73% of Americans Can't Tell Real News From Fake. That's a Brand Problem

Seventy-three percent of U.S. respondents worry about distinguishing real news from fake online, according to the Reuters Institute's 2025 Digital News Report. Globally the figure sits at 58 percent. For brands pumping out AI-assisted content across every channel, that skepticism is the backdrop nobody can ignore.

The argument comes from a veteran PR practitioner writing in Inc.: AI has made content production faster than any traditional communications team could match. It drafts, summarizes, optimizes, and repurposes at scale. "Resonance, though, takes more than speed," the author writes.

What does cheaper content actually change for brands?

It changes the scarcity equation. When AI-generated content becomes ubiquitous, brands face a new problem the author calls sameness: polished, competent material that hits the right keywords but gives readers no reason to care. In the author's framing, "a distinct point of view often separates memorable brands from forgettable ones."

The author draws on a PR career working with brands across industries and is blunt about the failure mode: "The challenge begins when brands mistake content production for original thinking." The strongest content consistently reveals how a company sees the world — it carries a point of view and ties business goals to human stakes. Readers engage because they sense "a real person, team, and philosophy behind the message."

The practical takeaway: credibility has to be earned, and it can't be prompted into existence. As the author puts it, "A prompt can generate content, but it cannot determine what your company stands for or why its perspective matters."

Strategy first, story second — not the other way around

The author challenges a common misconception: that storytelling happens after strategy is complete. The best stories, the author argues, emerge from the strategy itself. Before creating anything, a brand should answer four questions:

• What do we believe in that is meaningfully different from competitors?
• What tension or challenge are we helping our audience navigate?
• What experience gives us the right to speak on this topic?
• What do we want people to remember when the campaign ends?

The answers shape everything from positioning and messaging to culture and customer perception.

A concrete example from the piece: an accounting or consulting firm competing with dozens of lookalikes may be tempted to lead with expertise and track record. Clients already expect both. The stronger story is the relief a client feels when a confusing problem finally makes sense, or the firm's habit of spotting industry changes before rivals do.

The 'trusted partner' test for weak content

The author offers a simple diagnostic for weak brand content: it could belong to almost anyone. The telltale signs are broad phrases like "innovative solutions," "trusted partner," and "customer-first approach." Specifics are the fix. Don't say a brand is resilient — show the decision it made under pressure. Don't call a team client-focused — explain the moment listening changed the strategy. Don't label a leader visionary — give them an actual position on where the industry is heading.

This matters most in thought leadership. The Content Marketing Institute's 2025 Content and Marketing Trends report found 52 percent of marketers expect their organizations to increase investment in thought leadership content. More investment means generic commentary becomes easier to ignore. Strong thought leadership, the author writes, helps organizations move beyond expertise into influence.

Where AI still earns its seat

The author isn't anti-AI. It's useful for organizing research, first-draft exploration, headline variations, and content adaptation — and for speed once the strategic direction is set. But the ideas shaping a brand should remain human-led. Teams need to protect what AI can't supply: lived experience, judgment, emotional intelligence, and nuance.

Before publishing, the author prescribes four questions: Does this sound like us? Does it add anything new? Does it reflect what we believe? Would a client, employee, or partner recognize our voice in it?

"If the answer is no, the content may be efficient but not strategic," the author writes.

The forward bet is clear: AI keeps raising the floor for basic content, so brands have to raise the ceiling on originality, trust, and point of view. The winners will be the ones with the confidence to sound like themselves — because everything else will sound like everyone.