--- title: "Remember the Publisher That Put Fake Writers in Sports Illustrated? It Just Rebranded as an AI Company" description: "The Arena Group — which owned Sports Illustrated during its fake AI writer scandal — has rebranded as an AI company. Naturally." date: "2026-08-13" modified: "2026-08-13" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/sports-illustrated-the-arena-group-paradium-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "sports illustrated" - "the arena group" --- # Remember the Publisher That Put Fake Writers in Sports Illustrated? It Just Rebranded as an AI Company ![A color-treated photo illustration of robot hands typing.]() *Shutterstock / Futurism* The Arena Group — the media company which, in 2023, allowed a contractor called AdVon Commerce to publish AI-generated fake writers in the pages of *Sports Illustrated* and multiple other brands — has rebranded as an AI company. The Arena Group, which owns brands including *Parade*, *Men's Health*, and *The Street*, declared on Monday that it was changing its name to "Paradium.AI." It also [announced]() its acquisition of InfoSentience, a company that the Arena Group says will help it "scale data-driven content generation," as well as the launch of a product called Cutter Studio, which is defined in a [press release]() as a "proprietary, AI-driven video and article production and distribution platform." In other words: the Arena Group — sorry, Paradium — wants to generate and distribute a whole lot of AI content. The rebrand was [first reported this week by *Business Insider*](), which obtained a leaked memo in which the publisher stated that the name change reflected its new identity as a "publicly traded AI company." "This is more than a name change; it is a commitment to our future as a tech-centric leader in media, data, and commerce," Arena Group CEO Paul Edmondson said in the memo. "By integrating the acquisition of Info Sentience and the launch of Cutter Studio, we are building a unified, AI-powered ecosystem that empowers us to perform at the speed and scale of artificial intelligence." The surprise rebrand comes as the company continues to struggle with declining readership and a flagging stock price, giving the transformation [strong echoes of *BuzzFeed*]() — another melting digital media company that's made a sharp ([and uniquely depressing]()) pivot to AI amid serious financial struggles. In late 2023, [*Futurism* reported that]() the Arena Group had been publishing low-quality product review content bylined by a roster of fabricated writers with AI-generated headshots in publications including *Sports Illustrated* and *The Street.* (Our [continued reporting revealed that]() the third-party contractor who created that content, AdVon Commerce, had published fabricated authors at dozens of other publications throughout the media industry.) After our reporting, the company fired [multiple executives](), including the company's [then-CEO](). A few months later, when the company's new and eccentric CEO declined to foot the bill for its *Sports Illustrated* licensing agreement, the Arena Group lost control of the magazine — at the time, its highest-profile brand — entirely. And that wasn't even the Arena Group's first AI scandal: the company [started testing AI content]() as early as February 2023, months before the *Sports Illustrated* debacle, when it published AI-generated *Men's Health* articles that [we found to be riddled with misinformation](). But the Arena Group's AI misadventures have always been less about AI as a technology, and much more about the [many bad choices]() made by a media company at the expense of the publications in its stewardship as it spent years rebranding, floundering, and then rebranding again in a cursed rinse-and-repeat cycle. A confusing, all-in AI transformation, at a moment when readership and revenue are both low, seems like the Arena Group's natural final form. In the press release, the company was adamant that the transition wouldn't lead to layoffs. "I want to emphasize a critical point as we enter this new era: while we are supercharging with AI, our people remain at the absolute core of our business," Edmondson said. "This technology is designed to elevate our partners and teams, not replace them. Our mission is to empower creators and entrepreneurs by blending the massive authority of our brands with the technology we've built." But it's clear that company intends to produce more material. "By seamlessly blending the authority of legacy media brands with automation, Arena believes it is uniquely positioned to empower modern creators and media entrepreneurs to scale at unprecedented speeds," reads the release, "cementing an evolution far beyond traditional publishing." This, according to its CEO, is the "future" of the online media industry. "Paradium.AI isn't an iteration of past web models," Edmonson told *Adweek*. Instead, he said, "it's designed for the future of digital media." **More on** **the Arena Group:** *[Sports Illustrated Published Articles by Fake, AI-Generated Writer]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()