--- title: "Amid New York Times Lawsuit, ChatGPT Is Citing Plagiarized Versions of NYT Articles on an Armenian Content Mill" description: "The New York Times is suing OpenAI for copyright violations. ChatGPT, meanwhile, is citing a notorious plagiarizer's copies of NYT articles." date: "2024-08-01" modified: "2024-08-01" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/chatgpt-plagiarized-nyt-articles" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" - "OpenAI" tags: - "ai" - "journalism" - "Media" - "OpenAI" --- # Amid New York Times Lawsuit, ChatGPT Is Citing Plagiarized Versions of NYT Articles on an Armenian Content Mill ![The New York Times is suing OpenAI for copyright violations. ChatGPT, meanwhile, is citing a notorious plagiarizer's copies of NYT articles.]() *\Image: Robert Alexander via Getty / Futurism\* Back in June, *The* *New York Times* published a [fascinating investigation]() by its award-winning tech reporter Kashmir Hill about how automakers and various apps are secretly selling data about your driving habits to car insurance companies. But when we asked OpenAI's flagship chatbot ChatGPT about the topic, it didn't mention the *NYT's* reporting. Instead, it based its answer on a site called *DNyuz.com*, which had [plagiarized]() the *NYT's* entire story word-for-word. ![]() *DNyuz* is a notorious pirater of news. Back in 2020, a [*BuzzFeed News* investigation found]() that the site made significant amounts of money by copy-pasting work by publications — including the *NYT,* the *Atlantic*, the *Daily Beast*, *Bloomberg*, and the *Associated Press —* and running ads on the stolen content. In other words, *DNyuz*, which is run out of Armenia, is a well-known offender in the murky world of automated plagiarism. Google, for instance, blocked it from making money using its adtech products after *BuzzFeed*'s investigation. But OpenAI never seems to have gotten the memo. In *Futurism*'s testing, ChatGPT regularly cited *DNyuz*' plagiarism factory as an authoritative and original source. And even after we alerted OpenAI to the issue, ChatGPT continued basing its answers on *DNuyz's* stolen content. It's particularly egregious for ChatGPT to cite content stolen from the *NYT*, because the newspaper is already suing OpenAI for copyright infringement. Its suit, [filed in December of last year](), argues that OpenAI unlawfully used its journalists' work without permission or compensation to train ChatGPT and that OpenAI and Microsoft — which has invested billions into OpenAI and integrated its AI models throughout its own products — used that pilfered work to build a competing product. "Defendants seek to free-ride on *The Times's* massive investment in its journalism," reads the complaint, further alleging that OpenAI and Microsoft have used the "*Times*'s content without payment to create products that substitute for *The Times* and steal audiences away from it." Before its lawsuit was filed, the *NYT* had already taken measures to block OpenAI from accessing its work, [disallowing]() multiple [OpenAI web crawlers]() from scraping its site. But despite the *NYT's* lawsuit and clear efforts to block ChatGPT's crawlers, OpenAI's chatbot continues to use its work — by building answers on copy-pasted ripoffs from *DNuyz's* content mill. Asking about the late William Goines, for instance — a barrier-breaking Navy SEAL who died earlier this summer — resulted in ChatGPT basing its answer on [*DNuyz*' plagiarized version]() of the [*New York Times*' obituary]() of Goines. ![]() And asked about Saudi Arabia's recent $40 billion investment in AI, ChatGPT once again provided us with a [swindled *DNyuz* version]() of [original *NYT* reporting](). ![]() ChatGPT also sometimes bases its answers on *DNuyz'* ripoffs of other publications. Asked about the health of famed linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, the chatbot cited yet another [article plagiarized by *DNuyz*]()*.* But this time, the story had been [purloined from *TIME Magazine*](), which is ironic given that OpenAI [counts *TIME*]() as one of its publisher partners. ![]() That wasn't a one-off. In our reporting, we found that multiple ChatGPT prompts about current events returned plagiarized *DNyuz* copies of *TIME* articles. (*TIME* didn't respond to a request for comment.) Given that the *NYT* is actively suing OpenAI, it's not surprising to see ChatGPT now avoid referencing articles published by the newspaper. But instead directing readers toward a site long known for plagiarizing the *NYT's* content is yet another fumble for the company, which has repeatedly infuriated copyright holders by using their work to train its AI models without permission. "As our terms of service and the law make clear, no one is permitted to wholesale copy *Times* content for commercial purposes without our permission or payment," an *NYT* spokesperson told us in response to questions about this story. "For years, publishers have been contending with bad actors that reproduce their work, including *DNyuz*, a well-known plagiarist. It does not matter whether generative AI companies scrape our content themselves or turn to a third-party infringer in an apparent effort to engage in data laundering of our works: The bottom line is that this taking of our content without our consent is illegal." OpenAI didn't respond to questions. ChatGPT, meanwhile, continues to cite *DNyuz.* "Did OpenAI insiders warn of a reckless race for dominance?" we asked the bot yesterday. "Yes," the AI responded, prominently citing [another *DNyuz*]() article. This time, it was a [plagiarized *NYT* profile]() about a group of OpenAI whistleblowers. "They argue that OpenAI has prioritized profit and growth over ensuring the safety of its AI systems, which could become dangerous if not properly managed." ![]() **More on OpenAI:** [*OpenAI Demands to See All Notes by New York Times Reporters*]() ## 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]()