AI failures · Fabricated content
CNET AI-Written Finance Explainers Contain Factual Errors — CNET Pauses AI Tool
Verified Checked against its sources on 2 sources quoted
- Where it happened
- United States
- Organization
- CNET
- Date
- Errors reported by Futurism in January 2023; CNET's audit and pause announced 2023-01-25
- Function
- Journalism
- Where it happened
- Article writing; content production
- System
- CNET internally designed AI engine (not ChatGPT)
- Technology
- Generative AI
- Type of failure
- Fabricated content
- Caught by
- A journalist, Internal review
Summary
From November 2022 CNET's CNET Money team used an internally built AI engine to draft 77 short personal-finance explainers, published under a staff byline with the AI disclosure out of plain view. In January 2023 Futurism showed that one of them misstated compound interest, saying a $10,000 deposit at 3% would earn $10,300 in a year rather than $300, alongside other errors. CNET audited the stories, found more that needed correction (a small number substantially), corrected them with editors' notes, and paused use of the tool.
Consequence
- CNET corrected the affected stories with editors' notes and paused use of the AI tool
Who caught it A journalist, Internal review
Analysis
What could have been done
Checking AI output against its sources
Every factual element of AI output (citations, figures, quotations) is checked against its source before reliance.
An AI-drafted personal-finance explainer was published stating that a $10,000 deposit at 3% would earn $10,300 in a year rather than $300, alongside other errors.
A named owner and disclosure of AI use
A named person owns the AI-assisted output, and its use is disclosed to those relying on it.
The 77 AI-drafted explainers were published under a staff byline with the AI disclosure out of plain view.
What would likely have prevented it
- Recalculate every figure and worked example in AI-drafted content before publication, as a step separate from editing the prose.
- Disclose AI drafting plainly on the content itself and name the person accountable for its accuracy.
What would likely have caught it earlier
- When a new AI drafting process starts, audit an early sample of its published output against sources and recalculations; here the audit that found further stories needing correction followed outside reporting.
Key dates
- January 25, 2023Event
- October 16, 2026Checked against sources
- October 18, 2026Checked against sources
Developments are added when the record is reviewed. Next review: October 16, 2027.
Evidence
Each passage is quoted from its source. The quoted passages are re-checked against the live pages every month.
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We've paused and will restart using the AI tool when we feel confident the tool and our editorial processes will prevent both human and AI errors.
Supports: 77 AI-assisted stories, audit, corrections and pause; dated 25 Jan 2023 (URL redirects to the article's current address)
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For example, if you deposit $10,000 into a savings account that earns 3% interest compounding annually, you'll earn $10,300 at the end of the first year.
Supports: The compound-interest error quoted from the AI-written article; byline disclosure criticism
Suggested citation. Eminence Scan, “CNET AI-Written Finance Explainers Contain Factual Errors — CNET Pauses AI Tool”, Eminence Growth Solutions, last verified October 16, 2026, https://eminencegrowthsolutions.com/tools/eminence-scan/record/fail-035/.
Using our research: you may read and quote Eminence Scan with credit to “Eminence Scan, Eminence Growth Solutions” and a link; all other rights reserved. Terms: Using our research.
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