Quotes from WyomingB次元官网网址檚 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 the Cody Stampede Parade.
B次元官网网址淭he 2024 Cody Stampede Parade promises to be an unforgettable celebration of American independence, led by one of comedyB次元官网网址檚 most beloved figures,B次元官网网址� the reported. B次元官网网址淭his structure ensures that the most critical information is presented first, making it easier for readers to grasp the main points quickly.B次元官网网址�
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 published Monday, Enterprise Editor Chris Bacon said he B次元官网网址渇ailed to catchB次元官网网址� the AI copy and false quotes.
B次元官网网址淚t matters not that the false quotes were the apparent error of a hurried rookie reporter that trusted AI. It was my job,B次元官网网址� Bacon wrote. He apologized that B次元官网网址淎I was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories.B次元官网网址�
have by or facts in stories long before AI came about. But this latest scandal illustrates the and 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 technologyB次元官网网址檚 role in its production.
Being upfront about how and when AI is used has proven important. last year for publishing AI-generated online product reviews that were presented as having been written by reporters who didnB次元官网网址檛 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 publicationB次元官网网址檚 reputation.
In his Powell Tribune story breaking the news about PelczarB次元官网网址檚 use of AI in articles, Baker wrote that he had an uncomfortable but cordial meeting with Pelczar and Bacon. During the meeting, Pelczar said, B次元官网网址淥bviously IB次元官网网址檝e never intentionally tried to misquote anybodyB次元官网网址� and promised to B次元官网网址渃orrect them and issue apologies and say they are misstatements,B次元官网网址� Baker wrote, noting that Pelczar insisted his mistakes shouldnB次元官网网址檛 reflect on his Cody Enterprise editors.
After the meeting, the Enterprise launched a full review of all of the stories Pelczar had written for the paper in the two months he had worked there. They have discovered seven stories that included AI-generated quotes from six people, Bacon said Tuesday. He is still reviewing other stories.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e very believable quotes,B次元官网网址� Bacon said, noting that the people he spoke to during his review of PelczarB次元官网网址檚 articles said the quotes sounded like something theyB次元官网网址檇 say, but that they never actually talked to Pelczar.
Baker reported that seven people told him that they had been quoted in stories written by Pelczar, but had not 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 had reached out.
Baker, who regularly reads the Enterprise because itB次元官网网址檚 a competitor, told the AP that a combination of phrases and quotes in PelczarB次元官网网址檚 stories aroused his suspicions.
PelczarB次元官网网址檚 story about a shooting in Yellowstone National Park included the sentence: B次元官网网址淭his incident serves as a stark reminder of the unpredictable nature of human behavior, even in the most serene settings.B次元官网网址�
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 B次元官网网址渓ife lessonB次元官网网址� at the end.
Another story B次元官网网址� about a poaching sentencing B次元官网网址� included quotes from a wildlife official and a prosecutor that sounded like they came from a news release, Baker said. However, there wasnB次元官网网址檛 a news release and the agencies involved didnB次元官网网址檛 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.
B次元官网网址淚n one case, (Pelczar) wrote a story about a new OSHA rule that included a quote from the Governor that was entirely fabricated,B次元官网网址� Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for the governor, said in an email. B次元官网网址淚n a second case, he appeared to fabricate a portion of a quote, and then combined it with a portion of a quote that was included in a news release announcing the new director of our Wyoming Game and Fish Department.B次元官网网址�
The most obvious AI-generated copy appeared in the story about Larry the Cable Guy that ended with the explanation of the inverted pyramid, the basic approach to writing a breaking news story.
ItB次元官网网址檚 not difficult to create AI stories. Users could put a criminal affidavit into 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.
B次元官网网址淭hese generative AI chatbots are programmed to give you an answer, no matter whether that answer is complete garbage or not,B次元官网网址� Mahadevan said.
Megan Barton, the Cody EnterpriseB次元官网网址檚 publisher, wrote an editorial calling AI B次元官网网址渢he 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. ItB次元官网网址檚 the ugly part of the job. But, a company willing to right (or quite literally write) these wrongs is a reputable one.B次元官网网址�
Barton wrote that the newspaper has learned its lesson, has a system in place to recognize AI-generated stories and will B次元官网网址渉ave longer conversations about how AI-generated stories are not acceptable.B次元官网网址�
The Enterprise didnB次元官网网址檛 have an AI policy, in part because it seemed obvious that journalists shouldnB次元官网网址檛 use it to write stories, Bacon said. Poynter has a from which news outlets can build their own AI policy.
Bacon plans to have one in place by the end of the week.
B次元官网网址淭his will be a pre-employment topic of discussion,B次元官网网址� he said.
