HARO Rejects 32% of Journalist Requests

Highlights

• Phoenix, Ariz., August 11, 2026
• Key numbers from the data
• 2 million+: <p>Pitches processed through HARO, Connectively, and Featured to date.</p>
• 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
• Now: 20
• Next: 40
• 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.
• H · Helpful · Answer the actual question the journalist asked. · A · Authentic · Make sure you're genuinely qualified to speak on the topic. · R · Relevant · Skip the generic AI fluff that doesn't address the request. · O · On time · Don't wait until five minutes before the deadline.
• One Platform, Three Brands
• How Featured, HARO, and Connectively fit together