> The reason the firms do not want to invest in making fact-checking a first-class feature is that the appearance of being right is what people want from AI.
No, actually being right is what people want from AI, "the appearance of being right" is all that AI companies can deliver. It comes with the benefit that many people will be fooled into thinking that AI is more capable/useful than it actually is. AI companies have to either convince others that their product is something that it isn't, or that at least it will one day be something much more than it is.