Reddit's Pro-publisher move, lessons in AI adoption, and trouble in Meta's virtual paradise

Publishers strike back, splitting (some) of the AI pie, and new lawsuits - all in this week's Content Aware.

Published: 15:06, 11 September 2025

Corbidge comments on...the return of licensing
As copyright rules shift beneath our feet, publishers are racing to lock down their content and close their doors to those pesky AI crawlers. Enter the Really Simple Licensing (RSL) standard, a clever and machine-readable "do not disturb" sign backed by Quora, Reddit, and others, which aims to put clear rules between creators and hungry bots. Meanwhile, ProRata is also doing their part and helping bring transparency to the chaos. Our resident content connoisseur Rob ponders on how publishers can get more control, and a fair cut, in this wild, wild AI frontier.
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Reddit Pro levels up: new tools and smarter reading
Reddit just rolled out a fresh batch of free tools for publishers via Reddit Pro, letting them spy on how their articles perform, sync RSS feeds, and get some AI hints on where to grow their stories in the sprawling Reddit jungle. After a sneaky test done with names such as The Atlantic and NBC News, Reddit is now opening the beta doors to more publishers. They haven't forgotten about the free users either, smoothing the news-reading ride and removing awkward toggling between reading and commenting. And as a bonus, no more subreddit member counts, now we have a sleek seven-day visitor tally to show who's really dropping by.
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No more Mr. Nice Publisher
AI bots are taking everything they can, and publishers are done playing nice. A new study from ImmuniWeb shows that media and academic institutions are leading the charge in blocking AI crawlers, with 83% of leading newspapers and 74% of academic journals closing the doors. Now we have over 250 lawsuits pending in the US alone, where tech giants are accused of scraping, copyright infringement, and pirated data. The options are more than clear: either deploy bot-blocking defences or prepare for a long and expensive date with the legal system.
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Judge puts Anthropic's settlement on ice
Judge William Alsup has stayed Anthropic's record-breaking $1.5 billion piracy settlement with writers, criticising it for leaving key details unresolved, such as the exact list of authors and works involved, how claims would be handled as well as how class action members would be notified. The case even has led one writer to recommend that the US invoke the Defense Production Act to end such copyright lawfare. Judge Alsup has pushed back and demanded clearer terms and protections to prevent future lawsuits before giving it the green light. Poorly defined settlements make for bad law.
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PR call or robocall?
Press Gazette continues its digging into dubious sources and mystery citations, and looks at the claims of PR firms turning to the AI well for their stories.
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Slicing up the AI saucisson
Some French publishers are handing journalists a cut of AI licensing cash thanks to "neighbouring rights" laws, think of it as the government telling publishers "sharing is caring". Big names such as Le Monde are now splitting up to 25% of their AI earnings with newsroom unions. NiemanLab asks if such arrangements could work elsewhere, such as in the US. We won't hold our breath on that one. Still, it's illustrative of the developing fight over the AI pie.
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News Corp and AI: no rushing, just results
News Corp Australia has been cautious in its adoption of AI in the newsroom. Six key pillars have been established by a specially-tasked ethics board in its use, six pillars that any and all AI utilisation must adhere to in order to be viable to the business. We particularly like "You hit publish, the AI does not."
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Meta's VR meltdown
Whistleblowers have yet again pulled back the curtain on Meta, this time exposing how the company allegedly muzzled its own safety research, particularly hinting at their VR and AR playgrounds which might be harming kids. Insiders say that Meta hit the brakes on youth safety studies, scrubbing data, silencing questions, and rerouting research. The end goal was to avoid leaving a paper trail which might lead to lawsuits, or accountability. American senators are not amused, and with the Kids Online Safety Act approaching in the US, Meta is trying to use the same old excuses: selective leaks, false narratives, and the good, old "we did nothing wrong".
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Guess less, doubt more
OpenAI wants to shed some light on why GPT-5 still confidently makes things up, and they are saying it's partly because the model was trained on polished language without ever being told what's true and what isn't. But the real problem, according to them, are the tests. The current evaluations reward lucky guesses but don't penalise confident nonsense. OpenAI now wants to change the rules: punish bold wrong answers and reward honest uncertainty.
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Warner Bros. takes aim at Midjourney
Warner Bros. Discovery just dropped a copyright bomb on Midjourney, who allowed their users to whip up everyone's favourite Batman, Scooby Doo, and Bugs Bunny without so much as a licensing nod. Following in Universal's and Disney footsteps, Warner Bros. is accusing Midjourney of ignoring copyright laws, while Midjourney is just choosing to ignore it all and continue churning out AI art like nothing's happening, for now at least. However, with every new copyright battle unfolding, the AI playground is getting less and less fun.
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The news traffic drought 
Google's AI Overviews are quietly cutting into the traffic of news sites, with some publishers seeing click-throughs plunge by up to 89%. It turns out that users are content with letting AI Overviews do all the heavy lifting, skipping the click and leaving publishers to scramble for revenue. In a predictable "uh-oh" moment, media executives are warning that Google's new AI Mode could crank this even further, creating a full-blown crisis. Publishers are gearing up with lawsuits as well as fresh tactics - think better content and chasing audiences on other platforms - while Google insists that it still sends billions of clicks their way and claims their engagement is off the charts.
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