Every hardcore Warcraft fan knows who Glorbo is. If you don’t, then you might want to read up on your Warcraft lore.
Kidding aside, Glorbo isn’t real. It was an idea conjured up by a horde of Warcraft fans with one goal in mind: to troll an AI software and the site running it.
The fact that you’re reading this right now implies that humanity has one-upped our so-called future overlords.
I’m so excited they finally introduced Glorbo!!!
byu/kaefer_kriegerin inwow
In a scheme that melded wit, creativity, and a touch of mischief, the World of Warcraft community recently pulled a fast one on AI journalism, orchestrating an elaborate ruse centered around the entirely made-up character.
The architect of this ingenious scheme was u/kaefer_kriegerin, who, having noticed that the AI article generators were using the popular MMORPG’s subreddit for news stories, decided to pull a fast one on them. In an act of digital sleight of hand, kaefer_kriegerin published a post brimming with excitement about Glorbo.
The plan worked brilliantly – too well, in fact. An AI-powered website, Zleague.gg, soon published a piece detailing the anticipation for the introduction of Glorbo. In an ironic twist of fate, the AI “author” outperformed even the most dedicated human scribes, having published over 50 articles within a single day. But, amidst the seemingly unstoppable productivity, the AI failed to discern fact from fiction, and that’s where the plan hit paydirt.
According to Zleague, WoW players were reportedly thrilled about the incoming Glorbo, discussing its potential impacts on the game – impacts that, in reality, were nonexistent. Further fictional features, like the controversial “Klikclac” and “zoop,” were also picked up and incorporated into the AI-generated article.
In the spirit of the joke, other Reddit users and even WoW developer Kyle Hartline played along, contributing to the feigned hype. But the plot unraveled when kaefer_kriegerin declared victory, causing the farcical Zleague article to be taken down, though it still exists within the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
While it was a moment of victory for the WoW community, it also highlighted the pitfalls of AI journalism. As AI continues to play an increasingly prominent role in news creation, the incident serves as a stark reminder of the importance of human verification and journalistic integrity. This case exposed AI’s current inability to discern credibility, opening the door to potential misinformation and, in some instances, outright falsification.
The now-deleted Glorbo piece also found its way onto another site, The Portal, which later modified the post to tag it as a “Satire” post before removing it completely.
Notably, this isn’t an isolated incident of AI missteps. Despite such errors, AI-generated content remains on the rise. Yet, the Glorbo incident demonstrates that AI tools, while impressive, currently lack the discernment and validation that human journalists offer.
As AI technology evolves, this will undoubtedly become a critical point of contention. Developers like Ubisoft have explored AI tools for different uses, and Google is working on an AI tool to assist journalists. However, this episode with Glorbo has added a new wrinkle to the conversation.
