Dozens of stories have been deleted and amended by leading publishers after a Press Gazette investigation into fake and dubious experts being widely quoted in the UK and US media.

The story exposed a troubling trend of fake profiles commenting in response to online journalists’ requests, targeting lifestyle features and possibly using AI to generate both profiles and comments.

Companies selling CBD oil, sex toys, vapes and essay writing services are apparently seeking to game the Google algorithm to achieve higher rankings in search by associating themselves with ‘expert’ voices and gaining links from bona-fide news outlets.