A reporter in Wyoming has resigned after he was caught using artificial intelligence to make up quotes, with AI pulling in material that had been published years earlier and producing sentences such as “This structure ensures that the most critical information is presented first, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly” — an apparent description of the inverted-pyramid form of newswriting.
Aaron Pelczar, a reporter for the Cody Enterprise (“Founded by Buffalo Bill in 1899”), quit after CJ Baker of the rival Powell Tribune confronted him with the goods.
“To date,” Baker wrote, “seven people — ranging from Gov. Mark Gordon to the victim of an alleged crime — have indicated to the Tribune that they didn’t make the statements Pelczar quoted them as making. The Tribune also found a number of other quotes that were altered in some way or attributed to the wrong person.”
Baker’s account is just nuts and is well worth spending a few minutes poring over. And thanks to Adam Gaffin of Universal Hub for passing this along.