--- title: "CNET’s Publisher Having Trouble Selling It Due to AI Scandal" description: "CNET owner Red Ventures is reportedly having a tough time finding a buyer for the website —  and CNET's AI scandal bears some of the blame." date: "2024-01-17" modified: "2024-01-17" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/cnet-for-sale-ai" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "cnet" - "journalism" - "red ventures" --- # CNET’s Publisher Having Trouble Selling It Due to AI Scandal ![CNET owner Red Ventures is reportedly having a tough time finding a buyer for the website —  and CNET's AI scandal bears some of the blame.]() *\Image: Joe Klamar / AFP via Getty / Futurism\* *CNET* parent company Red Ventures has been looking to sell off the stalwart technology site, [according to a new report from *Axios*](). But unfortunately for Red Ventures, it's had a tough time finding a buyer — and *CNET's* AI scandal bears at least some of the blame. Back in January 2023, [*Futurism* found that]() *CNET h*ad been quietly publishing AI-generated articles under the dubious byline "CNET Money Staff." To see that the articles weren't written by humans, you had to click that byline, resulting in a popup message, which many felt was insufficient disclosure. And on closer inspection, [over half]() of the AI-generated *CNET* articles ended up containing [glaring errors]() and [plagiarism]() that resulted in corrections. *CNET* defended the effort as an attempt at "testing a new technology so we can separate the hype from reality," as *CNET's* then-editor-in-chief Connie Guglielmo [explained it at the time](). (Guglielmo has since been promoted to *CNET's* "senior vice president focused on AI edit strategy.") But there's a difference between running a few well-labeled experiments with a new technology, and very quietly integrating it into an all-cylinders-firing SEO machine. *CNET's* [so-called experiment]() was [soon followed]() by [large layoffs](). Soon afterward [*CNET* staffers unionized](), naming AI as a specific concern. "In this time of instability," the *CNET* Media Workers Union wrote in its [mission statement](), released back in May, "our diverse content teams need industry-standard job protections, fair compensation, editorial independence, and a voice in the decision-making process, especially as automated technology threatens our jobs and reputations." Which brings us back to the *Axios* report. Red Ventures has reportedly been shopping the decades-old website around for months and is hoping to make back "half" of the $500 million that it paid for the acquisition of *CNET —* along with a few smaller sites — back in 2020. *Axios'* sources say that *CNET*, despite its declining traffic, is profitable. And yet obstacles remain, which according to *Axios* include a "slower ad market, raising interest rates," and "brand reputation" issues related to the AI blunder. "Souces who have been pitched on the asset have cited concerns about CNET's reputation following a controversy last year over CNET's failure to disclose the use of AI in articles during a publishing experiment," *Axios* reported. It's unclear how Red Ventures' reported sale talks might ultimately shake out, and broader media and economic conditions will surely play a part in any eventual *CNET* price tag. But the fact that potential buyers are citing the website's AI scandal at all feels notable. Brand reputation matters, to readers and advertisers both, and *CNET's* AI saga could be considered a case study for how AI use —[ and misuse]() — can impact an outlet's esteem. *CNET* made its name as a respected beacon of tech reporting, a reputation that fostered a dedicated readership and drove [its price to nearly $2 billion]() back in 2008. But the brand equity that *CNET* took decades to build has since been juiced to near-annihilation by Red Ventures, which, [as a January report from *The Verge* showed](), has used *CNET's* name to transform into an SEO-hungry shell — to the detriment of the website's readers and employees. As with the [similarly-AI-scandal-plagued *Sports Illustrated*](), watching venerable publications fall from grace and decades of good work to become tarnished as a result of ill-conceived AI efforts — led by execs eager to glean some extra eyeballs — is painful. Ideally, should another media company take *CNET* off Red Ventures' hands, a renewed investment into the website's journalism could stand to restore the website's rep. Let's just hope that any new owner does right by *CNET* employees, who have already dealt with their fair share of strife. **More on AI and journalism:** [*Readers Want Publications to Label AI-generated Content* ]() ## 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]()