Penske Media—the parent of Rolling Stone and The Hollywood Reporter—says the same thing is happening to them. As reporter Thomas Barrabi wrote in the New York Post on September 15, 2025, Penske has sued Google, accusing it of ripping off articles and causing millions of dollars in harm.
If a giant like Penske is hurting, what chance do smaller writers like us have?
Google’s AI Overviews & What They Really Do
Barrabi explains how Google’s “AI Overviews” now appear above normal search results. People see AI’s quick summaries before they see the links. Why would they bother clicking on the real article?
Penske says Google forces publishers into a cruel choice: Let AI take your work for free, or get buried in search results. What would you choose: vanish, or give away your words?
The lawsuit says Google is not just cutting into profits. It is creating an “unrecognizable Internet” where people stay inside Google’s walls.
If readers never leave Google, how long before your website traffic dries up, too?
The Pain of Lost Traffic
Penske isn’t small. It owns Rolling Stone, Variety, and Deadline. Yet even with that power, Barrabi reports that they’ve lost search impressions, readers, and ad revenue.
Think about that. If they can lose millions, what happens to a small blog like mine? Or yours?
Barrabi writes that 20% of Google searches now show AI Overviews above the links. Imagine one out of every five people who would have visited your site… now gone.
Do you see why this feels like being erased?
What Google Claims
Google says the opposite. In Barrabi’s report, Google spokesperson Jose Castaneda argues that AI Overviews help sites by sending more traffic. They call Penske’s claims “meritless.”
But Penske disagrees. They say Google is taking “illegal profits” from their work. Two stories. Two sides. Who’s telling the truth?
And as a small creator, who do you think is easier to believe—the giant tech company, or the publisher watching its revenue bleed away?
Why This Case Matters for Everyone
This is bigger than one lawsuit. Penske warns that AI Overviews are filling the internet with shallow, sometimes false answers. Can we trust a system that once claimed Eminem performed at Jeff Bezos’s mother’s funeral?
Barrabi notes that mistake. And it matters. Because if AI makes errors while using your reporting, who do readers blame? You.
How safe is your reputation if AI uses your words and twists them?
Others Are Fighting, Too
Penske is not alone. Barrabi highlights how Chegg sued Google earlier this year, saying the same thing: Google’s AI “retained traffic” that used to go to them.
At the same time, some publishers are striking licensing deals with Google or OpenAI. But others? They’re going to court. What does that tell us? No one is ignoring it. Everyone knows what’s at stake.
Even the Justice Department found Google guilty of an illegal monopoly over search. Still, the remedy was light, and Google kept much of its power. What happens when a company with that much control also owns the flow of your words?
Why Magazine Coalition Is the Answer
There’s a way to fight back. That way is the Magazine Coalition.
We stand with creators who feel unseen and unheard. We give you resources to protect your work, show you how to push back, and connect you with others facing the same fight. Together, we are not just a single voice crying out. We are a chorus too loud to ignore.
We also offer real solutions—from practical licensing guides to advocacy that amplifies your rights. If Penske’s lawsuit is the wake-up call, Magazine Coalition is the action plan.
So, ask yourself: Do you want to face this alone, or with a community at your back?
The Choice Is Here
Barrabi’s story makes one thing clear: The internet is changing. Google wants to keep readers inside its walls. Penske says that move costs publishers millions.
But this fight isn’t just theirs. It’s ours. Bloggers. Journalists. Creators. Anyone who builds something real online.
What happens if we stay silent? What happens if we let AI turn our work into empty blurbs?
Or… what happens if we fight together?
Don’t Wait—Join Us
The internet is too important to give away for free. Your work has value. Your voice has power. Don’t let AI take it away.
Join the Magazine Coalition today. Protect your words. Protect your revenue. Protect your future.
Together, we can write a better ending than the one Google has in mind.
FAQs: Penske, Google, and AI Overviews
Q: What is Google’s AI Overviews?
A: It’s an AI summary tool at the top of search results.
Q: Why did Penske sue Google?
A: They say AI Overviews stole articles and cost them millions.
Q: What harm do publishers see?
A: Falling traffic, lost ad revenue, and stolen content value.
Q: What mistake did AI Overviews make?
A: It falsely claimed Eminem performed at a funeral.
Q: How does Google respond?
A: They deny wrongdoing and say AI Overviews help publishers.
Q: Is Penske the only one suing?
A: No. Chegg and others have also filed lawsuits.
Q: What does Penske want?
A: An injunction to stop Google and financial damages.
Q: Are some companies making deals instead?
A: Yes. Outlets like News Corp and the Financial Times cut licensing deals.
Q: Why does this matter to small bloggers?
A: If big media loses millions, smaller creators risk disappearing.
