AI Fake News and Energy Shifts | Durham News

Durham News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Jul 17, 2026 · 2m

Fake news is flooding North Carolina’s digital landscape, with AI-generated bylines like “Ryan Fletcher” and “Edith Carmichael” powering sites such as “Hey Durham” and “Hoodline”—some republishing local stories for clicks, others pushing agendas, all while eroding trust in real journalism. Meanwhile, Duke Energy’s new tariffs aim to manage power demands from booming data centers, including costly exit fees and emergency usage controls. Complicating matters further, a North Carolina senator’s husband’s energy company faces fraud allegations that cost consumers hundreds of millions, while the…