What if the expert comment you just read in a news article wasn’t written by a human—but generated by AI?

On this episode of Stories and Strategies, hosts Farzana Baduel and Doug Downs discuss the controversy around Synapse, an AI-powered PR tool that promises to generate dozens of expert media pitches an hour, with minimal human input.

The tool scrapes podcasts, books, and reports to create “personal” quotes, even inventing anecdotes on behalf of clients. Some agencies say it’s a productivity win. But journalists are calling it what it is: deception.

This conversation unpacks what Synapse means for the future of public relations, the risk it poses to trust and credibility, and why now more than ever, real humans still matter in media relations.