In a digital media landscape increasingly flooded with AI-generated content and questionable “experts,” Featured.com has made a timely and strategic move: the acquisition and revival of Help a Reporter Out (HARO) from Cision.
HARO, launched in 2008, earned its reputation as a vital tool for journalists seeking expert insights and professionals looking to earn media coverage. Under Featured’s leadership, HARO will return to its original mission — helping journalists find real human expertise — at a time when that need has never been greater.
This is the perfect time to bring HARO back. As AI floods the internet with generic content, journalists need credible, human sources more than ever. Our goal is to preserve what made HARO great, while modernizing it for today’s media landscape.
Guarding Against AI Fakery and Spam
The acquisition comes just as concerns mount around AI-generated personas duping journalists — fake experts with AI-written bios, AI-generated headshots, and chatbot-composed quotes.
So, how will Featured prevent bad actors from gaming the system?
At Featured, we’ve built a multi-layered approach to expert vetting — combining AI signals (like content originality, AI headshot detection, and behavioral patterns) with human review, LinkedIn verification, and community reporting. For HARO, we’ll carry those safeguards over and expand them further.
If an expert misrepresents their credentials, relies on AI-generated pitches, or submits irrelevant, low-effort responses, they’ll be banned. Journalists will also have built-in tools to flag spammers or unhelpful responses, ensuring tighter quality control with every query.
Still, we acknowledge the complexity of maintaining quality in today’s fast-paced editorial environments.
The best guardrail is encouraging journalists to verify the source before featuring them — but that’s hard in a ‘do more with less’ world. The only way to truly combat AI fakery is through shared responsibility: the platform, the journalist, and the source each have a role to play.
What’s Next for HARO?
HARO will remain free for both journalists and sources, supported by newsletter sponsorships. The original format — journalists submitting questions, and experts replying directly via email — will remain intact, with modern enhancements to make the process faster and more secure.
Those interested in early access can sign up at www.helpareporter.com.
The acquisition is backed by Great North Ventures, a firm known for investing in community-driven platforms.
“This investment reflects our belief in platforms that create trusted, expert-driven content,” said Rob Weber, Managing Partner at Great North Ventures. “We’re excited to support Featured in bringing HARO back.”
With this acquisition, Featured doubles down on its mission to unlock human knowledge and make it more accessible to the media — all while defending journalism from the growing wave of AI impersonation.
Building for the Future of Media
The revival of HARO is just one part of Featured’s broader strategy to support the evolving needs of journalists and content creators. As media teams shrink and deadlines tighten, Featured is investing in tools that make it easier to surface credible insights quickly — including smarter matching algorithms, expert directories, and AI-assisted workflows that enhance, rather than replace, human contribution. The goal: a future where technology supports transparency and trust, not misinformation.
