Sports Illustrated
AI editorial content generation at scale
In November 2023, Sports Illustrated was caught publishing product-recommendation articles bylined to fictitious authors with AI-generated portraits; the content was removed, the vendor partnership severed, and Arena's CEO fired.
Objective
Produce, at low cost, a volume of product-recommendation articles that generate affiliate revenue, via an external content vendor.
The deployment
On the Sports Illustrated site, product-recommendation articles appeared under the bylines of authors who did not exist. On November 27, 2023, Futurism revealed that bios such as that of Drew Ortiz used portraits bought on generated.photos, a site selling AI-generated faces. The fictitious authors (Drew Ortiz, Sora Tanaka, among others) disappeared from the site as soon as the magazine was questioned. The content came from the vendor AdVon Commerce, which told SI that it was written and edited by humans, but had its authors byline under pseudonyms.
Results Proof C
Initial Futurism investigation, picked up by established press (PBS NewsHour, Variety, CBS) that names Sports Illustrated and Arena Group and their statements. Consequences (CEO firing, loss of license) documented by Sportico.
How it works
Inferred typical approachThe internal detail is not public. Here is a proven approach that leads to the same result, to adapt to your stack.
The stack in detail
- integrateur AdVon Commerce external affiliate content vendor; it told SI that the texts were written and edited by humans, but bylined them under pseudonyms and, according to sources cited by Futurism, used at least in part automated text generation (tool not identified)
- outil generated.photos bank of AI-generated portraits where the faces of the fictitious authors (Drew Ortiz, Sora Tanaka) were bought
- infra Site editorial si.com publishing surface for the product-recommendation articles, with no SI control over the origin of the bylines
Post-mortem
GraveyardWhat happened sourced
Sports Illustrated published product-recommendation articles bylined to fictitious authors, with portraits bought on generated.photos. On November 27, 2023, Futurism exposed it; the profiles disappeared from the site at the first questions. Arena Group attributed the content to the vendor AdVon Commerce, removed the articles, and severed the partnership. CEO Ross Levinsohn was fired about two weeks later. In 2024, Arena lost the SI publishing license to Minute Media.
Reason for failure sourced
Outsourcing a volume of affiliate content to a vendor that used fictitious bylines and, according to sources cited by Futurism, at least in part automated text generation, with no editorial control by SI over the origin of the authors or the texts.
Cost sourced
Major reputational cost for a title with a strong journalistic history. Firing of Arena's CEO in December 2023. In 2024, Arena lost the SI license and announced layoffs of a third of its staff (legal trigger: a missed license payment, against a backdrop of crisis).
Warning signs inferred
Inferred: authors with no verifiable history, portraits found nowhere except on an AI-face seller, a vendor imposing pseudonyms. Each of these signals, verifiable internally before publication, should have blocked going live.
Lessons in hindsight inferred
Inferred: content generation at scale is not the problem, deception about the author is. A media outlet can use AI to produce or assist content provided it discloses it and keeps real bylines and a chain of editorial responsibility. Outsourcing production without controlling the origin of the bylines transfers brand risk without transferring accountability.
Inferred: the pattern of AI-assisted content production remains valid and is spreading in publishing. What is condemned here is the hidden use and the fake authors, not the tool. The red line is transparency: disclosed AI content and a responsible human byline on one side, editorial fraud on the other.
How your customers perceive this type of use
Sourced studiesUn ecart net separe les annonceurs des consommateurs : 77% des annonceurs voient l'IA positivement contre 38% des consommateurs (Yahoo/Publicis, 2024). Les mesures implicites confirment le rejet declare : en EEG, les pubs generees par IA produisent une activation memorielle plus faible que les pubs traditionnelles et sont decrites comme agacantes, ennuyeuses et confuses (NIQ, 2024). La disclosure a un effet ambivalent : elle augmente fortement la confiance quand elle est remarquee (Yahoo/Publicis), mais 27% des jeunes consommateurs disent faire moins confiance a une entreprise dont la pub est creee par IA (IAB, 2024).
Acceptance conditions
- Une disclosure visible : quand la mention IA est remarquee, la confiance globale envers l'entreprise augmente de 96% (Yahoo/Publicis 2024)
- Une qualite visuelle suffisante : les visuels IA de basse qualite augmentent l'effort cognitif et distraient du message (NIQ 2024)
Red lines
- Le contenu IA non declare puis identifie : 72% des consommateurs disent que l'IA rend l'authenticite difficile a etablir (Yahoo/Publicis 2024) et les marques utilisant des pubs IA sont plus souvent jugees inauthentiques ou non ethiques par les consommateurs que par les dirigeants (IAB 2024)
- Les mannequins et personnes generes par IA : 46% des consommateurs n'en veulent pas dans la publicite, l'inquietude premiere etant les standards de beaute irrealistes (Attest 2025)
Sources: Yahoo / Publicis Media (terrain Ebco) 2024 · IAB (avec Attest) 2024 · NIQ (NielsenIQ) 2024 · Attest 2025
How to replicate
Inference, not sourcedData prerequisites
- product catalog
- editorial and AI-disclosure guidelines
Org prerequisites
- a named editorial lead
- an author verification process
- a contractual clause banning fake authors
Possible stack
- LLM with human review
- a real author byline and verifiable biography
- a mention of AI-assisted content
First step: Set a non-negotiable rule: every article has a real, accountable human author, and any use of AI is disclosed to the reader; write it into the vendor contract.
Sources
- S1 Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers Secondary archive pending
- S2 Sports Illustrated found publishing AI generated stories, photos and authors Established press archive pending
- S3 Sports Illustrated Publisher Losing License, Staff Firings Announced Established press archive pending
An error, newer info, a source?
This page lives on its accuracy. If a figure has moved, if the deployment has changed, or if you have a higher-quality source, tell us. Every sourced correction is verified before publication.