HARO Rejects Nearly One In Three Journalist Requests, Data Shows
A conversation with Featured founder Brett Farmiloe, reported by Jill Schildhouse, reveals the numbers behind HARO's return — including how many pitches are AI-generated, how often users get banned, and why roughly a third of journalist requests never make it to publication.
Key numbers from the data
- 2 million+
Pitches processed through HARO, Connectively, and Featured to date.
- 100 million
Emails sent connecting journalists with sources.
- 21%
Of pitches submitted through HARO are completely AI-generated.
- 35%
Of journalists now choose to block AI-generated pitches when submitting a query.
- 32%
Of journalist requests are rejected before they're ever published.
- Every 23 minutes
A user is banned from the platform, mostly for spam or terms-of-service violations.
“”We've seen fake profiles, fake credentials, misinformation — you name it. The good typically comes from fully human teams. Real relationship building. Real information and credentials. Real stories that matter.
Why So Many Requests Get Rejected
Every journalist request submitted to HARO goes through a multi-step review that verifies both the journalist and the publication before anything is published. The HARO team also investigates reports submitted by the community, which is how Farmiloe discovered his own father was charging podcast guests for interviews — and banned him, no exceptions.
On the pitch side, every submission is analyzed with AI detection technology, and journalists can flag unhelpful pitches for manual review. Farmiloe says bans typically stem from spam or terms-of-service violations, but every serious review includes a human decision-maker so legitimate users aren't wrongly removed.
Growth since HARO's return
- Now20
- Next40
Figures as reported by Featured founder Brett Farmiloe.
The H.A.R.O. Checklist
Farmiloe suggests PR pros stop thinking of HARO as just an acronym for Help A Reporter Out and start using it as a pre-send checklist.
One Platform, Three Brands
How Featured, HARO, and Connectively fit together
| Brand | Role |
|---|---|
| Featured | AI co-pilot for PR, managing HARO requests alongside podcasts, speaking, and bylined content |
| Help A Reporter Out (HARO) | Email-based journalist request newsletter, free for journalists and sources |
| Connectively | Expert insights platform that has surpassed 100,000 registered users |
About Featured
Featured is the AI co-pilot for PR, a platform that helps PR professionals and subject-matter experts land media placements, build brand authority, and grow AI visibility. The company owns and operates HARO (Help a Reporter Out) and Connectively as standalone products within its portfolio. Learn more at Featured.com.