AI failures · Fabricated content
Sports Illustrated AI Articles — Fake Author Bios and AI-Generated Content
Verified Checked against its sources on 1 source quoted
- Where it happened
- United States
- Organization
- Sports Illustrated (The Arena Group); content licensed from AdVon Commerce
- Date
- November 27, 2023
- Function
- Journalism
- Where it happened
- Article writing; content production
- System
- Unspecified (AI-generated author headshots; article text alleged to be AI-generated)
- Technology
- Generative AI
- Type of failure
- Fabricated content
- Caught by
- A journalist
Summary
On November 27, 2023, Futurism reported that Sports Illustrated had published product-review articles under author names that did not appear to belong to real people, with profile photos offered for sale on an AI-generated headshot site; a source involved in the content said some article text was AI-generated. After Futurism asked the publisher, The Arena Group, about it, the author profiles disappeared from the site. An Arena Group spokesperson then said the articles were licensed from a third-party contractor, AdVon Commerce, which had assured Arena that humans wrote and edited them.
Consequence
- The fake author profiles were removed from Sports Illustrated's site after Futurism's inquiry
Who caught it A journalistFound outside the organization
Analysis
What could have been done
Oversight of suppliers' AI use
Suppliers' use of AI is disclosed, contracted for and checked.
The publisher ran product-review articles licensed from a third-party contractor on the contractor's assurance that humans wrote and edited them; a source involved in the content said some article text was AI-generated.
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 articles appeared under author names that did not appear to belong to real people, with profile photos offered for sale on an AI-generated headshot site.
What would likely have prevented it
- Contract for disclosure of AI use in licensed or outsourced content, with a right to check it, rather than relying on a supplier's assurance about how the content was written.
- Confirm that every byline on content published under the organization's name belongs to a real, accountable person before it runs.
What would likely have caught it earlier
- Periodically audit third-party content published under the organization's name, including whether the named authors exist, so problems are found internally rather than through a journalist's inquiry.
Key dates
- November 27, 2023Event
- October 16, 2026Checked against sources
- October 18, 2026Checked against sources
- October 21, 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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After we reached out with questions to the magazine’s publisher, The Arena Group, all the AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated ’s site without explanation.
Supports: Fake authors, removal after inquiry, date 27 Nov 2023, Arena Group statement blaming AdVon
Suggested citation. Eminence Scan, “Sports Illustrated AI Articles — Fake Author Bios and AI-Generated Content”, Eminence Growth Solutions, last verified October 16, 2026, https://eminencegrowthsolutions.com/tools/eminence-scan/record/fail-036/.
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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