Sports Illustrated faced controversy as it deleted multiple articles from its website following a report revealing that the magazine had published these articles under fictitious author names and utilized AI-generated profile images. The report, issued by Futurism, highlighted the repeated publication of articles with untraceable authors outside of the Sports Illustrated platform, coupled with AI-generated profile pictures available for sale on AI headshot marketplaces.

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During Futurism's investigation, some alleged Sports Illustrated writers mysteriously disappeared from the website, and their articles resurfaced under different author names, similarly unverifiable online and with AI-generated likenesses available for purchase.

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In response to the report, The Arena Group, the entity operating and licensing Sports Illustrated since 2019, disclosed that third-party company AdVon Commerce had created the deleted articles, and they had used pseudonyms to safeguard author privacy, an action not endorsed by the Arena Group. An internal investigation was initiated, leading to the termination of their partnership. AdVon claimed that all the questioned articles were human-authored and edited.

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The Sports Illustrated Union expressed its deep concern, emphasizing that if these allegations were true, they would violate journalistic principles and damage the publication's credibility. Sports Illustrated writers also voiced their dismay, stressing the significance of the magazine's byline and the harm these practices could inflict on their colleagues' hard-earned reputation. Amid the increasing use of AI in newsrooms, this incident underscores the challenges and ethical considerations associated with AI deployment in journalism, with many news organizations cautious about using AI for entire stories after previous mishaps.

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