When a promising young freelancer pitched a good story to his magazine, editor Nicholas Hune-Brown was ready to assign it. But as he looked more closely at the pitch and the writer’s bylines across the internet, Nicholas began to realize maybe this writer wasn’t who she seemed.

This episode recently won Gold and the Listener’s Choice Winner in the 2026 Signal Awards for Best Writing.

A version of Nick’s story first appeared in The Local – you can read it here.

The UK-based magazine Press Gazette is keeping a running list of AI scandals in journalism, including Victoria Goldiee. You can see that here.

Question Everything is a production of KCRW and Placement Theory. Follow us on Instagram: @questionverything.podcast. And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.

Guests: 

• Nicholas Hune-Brown, Executive Editor at The Local 
• Victoria Goldiee

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.