Wired and Business Insider remove 'AI-written' freelance articles
3 days ago
- #journalism ethics
- #AI-generated content
- #media integrity
- Wired and Business Insider removed articles by freelance journalist Margaux Blanchard suspected to be AI-generated fiction.
- Index on Censorship is also taking down an article by Blanchard after Press Gazette raised concerns about its authenticity.
- Blanchard's articles contained unverifiable case studies and quotes from people who do not appear to exist.
- Dispatch editor Jacob Furedi identified Blanchard's pitch about a fictional town, Gravemont, as likely AI-generated.
- Multiple publications, including Wired, Business Insider, and Cone Magazine, have removed Blanchard's articles.
- Blanchard's work often cited non-existent experts, raising doubts about the legitimacy of her reporting.
- Naked Politics is reviewing an article by Blanchard but has paused further work from her pending verification.
- Furedi emphasized the importance of on-the-ground reporting, which cannot be faked, unlike AI-generated content.
- Press Gazette found no online record of a journalist named Margaux Blanchard, further questioning her authenticity.
- The incident highlights the challenges media outlets face in verifying freelance contributions amid the rise of AI-generated content.