Coalition of hundreds of local and regional newspapers sues OpenAI and Microsoft

The lawsuit, filed by Platkin LLP on behalf of publishers of hundreds of newspapers across dozens of states, argues that OpenAI systematically and willfully stole millions of copyrighted news articles  

New York, NY — June 24, 2026 — Today, the largest coalition of local newspaper publishers ever assembled filed suit against OpenAI and Microsoft, with nearly 400 newspapers part of the coalition. Represented by Platkin LLP, a mission-driven law firm founded by former New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, the lawsuit alleges that the defendants systematically and willfully stole copyrighted news articles produced by local newspapers, used that content to train and build commercial AI products including ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, and reproduced or repurposed that reporting without permission or compensation.

The suit argues this violates longstanding protections under the Copyright Act. It also argues that OpenAI knowingly removed copyright management information from the publishers’ works, such as author credits, copyright notices, and terms of use information in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. OpenAI’s founder, Sam Altman, even acknowledged in his testimony before the British House of Lords, that it would be “impossible to train today’s leading AI models without using copyrighted materials.”

While major publications and authors have sued OpenAI and Microsoft for similar claims, this lawsuit represents the largest collective effort by local and regional papers to challenge AI companies for the unauthorized use of original reporting. These local newspapers operate on tight budgets and employ dedicated reporters who work every day to keep their communities informed. Meanwhile, OpenAI is generating enormous shareholder value and revenue using content they did not create.

“Local newspapers are the lifeblood of the communities they serve and among the most trusted institutions in America. This lawsuit on behalf of a group of publishers that produce hundreds of local and regional newspapers seeks to ensure these local publications creating original content will have meaningful protections in the AI era,” said former Attorney General of New Jersey and partner at Platkin LLP, Matt Platkin. “AI systems do not critically evaluate city council and community meetings. They don’t investigate local crimes and corruption, publish obituaries, or cover the new restaurant opening downtown. Local reporters do. This lawsuit is not about stopping AI innovation, but ensuring that innovation happens fairly and within the bounds of the law.”

At a time when local news faces mounting economic pressures and challenges, communities cannot afford to lose more of their trusted news sources. If tech companies can take and monetize original reporting without permission or compensation, local journalism will only continue to be hollowed out.

Many of these local publishers are family owned businesses. They employ local beat reporters, photographers, staff and manufacturing workers that support and bring transparency to the communities around them. The newspapers they publish have won numerous prizes, including the Pulitzer-Prize winning The Riverdale Press, the Concord Monitor, The Xenia Daily Gazette, and The Odessa American. They cover every type of community across America: from The New York Amsterdam News, New York City’s oldest Black-owned newspaper, to The Taos News, serving communities in northern New Mexico, to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the only newspaper that distributes across all 75 counties in the state. Now, OpenAI has used this legacy of work to build up their platform, without a cent of compensation for the original publishers. This lawsuit seeks to hold them fully accountable for every violation—past, present, and ongoing.

The Plaintiffs are the following publishers: Richner Communications, Inc.; AIM Media Indiana Operating, LLC; AIM Media Midwest Operating, LLC; AIM Media Texas Operating, LLC; AmNews Corp. d/b/a/ The New York Amsterdam News; Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Inc.; Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc.; CherryRoad Media Inc.; Community Impact Newspaper Co.; Concord Publishing House, Inc.; D-R Media and Investments, LLC; DA Publishing LC; Eagle Urban Media LLC; El Crepusculo, Inc.; H.S. Gere & Sons, Inc.; Iowa Information Inc.; Lakeway Publishers, Inc.; The New Mexican Inc.; Newspapers of Massachusetts, Inc.; Newspapers of New England, Inc.; Newspapers of New Hampshire, Inc.; North Country This Week, Inc.; The Ogden Newspapers, Inc.; Patchogue Advance, Inc.; Rust Publishing ID, LC; Rust Publishing MOKS, LC; Rust Publishing NE, LC; Rye Media Partners LLC; Sentinel Media Co., Inc.; Shaw Family Holdings, Inc.; Straus Media-Manhattan, LLC; Straus Newspapers, Inc.; WEHCO Newspapers, Inc.; White Mountain Publishing LLC; and Wick Communications.

For more information, visit platkinllp.com or contact PlatkinLLP@Orchestraco.com.