosure, this project fundamentally undermines journalistic integrity and public trust. Journalism requires human judgment, editorial responsibility and accountability—qualities AI cannot provide. Using AI anchors, even when disclosed as AI, exploits the trust audiences place in news presenters and erodes confidence in news institutions. More critically, normalising AI-delivered news threatens the democratic function of journalism and the professional standards that protect the public interest, transforming news from a civic responsibility into a technologically optimised product.
Explained simply
Mirage is an AI company best known for Captions, an app for editing videos. Its Avatar X model can create artificial presenters, and the company used it to explore whether AI-generated hosts could deliver news in a continuous, television-style format.
The experiment used reporting licensed from Reuters, while the presenters and interview guests were AI-generated. Some guests were based on authorised likenesses of real people, who approved their scripts. This raises questions about how clearly audiences should be told what is artificial and what standards should apply when news is presented by AI.
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