November 30, 2023
Sports Illustrated Published Articles Written By Fake, AI-Generated Writers
Sports Illustrated, once the go-to publication for sports news and information, has been accused of using articles published by fake, AI-generated writers.
Sports Illustrated, a go-to publication for sports news and information, has been accused of using articles published by fake, AI-generated writers.
An article published by Futurism accused the longtime sports magazine and website of not only using AI-generated articles but covering them up by creating generic names and profiles, including stock images of writers the sports site claims are staff writers.
Futurism added that when it contacted The Arena Group concerning the issue, all the AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated’s site without explanation.
According to the article, Sports Illustrated writer Drew Ortiz, who has written several articles for the site, does not exist outside of Sports Illustrated and has no social media presence or publishing history. Additionally Ortiz’ profile photo on the site is for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, where the photo is described as a “neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes.”
Sports Illustrated is published by The Arena Group.
According to Futurism, Ortiz isn’t the only AI-generated writer that Sports Illustrated was allegedly using. The article cites people involved in creating the AI-generated content whose names were kept secret in order to avoid repercussions from Sports Illustrated.
“The content is absolutely AI-generated,” the second source said, “no matter how much they say that it’s not.”
Additionally, Futurism claimed the writing by the AI-generated authors “often sound like it was written by an alien,” and provided an example of a story that warned that volleyball “can be a little tricky to get into, especially without an actual ball to practice with.”
The revelation has led to significant backlash for Sports Illustrated including toward its human writers. The editorial staff at Sports Illustrated, which has its own union, released a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying they were “horrified” by the news.
“We demand answers and transparency from Arena Group management about what exactly has been published under the Sports Illustrated name. We demand the company commit to adhering to basic journalistic standards, including not publishing computer-written stories by fake people,” the union wrote in a statement.
The Hill reports that a spokesperson for The Arena Group, said the articles in question were licensed from a third-party company, AdVon Commerce, which “has assured us that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans.”
The spokesperson added, “We strongly condemn these actions and that the group has since ended its partnership with AdVon.” The Arena Group also said it was removing all of the content from AdVon online.
This isn’t the first issue to arise between a large publication and its staff writers. When the New York Times purchased the online sports publication The Athletic in 2022, it was met with skepticism and trepidation by the writers on the Times sports staff.
Their fears were realized when the Times announced this summer that it would disband its sports staff and instead would primarily use stories from The Athletic in its papers and websites.
In addition to Sports Illustrated, The Arena Group also publishes Parade, Surfer Magazine, Men’s Journal, and more.
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