News farm impersonates 60+ major outlets: BBC, CNN, CNBC, Guardian…

BleepingComputer has found a content material farm working some 60+ domains named after widespread media shops, together with the BBC, CNBC, CNN, Forbes, Huffington Post, Reuters, The Guardian, and Washington Post, amongst others.

These “information” web sites, which we had been in a position to hint to their proprietor in India, repost articles from credible media and analysis organizations with out attribution.

Beyond that although, their intentions appear multifaceted—from constructing search engine optimization for his or her on-line playing ventures to deceptively promoting “press launch” and “product assessment” advert slots at hefty costs to unsuspecting customers seeking to market their merchandise on-line.

Content farm operates 60+ ‘information’ web sites

BleepingComputer has recognized a community of greater than 5 dozen “information” web sites that impersonate main media shops just like the BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Crunchbase, Forbes, Huffington Post, The Guardian, The Metro (UK), The Mirror, The Telegraph, Reuters, Washington Times, and Washington Post.

We have launched the full record of those domains on this article under.

Websites impersonate popular media outlets like Washington Post, Guardian, CNN, etc.
Sites impersonate mainstream media shops just like the Washington Post, Guardian, and CNN
(BleepingComputer)

These web sites repost current information articles taken from different sources verbatim beneath an “admin” writer account with out correct attribution, successfully plagiarising them from credible media shops and analysis organizations.

As an instance, discover the next article revealed on www.guardiannewstoday.com, which isn’t related to the extensively circulated newspaper, The Guardian.

BleepingComputer recognized that the article, together with its headline and physique, was copied word-to-word from a professional supply, jurist.org, which is a authorized information and commentary web site.

The Guardian lookalike website reposting articles
‘Guardian’ lookalike web site reposting articles from unique supply, jurist.org
(BleepingComputer)

Spams boards for search engine optimization and to promote press releases for $1000

The get together behind this operation ceaselessly spams boards and remark sections of assorted sorts of web sites with backlinks to these domains, in an try to spice up search engine optimization for these on-line properties and in flip lend credibility to them.

Of the a number of examples we discovered, under are posts made on a gaming discussion board, and the widespread Immigration Boards discussion board, the place neighborhood members share experiences about their UK immigration journey.

Operator spams forums to boost SEO for these lookalike websites
Operator spams boards to spice up search engine optimization for these lookalike information websites
(BleepingComputer)
Multiple forums and news sites spammed
Several boards and information websites spammed by the ‘information’ syndicate (BleepingComputer)

BleepingComputer additionally noticed that in a few of these feedback, the operator of this community appeared to be promoting advertorial slots for press releases and product critiques, beginning at $50 per put up or a “bulk deal” priced at $1000.

Advertorial placement spaces for these websites being sold for a thousand dollars
Advertorial placement areas for these web sites are being bought for a thousand {dollars}
(BleepingComputer)

The lure might be tempting to unsuspecting readers thinking about selling their merchandise, who may be complicated these lookalike web sites with professional media shops that they mimic.

Maintains Google News and social media presence

Facebook page for a British News Today site
Facebook web page for the operation’s ‘BritishNewsToday’ web site (BleepingComputer)

We had been additional shocked to be taught that along with working over 5 dozen on-line properties, the operator maintains Facebook pages for a few of these and may have moreover enrolled them as a Google News writer, very like actual media organizations do.

Below is a search consequence for a Sky Sports (UK) article, a duplicate of which additionally seems on CanadianNewsToday.com, part of this area syndicate and visual on Google News.

Counterfeit news brands registered as Google News publishers
Counterfeit information websites reposting Sky News tales that additionally seem on Google News
(BleepingComputer)

The full record revealed

Below is an inventory of the 60+ stay domains presently related to this community. BleepingComputer will proceed to watch this marketing campaign and replace the record as extra domains are found.

Any content material or ‘information’ revealed on these web sites shouldn’t be trusted to be coming from authoritative information sources and needs to be independently fact-checked.

Moreover, there isn’t any assure that any services or products being marketed by way of promotional advertorials on these web sites are professional, and might be a part of a rip-off.

www.australiannewstoday.com
www.bbcnewstoday.com
www.bloombergnewstoday.com
www.bostonnewstoday.com
www.britishnewstoday.com
www.canadiannewstoday.com
www.chinaworldnewstoday.com
www.chroniclenewstoday.com
www.cnbcnewstoday.com
www.cnnworldtoday.com
www.crunchbasenewstoday.com
www.dailyexpressnewstoday.com
www.dailyheraldnewstoday.com
www.dailymirrornewstoday.com
www.dailystarnewstoday.com
www.dailytelegraphnewstoday.com
www.dutchnewstoday.com
www.dwnewstoday.com
www.europeannewstoday.com
www.forbesnewstoday.com
www.frenchnewstoday.com
www.germaynewstoday.com
www.guardiannewstoday.com
www.headlinesworldnews.com
www.huffingtonposttoday.com
www.irishnewstoday.com
www.italiannewstoday.com
www.livemintnewstoday.com
www.maltanewstime.com
www.mirrornewstoday.com
www.nationalposttoday.com
www.neatherlandnewstoday.com
www.neweuropetoday.com
www.norwaynewstoday.com
www.oxfordnewstoday.com
www.portugalnewstoday.com
www.postgazettenewstoday.com
www.republicofchinatoday.com
www.reuterstoday.com
www.russiannewstoday.com
www.scotlandnewstoday.com
www.spanenewstoday.com
www.switzerlandnewstoday.com
www.thedailymailnewstoday.com
www.thedailytelegraphnewstoday.com
www.theexpressnewstoday.com
www.theheraldnewstoday.com
www.theindependentnewstoday.com
www.theirishtimesnewstoday.com
www.theirishtimestoday.com
www.themetronewstoday.com
www.themirrornewstoday.com
www.thequintnewstoday.com
www.thestarnewstoday.com
www.thesunnewstoday.com
www.thetelegraphnewstoday.com
www.timesofnetherland.com
www.timesofspanish.com
www.topeuropenews.com
www.topworldnewstoday.com
www.turkeynewstoday.com
www.walesnewstoday.com
www.washingtonposttoday.com
www.washingtontimesnewstoday.com

Operation traced to India

Many of those domains, in line with public WHOIS data, have been operational since at the very least 2022, with new ones steadily added over time, effectively into 2024.

BleepingComputer noticed that almost all of these web sites use WordPress as their selection of CMS, and share a typical registrar and host, One.com.

Based on the contact info listed on a few of these web sites, we had been in a position to hint them to their operator. Our preliminary evaluation means that the operation relies in and working out of India.

In addition to abusing well-known media emblems for search engine optimization advertising and marketing, the final word objective of those on-line ventures is outwardly to advertise on-line playing, sports activities betting, on line casino video games, and crypto enterprises—that are among the many key focus areas of the entity behind this operation.

The operators of this syndicate could also be related to jackpotbetonline.com, a sports activities betting and playing firm that, in line with its LinkedIn web page is based mostly in Gurugram, India, and has been lively since at the very least 2014. The firm’s social media account on X (previously Twitter) was suspended.

Given the multifaceted use instances of such a large-scale area community, it’s difficult to establish if its actions have remained and can stay restricted to search engine optimization constructing and deceptively promoting advertorial areas, or may this community evolve sooner or later to disseminate pretend information and disinformation, which it could very effectively do.

This discovery is paying homage to a 2023 NewsGuard report that unveiled an unrelated community of domains pushing AI-generated articles that had been additionally attributed to an “admin” account.

Even if the proprietors of this enterprise can get away with trademark violations by claiming that the names of their web sites are sufficiently totally different from established Western media shops and that they function in a totally different geographical location, the content material that these web sites are blatantly reposting continues to be copyrighted, and topic to authorized disputes.

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