Sports Illustrated - Fake AI Writers
2023
In 2023 the magazine Sports Illustrated faced a major scandal when an investigation revealed the magazine was publishing AI-generated articles. To hide it, the publisher created fake AI authors such as "Drew Ortiz" and "Sora Tanaka", complete with fabricated names, bios, and profile pictures. "Drew Ortiz" was portrayed as a keen outdoors man, he reportedly liked to “spend his weekends camping, hiking, or relaxing on his parents' farm”.
He had no digital footprint or publishing history outside of Sports Illustrated. His profile picture was traced back to a website selling AI-generated headshots, confirming he was not a real person. The AI-generated articles were often written in clumsy language and strange wording. For example, “Ortiz” wrote that volleyball “can be a little tricky to get into, especially without an actual ball to practice with.”
The failure was not just in the use of AI, but in the clumsy attempt to hide it. Once Futurism questioned the publisher, all AI-generated profiles were removed without any explanation. The Arena Group initially blamed a third party, contractor AdVon Commerce, claiming the articles were in fact written by humans and that the AI faces were merely "pen names." Yeah sure…
The staff at Sports Illustrated were appalled particularly as Arena Group had made large cuts to staff in recent years. Stock price of the parent company plummeted by 27% in a single day, and the CEO was fired just weeks later.
Additional info:
Futurism: Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers
The Washington Post: Sports Illustrated’s use of AI infuriates a staff already in turmoil
CNN - Business: Sports Illustrated publisher fires CEO after AI debacle