Sports illustrated has been accused of publishing AI-generated texts, using portraits of fake authors and creating fake profiles.
The old magazine was recalled for its content, which was allegedly written by non-existent authors. Sports Illustrated said the work came from a “third party” who assured their articles were written by humans.
A study conducted by Futurism discovered that several “authors” with biography pages on the Sports Illustrated website were fake – including made-up interests, hobbies and even an AI-generated headshot.
Like the authors, some of the text on the website’s reviews page was accused of sounding like it was written by an ‘alien’ – with bizarre descriptions and formatting discrepancies.
After the magazine’s publisher, The Arena Group, was first contacted to respond to the allegations, all bizarre content disappeared, the report said.
The old magazine was recalled for its content, which was allegedly written by non-existent authors. Sports Illustrated said the work came from a “third party” who assured their articles were written by humans
One of the alleged writer’s headshots can be seen on a website that sells AI-generated photos
An investigation conducted by Futurism found that several “authors” with biography pages on the Sports Illustrated website were fake – including made-up interests, hobbies and even an AI-generated headshot
Drew Ortiz, a supposed writer, mentioned on his profile that he has “spent much of his life outdoors and would like to guide you through his endless list of the best products to keep you from running into the dangers of nature.”
“These days, rarely a weekend goes by when Drew isn’t camping, hiking or just back on his parents’ farm.”
The report claims Ortiz does not exist – with no social media presence or publishing history.
And his profile picture was found on a website that sells AI-generated portraits. The fake image of Ortiz is described as “neutral white young adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes.”
Months ago, Ortiz’s page disappeared completely and started redirecting to someone named Sora Tanaka. Her image was also for sale, with the caption “cheerful Asian young adult woman with long brown hair and brown eyes.”
Her allegedly false description on the Sports Illustrated website read: “Sora has always been a fitness guru and loves trying different foods and drinks. Ms. Tanaka is excited to bring her fitness and nutrition expertise to the Product Reviews Team, and promises to bring you only the best of the best.”
A third, allegedly fake writer for Sports Illustrated is Domino Abrams – whose biography says he was a stay-at-home dad. His headshot also turned out to be AI-generated.
Months ago, Ortiz’s page disappeared completely and started redirecting to someone named Sora Tanaka. Her image was also for sale, listed as ‘cheerful Asian young adult woman with long brown hair and brown eyes’
Sora Tanaka’s portrait photo can be seen on an AI website
The report also claimed that their bylines would also change – without an editor’s note explaining why someone’s story was suddenly attributed to someone else.
At the end of the stories, it was stated that the work was “created by a third party” and that Sports Illustrated’s “editorial staff was not involved in the creation of this content.”
An insider told Futurism: ‘There’s a lot. I thought: what are they? This is ridiculous. This person doesn’t exist.’
“At the bottom of the page would be a photo of a person and a false description of that person, such as, ‘Oh, John lives in Houston, Texas.’ He enjoys playing games in the garden and hanging out with his dog Sam.’ Those kind of things. It’s just crazy.’
Another source told the outlet, “The content is definitely AI-generated, no matter how many times they say it isn’t.”
The Arena Group had a partnership with AdVon Commerce, the company that supplied the posts.
But the publisher said it has since severed ties with the company.
In a statement to Variety, an Arena Group spokesperson said: “The articles in question were product reviews and licensed content from a third-party, third-party company, AdVon Commerce.
“A number of AdVon e-commerce items appeared on select Arena websites. We continuously monitor our partners and were in the middle of a review when these allegations emerged.
“AdVon has assured us that all articles in question were written and edited by humans.
“According to AdVon, their writers, editors and researchers create and manage content and follow a policy that uses both anti-plagiarism and counter-AI software on all content.
“However, we learned that AdVon allowed writers to use a pen or pseudonym in certain articles to protect the author’s privacy – actions we do not condone – and we are removing the content while our internal investigation continues and have since ended the partnership.”