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TJ Bamba led Oregon with 22 points and five assists in the Ducks' 78-68 victory over San Diego State on Wednesday in pool play of the Players Era Festival at Las Vegas. The Ducks (7-0) won both games in the "Power Group" and will play in the championship Saturday against the top team from the "Impact Group." San Diego State (3-2) will await its opponent for one of the secondary games Saturday. The matchups are based on seeding dependent on performance of the first two games. Bamba made 7 of 14 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range. Keeshawn Barthelemy had 16 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the field and hit 3 of 4 from beyond the arc. Nate Bittle finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, Brandon Angel 12 points and six rebounds and Jackson Shelstad paired 12 points with four assists. BJ Davis led San Diego State with 18 points before fouling out. Nick Boyd finished with 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Neither team led by more than four points until Oregon scored nine unanswered to take a 34-27 lead with 2:20 left in the first half. Barthelemy started the run with a jumper and finished it with a 3-pointer. Oregon outscored San Diego State 16-4 in the last 4:23 of the half to take a 41-31 lead into the break. Bamba and Barthelemy combined for 20 points on 7-of-14 shooting in the first half. Boyd led San Diego State with 13 points, making all three of his 3-point attempts and going 5-of-6 overall. A 7-2 run for Oregon increased its advantage to 48-35 with 17:36 remaining, but San Diego State cut the lead to 56-53 with 10:58 left following a 9-0 run. A Bamba 3-pointer closed an 8-2 stretch with 4:15 remaining to increase Oregon's lead to 73-63. San Diego State did not get closer than eight points the rest of the way. Davis fouled out with 31 seconds left and Oregon leading 77-68. --Field Level MediaIn the quirky world of Telugu politics, a peculiar 'sentiment' has gained traction: Spend time in jail, and you might just land the Chief Minister's chair. With Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and A. Revanth Reddy famously ascending to power post-incarceration, the theory has sparked more gossip than a Tollywood blockbuster. Now, tongues are wagging that BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao might be eyeing this unconventional route to Telangana's top job. KTR's repeated fiery challenges to CM Revanth Reddy — daring him to "show some guts" and throw him in jail — have only added fuel to the rumour mill. "Send me to jail if you dare," KTR has been heard saying, leaving political observers wondering if he's more eager to pack a jail bag than win an election for his party the next time round. But Revanth, never one to miss a punchline, has a sharp retort ready. "Even if KTR goes to jail, he won't become CM," Revanth quipped. Why? Because KTR's sister, Kalvakuntla Kavitha, has already "beaten him to it," spending five months in Tihar Jail in the Delhi liquor scam case. By this logic, Kavitha holds a better shot at the CM crown — jailbird seniority, perhaps? The bizarre rivalry has turned into a comedy of political errors, with Revanth taking every opportunity to dismiss KTR's ambitions. "Just going to jail isn't enough, my friend. You need the people's vote too," Revanth jibed recently, delivering a masterclass in political shade. Do bikes dream of growing into a car? Sure, why not, appears to be the attitude of the Visakhapatnam traffic police who recently issued a challan to a car owner in Bobbili in Vizianagaram district for not wearing a helmet while driving. The shell-shocked car owner, a woman, repeatedly explained, in vain, to the police that her car was parked at her home at the time of the so-called offence. Fed up with the notices to pay the fine, the car owner checked the challan carefully and found that the vehicle number was wrongly printed. The challan was for a vehicle with registration number of 8417, that of a motorcycle owner in Visakhapatnam, while the car's registration number was 8471. The cops apologised to the car owner, and then sent a fresh notice to the bike owner. No word yet if that fine has been paid. -=-=-=-=- Politicians face testing times constantly, that is a given for their line of work. But those vying for the position of the chairpersons of the agriculture market committees in Jukkal Assembly constituency in Kamareddy district, had to take a test. For real. This was the idea of Congress MLA Thota Laxmikantha Rao, who set up a six-member committee to conduct a written test for appointment of Madnoor market committee chairperson's post. Congress activist Ailawar Soujanya secured highest marks in the test and was appointed as market committee chairperson. This new approach has won Rao some admirers within the rank and file of the party including minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. But since nothing is politics is in black and white, dissident Congress leaders staged a protest against the Jukkal MLA at Gandhi Bhavan in Hyderabad the other day. The dissident group also poured out complaints against MLA for ignoring senior cadres and encouraging newcomers into the ruling party. -=-=-=- Making mountains out of molehills may come easy to some, but sometimes, the mountain ends up being a huge problem. That is apparently the fix that officials of the civil supplies department find themselves in Kakinada. The story goes thus: Kakinada collector Sagili Shan Mohan received information that PDS rice was being exported from the anchorage port and was being done so without the requisite permissions. This resulted in an immediate inspection-cum-raid with the civil supplies officials and technical staff, following which 640 tonnes of rice, believed to be meant for the PDS system, was seized. In the end it turned out that the exporter revealed that this was not the case, and that bank guarantees were in place and everything about the rice was legit, and that is when the rice was loaded onto the ship. Officials are now scratching their heads to figure a way out about the 'seizure', if one goes by the whispers doing the rounds in government circles. -=-=-=-= A small drink a day may not keep the doctor away but it surely can attract the attention of the opposition party looking for ammunition. Such is the case after TD MLC B.T. Naidu's recent comments during the oath-taking ceremony of Somisetty Venkateswarlu as chairman of the Kurnool Urban Development Authority. In all apparent innocence, as part of his praise of Venkateswarulu, Naidu let it slip that among Venkateswarlu's good qualities were sticking to having just one 'small, negligible quantity' of alcohol daily at 8.30 pm, and calling it a sign of 'discipline'. While the remarks drew some laughter from the gathering, this attracted the attention of opposition YSRC leaders who were quick to start poking Venkateswarlu's 'discipline' with posts on social media platforms mocking the TD's choice to head KUDA. -=-=-=-=- Never look a gift horse in its mouth, or so the saying goes. But when it comes to nice little expensive gifts, there are few and far between who say no. One among them turned out to be the CPI(ML) MP Sudhama Prasad from Bihar, who the other day turned down small gold and silver gifts presented to members of the parliamentary standing committee on railways during a tour of Bengaluru, Tirupati and Hyderabad, led by committee chairman C.M. Ramesh. Word doing the rounds is that Prasad criticised the gifts received by members, calling it profligacy, and sent the gift pack back expressing concern that such practices discourage transparency, especially relating to corruption. Prasad is also learnt to have written to Ramesh urging an end to the misuse of public funds and questioning the need for luxurious accommodations for committee meetings. -=-=-=-=-=- In the corridors of Telangana’s bureaucracy, where decorum and discretion usually reign supreme, a retired IAS officer turned government adviser, K.S. Sreenivasa Raju, has become the unlikely epicentre of controversy. Tasked with overseeing infrastructure and projects, Raju seems to have developed a hobby: Poking his nose into every issue imaginable, whether it falls under his purview or not. And his knack for ‘unfiltered commentary’ is proving to be the spice — or bane — at Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy's review meetings. According to insiders, Raju's penchant for making satirical comments about senior IAS officers during high-stakes discussions has raised more than a few eyebrows, and hackles. These quips, often delivered in a razor-sharp manner, have left senior bureaucrats, particularly those at the level of special chief secretary or principal secretary, seething with frustration. It's not just embarrassing; it's downright humiliating, feel IAS officers. The murmurs on the bureaucratic grapevine suggest that Raju's proximity to Revanth affords him a level of impunity that few dare to challenge-at least openly. However, patience among his peers appears to be wearing thin and whispers of an impending showdown are growing louder. "It's only a matter of time before the dam breaks," warned a source familiar with the situation.Knight stops 20 shots, Florida rolls past Carolina 6-0 for 2nd win over 'Canes in as many days
10 African countries making strides in reducing hungerFormer US president Bill Clinton hospitalized with fever
No. 12 West Virginia women beat Boise State 82-47 to reach title game of Gulf Coast ShowcaseA second straight provincial title looked to be in the cards for the Vernon Senior Panthers as they went into the second half of the championship game at B.C. Place in Vancouver with a 14-0 lead over the Windsor Wolves. But the Wolves' offence woke up in the final two quarters and the defence held strong, leading to a thrilling 17-14 victory that earned Windsor its first B.C. title since 2017. The first quarter of the B.C. AA High School Senior Varsity Football championship game went scoreless, with both teams turning over the ball in their opponent's territory. In the second quarter, Panthers star quarterback Cole Budgen threw a goal line fade to a receiver in the end zone for a touchdown. The Panthers missed the PAT, giving themselves a 6-0 lead. Later in the quarter, Tanner Hanson intercepted a pass and ran the ball back to the Wolves' one-yard line. The Panthers punched it into the end zone from there and completed a two-point convert, putting them up 14-0. Windsor then completed a 60-yard drive in the third quarter with Emmet Ward scoring the touchdown to get the Wolves on the board. Windsor would add a field goal to make it a 14-10 game heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth, Windsor threw the ball deep in a fourth and long situation and the ball was intercepted on the Panthers' five yard line. The Panthers then drove the ball deep into Windsor territory, thanks in part to a 42-yard catch and run by Ayden McDonald. But the Panthers missed a crucial field goal keeping the game's score at 14-10. That gave Windsor the ball back with the chance to win the game with five and a half minutes left to play. A deep reception by Samson Sachter got the Wolves to the Panthers' 34 yard line. Then Sachter reeled in a ball with one hand and went in for the go-ahead touchdown. The Panthers had 1:50 left on the clock to at least get a field goal and send the game to overtime, but on fourth and 10 around mid-field the Panthers came inches short of the first-down marker, turning it over on downs and sealing the victory for the Wolves. The Panthers were looking to win back-to-back championships for the second time in six years after winning provincial titles in 2018, 2019 and 2023. For Windsor, the win marked their first championship in seven years and third since 2005.
Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Sells 1,701 Shares of Ryder System, Inc. (NYSE:R)
Zefiro Methane Corp. 2024 Year in Review: Accelerating Commercial Growth and Operational ImpactNATO head and Trump meet in Florida for talks on global securityPresident-elect Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the US ambassador to France, in the latest of several controversial picks. Kushner "is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests," Trump said on his Truth Social website, adding that Jared "worked closely with me in the White House." The choice is in keeping with Trump's pattern, so far, of selecting people, often wealthy, who are close to his family or of proven loyalty. Kushner is a multimillionaire real estate executive and former attorney; his son was a senior adviser during Trump's first term. Trump did not mention, however, that the elder Kushner once served jail time -- a two-year sentence, most of it served in a federal prison. Kushner, who is now 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign contributions. The case, which was prosecuted by then US attorney Chris Christie, included sordid details, to which Kushner admitted: that he had hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a man cooperating in a campaign finance inquiry, and then videotaped the encounter and sent it to the man's wife, Kushner's sister, to dissuade her from testifying against him. Christie, who worked on Trump's first presidential transition team and then opposed him in this year's Republican primary contests, later said Kushner had committed a "loathsome" and "disgusting crime." In 2020, Trump issued a pardon to Kushner, whose conviction had resulted in him being disbarred in three states. Nominees for key ambassadorships are often business associates of a president-elect, or major political donors. But it is rare, if not unprecedented, to name a convicted felon. The first two men to fill the prestigious Paris post were famed inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin and a future president, Thomas Jefferson. If confirmed, Kushner would succeed Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium who was a major Democratic fundraiser and donor. md/bbk/md
FDA Grants IDE Approval for the Pivotal Trial of the JuxtaFlow® Renal Assist Device (RAD)Sabrina Ionescu was thrilled to be part of Unrivaled — the new 3-on-3 league. The Liberty star guard who helped New York win the first championship in franchise history earlier this year signed a historic agreement on Monday with the league. She'll join the Phantom BC that made a trade Saturday night to acquire Natasha Cloud. "It was a huge decision getting me to play or not," Ionescu said in a phone interview Monday night. "I weighed out all my options and decided to do what’s best for me and my career. Being able to take part in a league that is the first of its kind with a historic deal and be on the ownership side of it is important for me.” Ionescu said the league gave her some flexibility in her schedule if she needs to step away for a day or two. The NBA All-Star Game is on Feb. 16, which is in the middle of the Unrivaled season. The league has no team games during the NBA All-Star weekend. There's discussions of her potentially competing in another 3-point contest with Stephen Curry. “I have certain dates that I have to be gone for. They were very accommodating with things I already accepted and have to be gone for before I committed to the league,” Ionescu said. Ionescu will also be playing with Brittney Griner, Marina Mabrey, Katie Lou Samuelson and Satou Sabally. Ionescu was teammates with Sabally at Oregon. “I’m really excited being able to play with her and knowing we’ve wanted to play with each other for a long time since we departed from Oregon,” Ionescu said. The 27-year-old Ionescu is recovering from a procedure she had earlier this month on her right thumb to stabilize the ulnar collateral ligament. She's not cleared yet, but is on target to be able to play at the start of the Unrivaled season. “I should be cleared and ready to go and be able to be there and be a part of it,” Ionescu said. “The first year was something I wanted to experience and have ownership is a big part in that as well.” Ionescu said she hurt the thumb in the final 90 seconds of Game 4 of the WNBA Finals, but there was no way she was going to miss the decisive Finals game which New York won. She went 1 for 19 in the deciding Game 5 against Minnesota but found other ways to help the team win, with eight assists and seven rebounds. “I didn’t know the severity of my injury when I did it. I didn’t care to know and wanted to do whatever I could to play and try to do the best I can for us to win,” she said. “Thankfully I was able to do everything beside shooting which now makes a lot of sense since I couldn’t grip a basketball.” Ionescu took a few weeks to see if the injury would heal on its own after the season was over. She got a few opinions from doctors before deciding that surgery was the best option. This is the first time that Ionescu is taking part in an offseason league. “I’m excited. Obviously it's a great opportunity to be able to play and continue to refine my game in the offseason," she said. “It’s a great opportunity to compete against the best players in the league that are now in Unrivaled.” It has been a busy year for the former Oregon great, who also got married and earned an Olympic gold medal . “It’s been amazing. When I sit back and think about everything that happened this year, it puts a lot in perspective when things aren’t going as well,” she said. “I've had those years where everything was going wrong and then to have a year like this where you stop and smell the roses and everything you prayed and wished for happens.” AP WNBA: https://apnews.com/hub/wnba-basketball
President-elect Donald Trump on Saturday nominated Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law Jared Kushner, as the US ambassador to France, in the latest of several controversial picks. Kushner "is a tremendous business leader, philanthropist, & dealmaker, who will be a strong advocate representing our Country & its interests," Trump said on his Truth Social website, adding that Jared "worked closely with me in the White House." The choice is in keeping with Trump's pattern, so far, of selecting people, often wealthy, who are close to his family or of proven loyalty. Kushner is a multimillionaire real estate executive and former attorney; his son was a senior adviser during Trump's first term. Trump did not mention, however, that the elder Kushner once served jail time -- a two-year sentence, most of it served in a federal prison. Kushner, who is now 70, pleaded guilty in 2004 to 18 counts of tax evasion, witness tampering and making illegal campaign contributions. The case, which was prosecuted by then US attorney Chris Christie, included sordid details, to which Kushner admitted: that he had hired a prostitute to seduce his brother-in-law, a man cooperating in a campaign finance inquiry, and then videotaped the encounter and sent it to the man's wife, Kushner's sister, to dissuade her from testifying against him. Christie, who worked on Trump's first presidential transition team and then opposed him in this year's Republican primary contests, later said Kushner had committed a "loathsome" and "disgusting crime." In 2020, Trump issued a pardon to Kushner, whose conviction had resulted in him being disbarred in three states. Nominees for key ambassadorships are often business associates of a president-elect, or major political donors. But it is rare, if not unprecedented, to name a convicted felon. The first two men to fill the prestigious Paris post were famed inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin and a future president, Thomas Jefferson. If confirmed, Kushner would succeed Denise Bauer, a former ambassador to Belgium who was a major Democratic fundraiser and donor. md/bbk/mdFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — , an environmental services company specializing in methane abatement operations, took numerous steps in 2024 to accelerate the Company’s profitability and commercial momentum. Specifically, Zefiro’s success over the past twelve months can be attributed to its execution of the Company’s strategy to expand its commercial footprint in critical marketplaces across North America and generate industry-leading, via an expanding, nationwide orphaned oil and gas well plugging operation. By actively advancing numerous strategic initiatives and bolstering its internal infrastructure throughout 2024, Zefiro is poised to remain at the forefront of the environmental services industry and reach yet another slate of notable accomplishments in the year ahead. The Company’s 2024 highlights include: Zefiro Founder and Chief Executive Officer Talal Debs commented, “From our plugging crews completing projects across the country to our expert team of carbon market specialists connecting with customers throughout the world, we have strived to invest in the resources needed to position each of our dedicated team members for success. The string of new milestones that we have been able to achieve over the past twelve months is directly linked to our senior management team’s commitment to that process, and I am incredibly proud that the progress that our team has earned in 2024 will guide our positive commercial momentum well into the future.” Zefiro Chief Financial Officer Mohit Gupta commented, “2024 has been a transformative year for Zefiro, and our ability to garner sustainable, increasing returns for our investors is a direct result of the unwavering dedication and expertise of our entire team. Through consistent execution of our comprehensive, client service-oriented strategy, we have established our position as a market leader, forged a consistent pipeline of project opportunities, and helped more communities safeguard public health.” Zefiro is an environmental services company, specializing in methane abatement. Zefiro strives to be a key commercial force towards Active Sustainability. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, Zefiro is building a new toolkit to clean up air, land, and water sources directly impacted by methane leaks. The Company has built a fully integrated ground operation driven by an innovative monetization solution for the emerging methane abatement marketplace. As an originator of high-quality U.S.-based methane offsets, Zefiro aims to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns. On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Company, “Talal Debs” Talal Debs, Founder & CEO Zefiro Investor Relations 1 (800) 274-ZEFI (274-9334) Rich Myers – Profile Advisors (New York) +1 (347) 774-1125 This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as “seeks”, “believes”, “plans”, “expects”, “intends”, “estimates”, “anticipates” and statements that an event or result “may”, “will”, “should”, “could” or “might” occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information including statements regarding: the Company’s intention to reduce emissions from end-of-life oil and gas wells and eliminate methane gas; the Company’s partnerships with industry operators, state agencies, and federal governments; the Company’s expectations for continued increases in revenues and EBITDA growth as a result of these partnerships; the Company’s intentions to build out its presence in the United States; the anticipated federal funding for orphaned well site plugging, remediation and restoring activities; the Company’s expectations to become a growing environmental services company; the Company’s ability to provide institutional and retail investors alike with the opportunity to join the Active Sustainability movement; the Company’s ability to generate long-term economic, environmental, and social returns; and other statements regarding the Company’s business and the industry in which the Company operates. The forward-looking information reflects management’s current expectations based on information currently available and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that may cause outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking information. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed timeframes or at all. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: (i) adverse general market and economic conditions; (ii) changes to and price and volume volatility in the carbon market; (iii) changes to the regulatory landscape and global policies applicable to the Company’s business; (iv) failure to obtain all necessary regulatory approvals; and (v) other risk factors set forth in its Prospectus dated April 8, 2024 under the heading “Risk Factors”. The Company operates in a rapidly evolving environment where technologies are in the early stage of adoption. New risk factors emerge from time to time, and it is impossible for the Company’s management to predict all risk factors, nor can the Company assess the impact of all factors on Company’s business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ from those contained in any forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release is based on the opinions and assumptions of management considered reasonable as of the date hereof, including, but not limited to, the assumption that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information. The forward-looking information included in this news release is made as of the date of this news release and the Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Disclosures relating to investor relations firms retained by Zefiro Methane Corp. can be found under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at . A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
By HALELUYA HADERO The emergence of generative artificial intelligence tools that allow people to efficiently produce novel and detailed online reviews with almost no work has put merchants , service providers and consumers in uncharted territory, watchdog groups and researchers say. Related Articles National News | Bluesky finds with growth comes growing pains — and bots National News | Mega Millions jackpot nears $1 billion ahead of Christmas Eve drawing National News | The Container Store, buffeted by rough housing market and competition, seeks bankruptcy protection National News | An ex-police officer is convicted of lying about leaks to the Proud Boys leader National News | 2 US Navy pilots shot down over Red Sea in apparent ‘friendly fire’ incident, US military says Phony reviews have long plagued many popular consumer websites, such as Amazon and Yelp. They are typically traded on private social media groups between fake review brokers and businesses willing to pay. Sometimes, such reviews are initiated by businesses that offer customers incentives such as gift cards for positive feedback. But AI-infused text generation tools, popularized by OpenAI’s ChatGPT , enable fraudsters to produce reviews faster and in greater volume, according to tech industry experts. The deceptive practice, which is illegal in the U.S. , is carried out year-round but becomes a bigger problem for consumers during the holiday shopping season , when many people rely on reviews to help them purchase gifts. Fake reviews are found across a wide range of industries, from e-commerce, lodging and restaurants, to services such as home repairs, medical care and piano lessons. The Transparency Company, a tech company and watchdog group that uses software to detect fake reviews, said it started to see AI-generated reviews show up in large numbers in mid-2023 and they have multiplied ever since. For a report released this month, The Transparency Company analyzed 73 million reviews in three sectors: home, legal and medical services. Nearly 14% of the reviews were likely fake, and the company expressed a “high degree of confidence” that 2.3 million reviews were partly or entirely AI-generated. “It’s just a really, really good tool for these review scammers,” said Maury Blackman, an investor and advisor to tech startups, who reviewed The Transparency Company’s work and is set to lead the organization starting Jan. 1. In August, software company DoubleVerify said it was observing a “significant increase” in mobile phone and smart TV apps with reviews crafted by generative AI. The reviews often were used to deceive customers into installing apps that could hijack devices or run ads constantly, the company said. The following month, the Federal Trade Commission sued the company behind an AI writing tool and content generator called Rytr, accusing it of offering a service that could pollute the marketplace with fraudulent reviews. The FTC, which this year banned the sale or purchase of fake reviews, said some of Rytr’s subscribers used the tool to produce hundreds and perhaps thousands of reviews for garage door repair companies, sellers of “replica” designer handbags and other businesses. Max Spero, CEO of AI detection company Pangram Labs, said the software his company uses has detected with almost certainty that some AI-generated appraisals posted on Amazon bubbled up to the top of review search results because they were so detailed and appeared to be well thought-out. But determining what is fake or not can be challenging. External parties can fall short because they don’t have “access to data signals that indicate patterns of abuse,” Amazon has said. Pangram Labs has done detection for some prominent online sites, which Spero declined to name due to non-disclosure agreements. He said he evaluated Amazon and Yelp independently. Many of the AI-generated comments on Yelp appeared to be posted by individuals who were trying to publish enough reviews to earn an “Elite” badge, which is intended to let users know they should trust the content, Spero said. The badge provides access to exclusive events with local business owners. Fraudsters also want it so their Yelp profiles can look more realistic, said Kay Dean, a former federal criminal investigator who runs a watchdog group called Fake Review Watch. To be sure, just because a review is AI-generated doesn’t necessarily mean its fake. Some consumers might experiment with AI tools to generate content that reflects their genuine sentiments. Some non-native English speakers say they turn to AI to make sure they use accurate language in the reviews they write. “It can help with reviews (and) make it more informative if it comes out of good intentions,” said Michigan State University marketing professor Sherry He, who has researched fake reviews. She says tech platforms should focus on the behavioral patters of bad actors, which prominent platforms already do, instead of discouraging legitimate users from turning to AI tools. Prominent companies are developing policies for how AI-generated content fits into their systems for removing phony or abusive reviews. Some already employ algorithms and investigative teams to detect and take down fake reviews but are giving users some flexibility to use AI. Spokespeople for Amazon and Trustpilot, for example, said they would allow customers to post AI-assisted reviews as long as they reflect their genuine experience. Yelp has taken a more cautious approach, saying its guidelines require reviewers to write their own copy. “With the recent rise in consumer adoption of AI tools, Yelp has significantly invested in methods to better detect and mitigate such content on our platform,” the company said in a statement. The Coalition for Trusted Reviews, which Amazon, Trustpilot, employment review site Glassdoor, and travel sites Tripadvisor, Expedia and Booking.com launched last year, said that even though deceivers may put AI to illicit use, the technology also presents “an opportunity to push back against those who seek to use reviews to mislead others.” “By sharing best practice and raising standards, including developing advanced AI detection systems, we can protect consumers and maintain the integrity of online reviews,” the group said. The FTC’s rule banning fake reviews, which took effect in October, allows the agency to fine businesses and individuals who engage in the practice. Tech companies hosting such reviews are shielded from the penalty because they are not legally liable under U.S. law for the content that outsiders post on their platforms. Tech companies, including Amazon, Yelp and Google, have sued fake review brokers they accuse of peddling counterfeit reviews on their sites. The companies say their technology has blocked or removed a huge swath of suspect reviews and suspicious accounts. However, some experts say they could be doing more. “Their efforts thus far are not nearly enough,” said Dean of Fake Review Watch. “If these tech companies are so committed to eliminating review fraud on their platforms, why is it that I, one individual who works with no automation, can find hundreds or even thousands of fake reviews on any given day?” Consumers can try to spot fake reviews by watching out for a few possible warning signs , according to researchers. Overly enthusiastic or negative reviews are red flags. Jargon that repeats a product’s full name or model number is another potential giveaway. When it comes to AI, research conducted by Balázs Kovács, a Yale professor of organization behavior, has shown that people can’t tell the difference between AI-generated and human-written reviews. Some AI detectors may also be fooled by shorter texts, which are common in online reviews, the study said. However, there are some “AI tells” that online shoppers and service seekers should keep it mind. Panagram Labs says reviews written with AI are typically longer, highly structured and include “empty descriptors,” such as generic phrases and attributes. The writing also tends to include cliches like “the first thing that struck me” and “game-changer.”None