Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Wyoming reporter caught using artificial intelligence to create fake quotes and stories

ENT

Wyoming reporter caught using artificial intelligence to create fake quotes and stories
ENT

ENT

Wyoming reporter caught using artificial intelligence to create fake quotes and stories

2024-08-15 03:54 Last Updated At:04:00

Quotes from Wyoming's governor and a local prosecutor were the first things that seemed slightly off to Powell Tribune reporter CJ Baker. Then, it was some of the phrases in the stories that struck him as nearly robotic.

The dead giveaway, though, that a reporter from a competing news outlet was using generative artificial intelligence to help write his stories came in a June 26 article about the comedian Larry the Cable Guy being chosen as the grand marshal of a local parade. It concluded with an explanation of the inverted pyramid, the basic approach to writing a breaking news story.

“The 2024 Cody Stampede Parade promises to be an unforgettable celebration of American independence, led by one of comedy’s most beloved figures,” the Cody Enterprise reported. “This structure ensures that the most critical information is presented first, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly.”

After doing some digging, Baker, who has been a reporter for more than 15 years, met with Aaron Pelczar, a 40-year-old who was new to journalism and who Baker says admitted that he had used AI in his stories before he resigned from the Enterprise.

The publisher and editor at the Enterprise, which was co-founded in 1899 by Buffalo Bill Cody, have since apologized and vowed to take steps to ensure it never happens again. In an editorial published Monday, Enterprise Editor Chris Bacon said he “failed to catch” the AI copy and false quotes and apologized that “AI was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories.”

Journalists have derailed their careers by making up quotes or facts in stories long before AI came about. But this latest scandal illustrates the potential pitfalls and dangers that AI poses to many industries, including journalism, as chatbots can spit out spurious if somewhat plausible articles with only a few prompts.

AI has found a role in journalism, including in the automation of certain tasks. Some newsrooms, including The Associated Press, use AI to free up reporters for more impactful work, but most AP staff are not allowed to use generative AI to create publishable content.

The AP has been using technology to assist in articles about financial earnings reports since 2014, and more recently for some sports stories. It is also experimenting with an AI tool to translate some stories from English to Spanish. At the end of each such story is a note that explains technology’s role in its production.

Being upfront about how and when AI is used has proven important. Sports Illustrated was criticized last year for publishing AI-generated online product reviews that were presented as having been written by reporters who didn't actually exist. After the story broke, SI said it was firing the company that produced the articles for its website, but the incident damaged the once-powerful publication's reputation.

In his Powell Tribune story breaking the news about Pelczar's use of AI in articles, Baker wrote that he had an uncomfortable but cordial meeting with Pelczar and Bacon. During the meeting, Pelczar said, “Obviously I’ve never intentionally tried to misquote anybody” and promised to “correct them and issue apologies and say they are misstatements,” Baker wrote, noting that Pelczar insisted his mistakes shouldn’t reflect on his Cody Enterprise editors.

After the meeting, the Enterprise discovered seven stories that included AI-generated quotes from six people, Bacon said Tuesday. He is still reviewing other stories.

“They're very believable quotes,” Bacon said, noting that the people he spoke to during his review of Pelczar's articles said the quotes sounded like something they'd say, but that they had never actually talked to Pelczar.

Baker reported that seven people told him that they had been quoted in Pelczar stories but hadn't spoken to him.

Pelczar did not respond to an AP phone message left at a number listed as his asking to discuss what happened. Bacon said Pelczar declined to discuss the matter with another Wyoming newspaper that reached out.

Baker, who regularly reads the Enterprise because it's a competitor, told the AP that a combination of phrases and quotes in Pelczar's stories aroused his suspicions.

Pelczar's story about a shooting in Yellowstone National Park included the sentence: “This incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of human behavior, even in the most serene settings.”

Baker said the line sounded like the summaries of his stories that a certain chatbot seems to generate, in that it tacks on some kind of a “life lesson” at the end.

Another story — about a poaching sentencing — included quotes from a wildlife official and a prosecutor that sounded like they came from a news release, Baker said. However, there wasn't a news release and the agencies involved didn't know where the quotes had come from, he said.

Two of the questioned stories included fake quotes from Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon that his staff only learned about when Baker called them. One quote was entirely fabricated and another was partially fabricated, said Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for the governor.

It's not difficult to create AI-generated stories. Users could put a criminal affidavit through an AI program and ask it to write an article about the case including quotes from local officials, said Alex Mahadevan, director of a digital media literacy project at the Poynter Institute, the preeminent journalism think tank.

“These generative AI chatbots are programmed to give you an answer, no matter whether that answer is complete garbage or not," Mahadevan said.

Megan Barton, the Cody Enterprise's publisher, wrote an editorial calling AI “the new, advanced form of plagiarism and in the field of media and writing, plagiarism is something every media outlet has had to correct at some point or another."

Barton wrote that the newspaper now has a system in place to recognize AI-generated stories and will “have longer conversations about how AI-generated stories are not acceptable.”

In his editorial, Bacon invoked the legacy of former professional baseball player Robin Ventura, who famously got the worst of a scuffle with Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan after charging the mound during a 1993 game in a scene that is reposted on social media to this day. The editor compares his own shame to the ridicule that the then-Chicago White Sox infielder (Bacon misidentified him as a member of the Chicago Cubs) experiences to this day.

“I always suspected that the thought of being taken to the woodshed in front of millions in a fight Ventura started hurt more than his face. Now, your editor having been taken to the woodshed in the Wyoming press, I am sure of it.”

The Enterprise didn't have an AI policy, in part because it seemed obvious that journalists shouldn't use it to write stories, Bacon said. Poynter has a template from which news outlets can build their own AI policy.

Bacon, a military veteran and former air ambulance pilot who was named editor in May after a few months working as a reporter, plans to have a policy in place by the end of the week.

“This will be a pre-employment topic of discussion,” he said.

Hanson reported from Helena, Montana.

A recent issue of the Cody Enterprise, the Wyoming newspaper where a reporter used artificial intelligence to help write his stories, is seen Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the Wyoming State Library in Cheyenne. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

A recent issue of the Cody Enterprise, the Wyoming newspaper where a reporter used artificial intelligence to help write his stories, is seen Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, at the Wyoming State Library in Cheyenne. (AP Photo/Mead Gruver)

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United great Alex Ferguson will step down from his role as club ambassador at the end of the season, a person with knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.

Ferguson will be 83 in December and the person said the ending of his ambassadorship was “amicable” and he would “always be welcome at Old Trafford.”

Ferguson won 13 Premier League titles with United and is widely regarded as one of the finest managers in the history of soccer. He is United's most successful manager, having won 28 major trophies.

He has been a club ambassador since retiring after leading United to its last league title in 2013.

His imminent departure comes at a time when the club is undergoing major change following the partial buyout by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe in February.

United has undergone an extensive restructuring program following Ratcliffe’s investment of $1.3 billion for a 27.7% stake and implemented cost-saving initiatives that it said included staff redundancies of around 250 roles.

United reported losses of 113.2 million pounds ($148 million) in its latest accounts.

Ferguson was hired by United in 1986 at a time when the club had long-since lost its place as the pre-eminent force in English soccer.

He ended its 26-year wait for the league title in 1993 and went on to dominate the Premier League era right up until his retirement when United was crowned champion with an 11-point lead over Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City.

He also won two Champions League titles and an unprecedented treble of trophies in 1999 when leading United to victory in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

He has been a regular spectator at United games since his retirement, watching the team home and away during a time when the club has been in obvious decline on the field.

Ratcliffe assumed control of United's soccer operations as part of his minority investment. The sporting side had previously been under the control of the majority owning American Glazer family.

A new CEO, Omar Berrada, and sporting director, Dan Ashworth, have been installed, while key figures at Ratcliffe’s Ineos Sport, Dave Brailsford and Jean-Claude Blanc, have been appointed to the board.

James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

FILE - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, watches a large TV screen during The County Hurdle race as his horse L'Eau Du Sud came in second place behind Absurde, during the final day of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File)

FILE - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, watches a large TV screen during The County Hurdle race as his horse L'Eau Du Sud came in second place behind Absurde, during the final day of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham Racecourse, England, Friday, March 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland, File)

FILE - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson waves as he takes his seat on the stands before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

FILE - Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson waves as he takes his seat on the stands before the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

Recommended Articles