How fake cleaners have upturned journalism and PR

Over the past year, Press Gazette have been working on a pretty alarming investigation. They have uncovered around 1,000 articles in major news outlets including the BBC, The Telegraph, Metro and Vogue, that quote experts who are unverifiable, or in some cases, simply do not exist. One example that has really stuck with me is an expert who goes under the name of “Anne Simmons”, who is described as being a former royal cleaner at Buckingham Palace. Anne’s cleaning tips went viral, being published in the Daily Mail, The Sun, The Times, the Daily Mirror and even the New York Post. Conveniently, Anne’s press features included mentions and backlinks to gambling and cleaning companies, which would have helped support the organic rankings for these brands. A big win for the PR team behind Anne’s press articles. The problem? No one can verify that Anne Simmons exists, and Press Gazette have tried.

As part of their investigation, Press Gazette contacted Buckingham Palace who confirmed they have no record of an Anne Simmons working there. There’s no digital footprint for Anne; she just seems to suddenly appear in press articles around March 2025. Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated case. The investigation has found at least 50 fake experts featured in reputable news articles, who have no track record of being featured elsewhere, no verifiable experience, and in some cases, no real identity at all.

So, why is this happening?

All in the name of manipulating Google, of course. Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines – which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness (E-E-A-T), rewards credible content. As outlined in Google’s official documentation, content demonstrating first-hand experience (an author’s real-world involvement in a topic), expertise (clear credentials or deep knowledge), authoritativeness (reputable sources and endorsements) and trustworthiness (transparency, accuracy and safety) gets prioritised in organic search results. This means that businesses who do this right, have a competitive advantage on Google.

Building E-E-A-T signals through your On-site SEO efforts (technical and content) and your Off-site SEO efforts (PR / digital PR) takes time, skills and investment. So, some PR and SEO agencies found a work around. By creating or exaggerating experts and getting featured in the press, these signals can be manufactured. This issue is more widespread for industries for adult products or gambling, as earning consistent organic press for these vertices is harder – a lot harder.

Both PRs and journalists have been hit hard by this scandal. Multiple publishers including Reach PLC, the BBC, The Sun, Metro, HuffPost UK, Mail Online, The Telegraph and Yahoo News have removed articles including unverifiable experts, with some newsrooms issuing new multi-step verification policies for all in-house and freelance journalists.

On the PR side of things, both the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and The Public Relations and Communications Association wrote a joint letter to journalism organisations including the National Union of Journalists, The Chartered Institute of Journalists, and the British Association of Journalists, urging journalists to verify PR sources via their public registers.

Trust between PRs and journalists has always relied on good faith. This has been broken.

Whether involved or not, this is a reset moment for PR. It’s not enough to simply send a quote anymore, credentials need to be clear, and clients should be able to speak with journalists directly if requested. If something doesn’t feel right, it should be reported. Press Gazette have even created a public “PR hall of Shame” (I’m wincing as I write this) to tackle fake experts, which just says a lot about where we are.

Similarly, for the media, the stakes are high, if not higher. Verification must come first, and publishing bosses need to factor this in when mounting pressure on journalists to produce stories at scale. Because it’s not just an industry issue, fake experts and fake news have real consequences. Reader’s take advice from news stories, search engines and AI platforms to use in real-world scenarios. Whether they are searching for information on their health, how to look after a baby, a pet, or drive a car, most of us look online for advice and guidance when stuck. If readers can’t believe what they read, it isn’t just about losing a ranking or a click, we lose credibility, honesty, transparency and accountability – the very things journalism and Public Relations are built on.

The good news is, things that are broken can be rebuilt. But only if all parties take it seriously – businesses investing in PR and SEO included.  It’s crucial you speak with your PR specialists and find out what they need so they have all the tools to execute a strategy that is right for you, journalists and readers, and don’t leave anything up to interpretation or chance.

Looking for digital PR campaigns which earn real coverage, authority and trust? Our team are ready to talk.

By Josie Middleton