Current:Home > ScamsWyoming reporter resigned after admitting to using AI to write articles, generate quotes -Streamline Finance
Wyoming reporter resigned after admitting to using AI to write articles, generate quotes
View
Date:2025-04-15 12:42:06
A reporter recently resigned from a Wyoming newspaper after admitting to using artificial intelligence to generate quotes and assist in writing stories, thus causing several fabricated articles and a public apology from the individual's editor.
Aaron Pelczar departed the Cody Enterprise on Aug. 2 after a competing paper, the Powell Tribune, confronted him with evidence that he "fabricated some of the quotes that appeared in several of his stories."
CJ Baker, a Powell Tribune staff writer, wrote in a published article that Pelczar told him that the quotes in his stories may have been created by an artificial intelligence tool he used to help him write articles.
Seven people, so far, have indicated to the Cody Enterprise that they did not tell Pelczar what he quoted them saying. Those people include Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon and a victim of an alleged crime, Baker wrote.
"The Tribune also found a number of other quotes that were altered in some way or attributed to the wrong person," according to Baker.
AI in fast food:AI might take your next Taco Bell drive-thru order as artificial intelligence expands
Cody Enterprise removed AI-generated quotes
When Pelczar was shown some of the Powell Tribune's findings on Aug. 2, the reporter told Baker that "he wasn't sure where some of the quotes had come from." Pelczar also said he would "issue apologies" and correct any quotes that were deemed wrong or false.
“Obviously I’ve never intentionally tried to misquote anybody,” Pelczar said, per Baker's article in the Powell Tribune.
After meeting with Cody Enterprise Editor Chris Bacon and Pelczar on Friday and providing more evidence to the paper on Sunday, most of the fabricated quotes were removed from its website on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Baker. He also said the articles containing the AI-generated material had editor’s notes added.
“Artificial Intelligence was allowed to misquote individuals in several of our articles … We regret the lack of oversight," reads the Cody Enterprise's correction in its Thursday print edition.
'I will eat crow with what dignity I can muster'
Bacon published an editorial on Monday titled "Eating Crow" which addressed Pelczar's actions.
"I failed to catch it," Bacon wrote. "And it is my job, dear reader, to see that the facts in your paper are facts. It matters not that the false quotes were the apparent error of a hurried rookie reporter that trusted AI. It was my job."
Bacon apologized to readers for allowing AI to "put words that were never spoken into stories." He also apologized to "the governor, the astronomers, (the) Public Works Director, Warden Crane and any others" that he has not yet been able to confirm as misquoted.
"I will eat crow with what dignity I can muster, though pheasant tastes much better," Bacon wrote. "I will do better."
AI mishap a 'learning curve' for Cody Enterprise
Megan Barton, the publisher of the Cody Enterprise, addressed the situation on Aug. 7 by saying the paper has had its "fair share of the 'doom.'"
"AI isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, especially in our line of work," Barton wrote on the paper's website. "We take extreme pride in the content that we put out to our community and we trust that the individuals hired to accurately write these stories are honest in gathering their information. So, you can imagine our surprise when we learned otherwise."
Barton called the ordeal a "learning curve for all of us" and said AI is "the new (and) advanced form of plagiarism in the field of media and writing."
"Plagiarism is something every media outlet has had to correct at some point or another," Barton wrote. "It’s the ugly part of the job. But, a company willing to right (or quite literally write) those wrongs is a reputable one. So, take this as our lesson learned."
The Cody Enterprise now has a system in place to catch AI-generated stories, and the paper will have "long conversations" about how unacceptable the technology is for writing articles, according to Barton.
"We will hold our employees to a higher standard and we stand by that," she wrote. "The community deserves the best, most authentic form of reporting and that is what we strive to produce."
veryGood! (22)
Related
- Megan Fox's ex Brian Austin Green tells Machine Gun Kelly to 'grow up'
- New York City’s mayor gets baptized in jail by Rev. Al Sharpton on Good Friday
- FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years on crypto fraud charges
- Could tugboats have helped avert the bridge collapse tragedy in Baltimore?
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- PFAS Is an Almost Impossible Problem to Tackle—and It’s Probably in Your Food
- New image reveals Milky Way's black hole is surrounded by powerful twisted magnetic fields, astronomers say
- 9-year-old California boy leads police on chase while driving himself to school: Reports
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- International Court Issues First-Ever Decision Enforcing the Right to a Healthy Environment
Ranking
- Bet365 ordered to refund $519K to customers who it paid less than they were entitled on sports bets
- See Conjoined Twins Brittany and Abby Hensel's First Dance at Wedding to Josh Bowling
- Men’s March Madness live updates: Sweet 16 predictions, NCAA bracket update, how to watch
- Former NYPD officer acquitted of murder in shooting of childhood friend during confrontation
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- ACLU, Planned Parenthood challenge Ohio abortion restrictions after voter referendum
- Can 'villain' Colorado Buffaloes overcome Caitlin Clark, Iowa (and the refs)?
- Tennessee lawmakers split on how and why to give businesses major tax help under fear of lawsuit
Recommendation
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
American tourist dies, U.S. Marine missing in separate incidents off Puerto Rico coast
What restaurants are open Easter 2024? Details on Starbucks, McDonald's, fast food, takeout
UNLV releases video of campus shooter killed by police after 3 professors shot dead
North Carolina justices rule for restaurants in COVID
Save 70% on These Hidden Deals From Free People and Elevate Your Wardrobe
Uranium is being mined near the Grand Canyon as prices soar and the US pushes for more nuclear power
Everything Christina Applegate Has Said About Her Multiple Sclerosis Battle