Kelowna businessman and political strategist Larry Gray appears to be behind a series of website with AI-generated news content and op-eds calling for a new BC Conservative leader.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Tracy Gray
September 06, 2025 - 5:00 AM
A handful of new websites launched in BC recently purporting to be the "independent voice" of news in their regions, but the paths trace back to a longtime conservative strategist from Kelowna.
At least three news websites focused on BC politics, with some particular focus on Kamloops, are posting stories that appear to be entirely generated by artificial intelligence. Some give what seems to be unbiased information about current events, while it also features several opinion columns, all authored by "News Desk."
Its first column called for John Rustad to be ousted as leader of the BC Conservatives, and its most recent editorial picked Port Coquitlam's mayor as the leader Conservatives "need."
"If Rustad remains leader, the party risks electoral collapse; under (Brad) West, the Conservatives have a realistic path to victory," reads the Aug. 15 column by "News Desk."
The ownership behind them isn't clearly advertised and they lack typical newsroom staff and information, but iNFOnews.ca has traced it back to Kelowna conservative strategist Larry Gray.
Gray, who is married to former MP Tracy Gray and owns the digital marketing company Gray Matter, has a lengthy political resume. Most recently it included a stint as MLA Gavin Dew's campaign manager in the provincial election.
The stories on the websites appear innocuous and generally fact-based, though clearly AI-generated, compiling what's publicly available without reporting new information.
The sleek websites appear to have published their first stories this summer, each claiming to cover the coast, Kamloops and the Okanagan.
Though not forward-facing, Gray's contact information could be found on the Kamloops-focused website, thompsoncurrent.ca. He initially responded and denied to comment when iNFOnews.ca reached out to a generic email address on the site.
"We are just getting started so when I have our editor in place I will reach out again," an emailed response from Larry Gray said.
Ordered from right to left, Larry, Tracy and Daniel Gray are pictured together after attending the 2025 BC Conservative Party annual general meeting in Nanaimo.
Image Credit: INSTAGRAM/Larry Gray
Though not published for readers, his Gray Matter Digital phone number was discovered within the Thompson Current website's code, further identifying the conservative strategist and campaign donor. He did not respond to a follow-up phone call.
Aside from the Conservative Party-related columns, there are others like a criticism of BC government deficits and the controversial out-of-country BC Ferries contracts. Some news stories, appearing as reporting, cover air hazards in Vancouver, international liquor trade tensions and civic projects in Kamloops.
A couple Kamloops stories also include incorrect, AI-generated incorrect versions of the city's coat of arms and a corporate logo.
The same stories, even the locally-focused Kamloops posts, are published to all three websites. Whether they are simply a business venture as an AI-generated news publication, or part of a political strategy related to the BC Conservatives, isn't clear.
The three websites can be found here: the Thompson Current, the Westcoast Current and the Okanagan Current.
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