Sports Illustrated's Fake AI Writers: Trust, Bylines and Machine-Made Content

Timeline

1. Early 2023Arena CEO Ross Levinsohn tells the Wall Street Journal its AI content will prioritize quality: "better is better."
2. Nov 27, 2023Futurism reports that SI published product reviews by fake, AI-generated writers; the content is removed.
3. Nov 28, 2023Arena says the content was licensed from AdVon Commerce and ends the partnership; the SI Union says staff are horrified.
4. Nov 29, 2023The SI Union demands a public explanation, a timeline and a human-only guarantee.
5. Dec 11, 2023Arena fires Levinsohn, citing operational efficiency and revenue.
6. Jan 18, 2024Authentic Brands Group terminates Arena's SI license after a missed $3.75 million payment; Arena cuts about a third of its workforce.
7. Mar 18, 2024Minute Media secures SI's publishing rights.

The ethical issues

• Deceiving readers with fabricated bylines and biographies.
• Undisclosed use of AI in published content.
• Accountability for outsourced or licensed content under a trusted brand.
• Affiliate-revenue incentives shaping editorial products.
• Harm to journalists' reputations and jobs.

Stakeholders

Stakeholder	Interests & obligations
Readers	Honest information about who wrote what they read and why.
SI journalists and the SI Union	The credibility of their work and their jobs.
The Arena Group	Revenue from content at scale and its reputation with partners.
AdVon Commerce	Its business supplying commerce content to publishers.
Authentic Brands Group	The value of the Sports Illustrated brand it owns.
Advertisers and affiliate partners	Brand-safe placements and sales.

The case

“Drew has spent much of his life outdoors, and is excited to guide you through his never-ending list of the best products to keep you from falling to the perils of nature,” read the author biography of Drew Ortiz on Sports Illustrated’s website. But when the tech outlet Futurism looked into him in November 2023, it found no social media presence and no publishing history. His profile photo was for sale on a website that sells AI-generated headshots, described there as a “neutral white young-adult male with short brown hair and blue eyes.”^[1] Futurism reported on November 27, 2023, that SI had published product reviews under a series of invented writers, and that the articles themselves were, according to two sources involved in creating them, AI-generated. “The content is absolutely AI-generated,” one said, “no matter how much they say that it’s not.”^[1]

Background

Sports Illustrated, one of the most decorated names in American sports journalism, was owned as a brand by Authentic Brands Group and operated under license by The Arena Group, which also published TheStreet and Men’s Journal.^[5][1] Arena had embraced AI content in early 2023. Its first AI-generated health article at Men’s Journal required a major correction after Futurism found errors. Arena’s CEO, Ross Levinsohn, had told the Wall Street Journal that quality would come first: “It’s not about ‘crank out AI content and do as much as you can.’ Google will penalize you for that and more isn’t better; better is better.”^[1]

Product reviews and buying guides are a commercial format: they earn affiliate commissions when readers click through and buy. Futurism described the content as “AI-generated buying guides that are monetized by affiliate links.”^[1]

The rules and governance

No law required SI to disclose AI use. But journalism ethics codes, such as the Society of Professional Journalists’ principles, require honesty with readers about sources and methods, and a byline conventionally tells readers who is responsible for a piece. Arena’s own statement acknowledged that using invented names was among “actions we don’t condone.”^[1] SI’s journalists were represented by the SI Union, which bargained with Arena.^[3]

The disclosure

According to Futurism, the personas were periodically swapped out. Sometime in 2023 Ortiz’s profile redirected to “Sora Tanaka,” whose photo was also for sale on the AI headshot site, and her articles were later reattributed again, each time “with no editor’s note explaining the change in byline.” None of the articles disclosed AI use, though they eventually carried a note that the content was “created by a 3rd party” and that “Sports Illustrated editorial staff are not involved in the creation of this content.” After Futurism asked questions, the authors and articles disappeared from SI’s site. Futurism found similar fake writers at TheStreet.^[1]

Arena initially did not respond. After publication it said the report was “not accurate.” The articles were product reviews licensed from AdVon Commerce, a third-party firm, which “has assured us that all of the articles in question were written and edited by humans” and used “counter-plagiarism and counter-AI software.” But AdVon “had writers use a pen or pseudo name in certain articles to protect author privacy — actions we don’t condone — and we are removing the content while our internal investigation continues and have since ended the partnership.”^[1][2] Futurism noted that the statement did not address the fake headshots.^[1]

The newsroom responds

The SI Union said its members were “horrified” and that “these practices violate everything we believe in about journalism.” “We demand the company commit to adhering to basic journalistic standards, including not publishing computer-written stories by fake people,” it posted. Union leader Mitch Goldich, an SI editor, said the episode had done “real damage to the credibility of the hardworking humans I have been honored to work with,” and changed his display name to “Mitch Goldich (human).”^[2]

On November 29 the union said it remained “outraged” and that “our journalists have been forced to bear the brunt of the reputational damage.” It demanded that Levinsohn publicly explain how the posts were published and why Arena partnered with AdVon, which “self-describes as providing machine learning and AI solutions”; provide a timeline from the partnership’s start to its termination; include a union representative in the internal investigation; and “publicly guarantee that all future editorial work at Sports Illustrated will be performed by humans and only humans,” written into its next contract.^[3]

Aftermath

On December 11, 2023, Arena fired Levinsohn “to improve the operational efficiency and revenue” of the company, following the departures of other senior executives. A spokesperson for new chief executive Manoj Bhargava said the move “had absolutely nothing to do with the AI issue at all.”^[4]

Arena’s problems deepened. On January 2, 2024, it missed a quarterly payment of about $3.75 million to Authentic Brands under its SI licensing agreement. On January 18, Authentic terminated the license effective immediately, making a $45 million fee due, and Arena announced it would cut about a third of its workforce.^[5] In March 2024 Minute Media, owner of The Players’ Tribune and FanSided, secured SI’s digital and print publishing rights and took over editorial operations.^[6]

The core dilemma

The deception at SI was not only that machines may have written the text, but that readers were told real people with expertise had written it. The publisher said it relied on a contractor’s assurances, and that contractor said its writers were human. Meanwhile the brand’s credibility, built by journalists over decades, was spent on affiliate content its newsroom did not produce. Who is responsible when outsourced, automated content deceives readers under a trusted name, and what must media organizations disclose about how content is made?

Competing values

• Efficiency vs. integrity: automated content is cheap to produce but can erode the trust that gives a brand value.
• Transparency vs. commercial convenience: disclosure may reduce clicks or revenue.
• Contractor responsibility vs. brand responsibility: licensing content does not remove the publisher’s name from it.
• Innovation vs. job protection: AI tools may aid journalism, but they also threaten the jobs of people who produce it.

Strongest arguments

Against what SI published. Fake bylines and invented biographies are deception, regardless of who or what wrote the text. They borrow the authority of a human expert to sell products. A brand that has built trust over decades has a duty to protect it, and the lack of disclosure and the quiet byline swaps compounded the harm.

In Arena’s defense. The content was a commercial product section, not journalism, and it was licensed from a contractor that gave written assurances. Arena ended the partnership quickly once concerns were raised. Pseudonyms have legitimate uses in some contexts.

On the union’s demand. A human-only guarantee protects readers and jobs, but critics might argue it is too broad, since AI tools can assist reporters with transcription, data and research. A disclosure rule with human accountability for every published piece may protect trust without banning useful tools.

Applying the frameworks

Kantian (duty)

A Kantian focuses on the deception itself. Presenting invented writers as real treats readers merely as means to generate affiliate revenue, and the maxim “publish content under fake human bylines when it pays” could not be universalized without destroying the meaning of a byline. The duty of honesty does not depend on whether readers noticed or were harmed.

Virtue ethics

A virtue lens asks what a publisher of good character would do. Honesty, responsibility and craft are virtues of good journalism. Arena’s initial denial and its reliance on a contractor’s assurances suggest a lack of practical wisdom, while the union’s insistence on accountability reflects professional integrity.

Utilitarian

A utilitarian weighs the outcomes. Cheap automated content may have raised short-term revenue, but the exposure damaged SI’s credibility, its journalists’ reputations and possibly its business. Widespread undisclosed AI content could reduce trust in all sports media. Clear disclosure rules may maximize benefits by allowing useful automation while preserving trust.

Walk it through: the Simple Decision Model

1. Spot the issue. You are SI’s editor in chief on November 27, 2023, reading Futurism’s report. Stakeholders include readers, your journalists, Arena, AdVon, Authentic Brands, advertisers and, less visibly, the wider profession whose credibility is at stake. The codes in play are journalism ethics principles and any internal content standards.
2. Gather facts. Who produced the content and how? What does the contract with AdVon require? How many pieces and personas are involved, and on which sites? Watch for defensiveness bias: the urge to deny before you know.
3. Test options. Deny and remove quietly; remove with a full public explanation and audit; or remove, explain and adopt a public AI disclosure policy. Weigh consequences for trust, the duty of honesty and what each response says about SI’s character.
4. Check codes and law. What do the SPJ principles and your standards say about attribution and transparency? Are there consumer-protection concerns with affiliate content and endorsements?
5. Decide and document. Publish an editor’s note on what happened, what was removed and why, and commit to an audit. Consult the newsroom and union.
6. Communicate and follow up. Announce a clear AI and byline policy, label licensed content, and review third-party contracts. Measure success by whether readers and staff believe the policy is followed.

What’s settled and what’s contested

Settled

• SI published product reviews under invented author personas whose photos were for sale on an AI headshot site; the content was removed after Futurism’s inquiries.
• Arena said the content was licensed from AdVon Commerce and ended the partnership; the SI Union publicly demanded accountability and a human-only guarantee.
• Authentic Brands terminated Arena’s license in January 2024 after a missed payment, and Minute Media took over publishing in March 2024.

Contested

• Whether the articles themselves were AI-generated, as Futurism’s sources said, or written by humans under pseudonyms, as AdVon told Arena.
• Whether Levinsohn’s firing was related to the AI episode; Arena said it was not.
• Whether AI-assisted content can ever be acceptable in sports journalism, and under what disclosure rules.

Why this case matters

Sports media sell trust as much as information. The SI episode shows how quickly a brand built by generations of journalists can be undermined when commercial content is produced at scale with no honest account of who made it. As AI tools spread through sports media, from match reports to betting previews, the questions it raises about disclosure, accountability and the meaning of a byline will only become more pressing.

Key terms

Journalism ethics (SPJ principles)

Seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent.

Trust

The public’s belief that what they are watching is real. Integrity failures are ultimately failures of trust.

Authenticity vs. PR spin

The tension between communicating truthfully and managing perception. Spin may protect a brand short term while eroding trust.

Brand as ethical promise

A brand is more than a logo: it is a promise to stakeholders about values and conduct, and it is broken when actions contradict it.

Commercialization

The process of turning sport into a product and a business enterprise, with profit pressures that can compete with principle.

Crisis ethics

The obligations that apply when an organization is under pressure: honesty, timeliness, accountability and care for those harmed.

Definitions from the Ethics Cases glossary.

Discussion questions

1. Is publishing AI-generated text wrong in itself, or only when it is undisclosed? Where would you draw the line?
2. How much responsibility does a publisher bear for content it licenses from a third party?
3. Was the SI Union's demand that all editorial work be done 'by humans and only humans' reasonable? What would it cost?
4. How should sports outlets rebuild trust after an episode like this?

Sources

1. Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writers — Futurism
2. Sports Illustrated accused of publishing AI-written articles — BBC News
3. Response to reporting that The Arena Group has published AI-written content under Sports Illustrated name — Sports Illustrated Union
4. Sports Illustrated publisher fires CEO Ross Levinsohn after AI scandal — BBC News
5. The Arena Group Holdings, Form 8-K (January 2024) — U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
6. Minute Media Secures Sports Illustrated Publishing Rights in Transformational Deal with Authentic Brands Group — Authentic Brands Group