--- title: "Newspaper Apologizes for Accidentally Running Deranged AI-Generated Article" description: "The Irish Times just apologized for publishing an AI-generated hoax article — bylined by an entirely fake AI-generated \"journalist,\" no less." date: "2023-05-16" modified: "2023-05-16" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/newspaper-apologizes-running-ai-generated-article" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "journalism" - "misinformation" - "the digest" --- # Newspaper Apologizes for Accidentally Running Deranged AI-Generated Article ![The Irish Times just apologized for publishing an AI-generated hoax article — bylined by an entirely fake AI-generated "journalist," no less.]() *Businessman reading newspaper in cafe \Image: Getty Images\* ## Whoopsie The influential, 150-year-old newspaper *The* *Irish Times* just apologized for accidentally publishing an AI-generated hoax article — bylined by an entirely fake AI-generated "journalist," no less — in its Opinion section. In a [statement published Sunday](), editor Ruadhán Mac Cormaic apologized for the incident, which he described the incident as a "deliberate and coordinated deception." "It was a breach of the trust between the *Irish Times* and its readers, and we are genuinely sorry," read the statement. "The incident has highlighted a gap in our pre-publication procedures. We need to make them more robust, and we will." "It has also underlined one of the challenges raised by generative AI for news organizations," Mac Cormaic added. "We, like others, will learn and adapt." Welp. [So long, reality](). ## Stir the S\*\*\* The anonymous person behind the AI-generated article in question, "Irish women's obsession with fake tan is problematic," sounds insufferable. They [told the *Guardian*]() that they were actively attempting to both "give \[their\] friends a laugh" and "stir the shit" in the ongoing public discourse about identity politics. Exactly what the internet's information infrastructure needs right now, right? According to the *Guardian*, the plan unfortunately worked, at least to a degree. The piece — which discussed cultural appropriation and the ethics of fake tanning through the purported lens of a fictional Latinx immigrant who grew up in Guayaquil, Ecuador — was reportedly the paper's second-most read article ever published, and sparked discussion online and on the radio. ## Warning Flag Worse, the *Irish Times* only realized that it'd published an AI hoax when the author themselves [took to Twitter]() and, from an account attributed to the fake name that they'd published the story under, admitted to the plot. "Some people have called me an alt-right troll," the unidentified hoaxer, who described themselves as a nonbinary university student — and who also claims to be from Ireland, not Ecuador, although who knows if any of that is true either — told the *Guardian*, "but I don't think that I am." The unnamed student added that they'd used OpenAI's ChatGPT to generate roughly 80 percent of the article, while they used OpenAI's DALL-E 2 text-to-image to create an image of what they believed to be an accurate representation of a "woke" journalist: "female, overweight, blue hair, business casual clothing, smug expression." Gross thing to say! Moving on. The *Irish Times* certainly has some egg on its face, and we'd probably advise everyone in media to learn from their mistake. AI tools are pretty much everywhere now — and as a result, sorting through what's real and what isn't is likely to get increasingly difficult. **More on AI:** [*Reality Is Melting as Lawyers Claim Real Videos Are Deepfakes*]() ## 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]()