Daily Roanoke – Bias and Credibility

Detailed Report

Questionable Reasoning: Imposter Site, Lack of Transparency, Misleading Content
Bias Rating: LEAST BIASED (0.0)
Factual Reporting: MIXED (6.1)
Country: USA
MBFC’s Country Freedom Rating: MOSTLY FREE
Media Type: Website
Traffic/Popularity: Minimal Traffic
MBFC Credibility Rating: LOW CREDIBILITY

History

Daily Roanoke is part of an extensive network of AI-generated local newsletters initially launched by Good Daily Inc., a company founded in 2023 by engineer Matthew Henderson. In July 2025, the network, which spanned over 350 small and mid-sized towns, was acquired by 6AM City, a digital media company known for running human-edited newsletters in cities like Greenville, SC, and Knoxville, TN.

Under Good Daily, the network was widely criticized for using fabricated testimonials and concealing its use of artificial intelligence (AI) to generate content. According to Nieman Lab, the newsletters operated under a false pretense of local community connection while being entirely automated from New York.

Following the acquisition by 6AM City, fake testimonials were removed, and the new owner committed to gradually aligning the newsletters with its editorial and ethical standards. However, Daily Roanoke remains AI-generated and unedited by human staff.

The newsletter is based in Roanoke, Virginia; however, 6AM City is run out of South Carolina, despite its emphasis on local communities.

Read our profile on the United States Media and Government.

Funded by / Ownership

Daily Roanoke is owned by 6AM City, a South Carolina–based media company. It is monetized through:

• Email Advertising: Revenue from national and local business sponsors.
• Scalable In-House Content: Includes college rankings and lifestyle content periodically inserted across markets.
• Audience Growth: The newsletters are free and function as lead generators for future “core market” expansion.

While ownership is now clear, the newsletter does not disclose that its content is produced by AI, nor does it identify any editorial staff or local reporters.

Analysis / Bias

Daily Roanoke presents itself as a local newsletter focused on community events, weather, business openings, and culture. It avoids politics and crime stories, making it Least Biased in tone and content.

Despite this neutrality, several concerns persist:

• AI-Generated Without Disclosure: The newsletter is written by large language models with no indication to readers that it is automated. There is no human oversight, bylines, or editorial process in place.
• Uniform Structure Across Cities: Like its companion publications, Daily Roanoke follows a nearly identical design and structure to newsletters in other markets, with little evidence of real community reporting.
• Continued Scraping of Local Media: The newsletter pulls content from local outlets without formal partnerships or licensing agreements. This practice drew a cease-and-desist from the News/Media Alliance in March 2025 for potential violations of paywalls and robot.txt protocols.
• No Local Engagement: There is no evidence of local staff, community engagement, or partnerships with local nonprofits or media, despite branding that emphasizes “Waco news.”

While 6AM City has expressed intentions to improve transparency and may eventually add editors to some of these “seed markets,” that has not yet occurred.

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Daily Roanoke is a newsletter owned by 6AM City and produced entirely by artificial intelligence. While transparency has improved under new ownership and fabricated testimonials have been removed, the site still lacks editorial oversight and does not disclose its AI-based content model to readers. Due to these persistent issues, it remains Least Biased, but earns a Questionable rating in terms of factual reliability. (D. Van Zandt (06/14/2025)