--- title: "Rival Slams CNET: “We Will Never Have an Article Written by a Machine”" description: "As the fallout from CNET's scandalous experiment with AI generated articles continues, a big Red Ventures rival has made its stance known." date: "2023-01-24" modified: "2023-01-24" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/rival-slams-cnet-machine" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "ai" - "cnet" - "text generator" - "the digest" --- # Rival Slams CNET: “We Will Never Have an Article Written by a Machine” ![As the fallout from CNET's scandalous experiment with AI generated articles continues, a big Red Ventures rival has made its stance known.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## No Pulled Punches As [the fallout]() from tech news stalwart *CNET*'s disastrous experiment with AI-generated [SEO-bait]() articles — which, as we recently reported, weren't just [shrouded in secrecy]() and [chock full of errors](), but also seem to have been riddled with [substantial instances of plagiarism]() — continues, a major publishing rival to *CNET* owner Red Ventures has made its stance known. "We will never," Neil Vogel, CEO of Dotdash Meredith, the largest digital and print publisher in America and direct Red Ventures competitor, [declared to *Axios*](), "have an article written by a machine." ## Lines in the Sand Importantly, Vogel didn't decry AI entirely. He told *Axios* that his company, which boasts titles including *AllRecipes*, *Martha Stewart*, and *People Magazine*, has already integrated AI into several aspects of the business, like its image-sourcing practices. "We're not denialists," said the CEO. "We actually think it's an incredible opportunity for us." Vogel has a point. Though the ethics of generative AI — be it text-generating, image-generating, or otherwise — is widely debated, there are a lot of AI options out there, and a lot of them are pretty useful. Within the field of journalism, *CNET* certainly isn't the first to incorporate AI into its business. As *Axios* notes, *The Associated Press* has been using automation to assist with [data-driven sports stories](), while financially-minded sites like [*Bloomberg*]() and [*Forbes*]() have used similar tools. What *CNET* was doing, however, was inherently different. It wasn't just using AI to just deliver hard numbers or to streamline or support certain non-journalism workflows. Instead, under a misleading (but since-changed) byline, *CNET* was using a mystery system to write and rewrite full-blown financial explainers — the type of explainer articles targeted at low-information folks looking to learn more about complicated personal finance topics like mortgage rates and interest calculation — for the sake of feeding SEO bots. It's a grim reckoning for a [struggling industry](). But given the breadth and power of Dotdash, we'd be lying if we said that Vogel's comments weren't a heartening silver lining. **READ MORE:** *[Newsrooms reckon with AI following CNET saga]()* \[*Axios*\] **More on CNET:** *[CNET's AI Journalist Appears to Have Committed Extensive Plagiarism]()* ## 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]()