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Short answer: Sports Illustrated’s former publisher acknowledged that some content carried pen names or pseudonyms, and reporting identified apparently fabricated author profiles with AI-generated-looking biographies and headshots. But the separate claim that the articles themselves were written by artificial intelligence was alleged by Futurism and denied by The Arena Group. It was not established by a publicly disclosed independent audit.
What happened at Sports Illustrated?
On November 27, 2023, Futurism reported that Sports Illustrated had published product reviews and other commercial articles under bylines linked to apparently nonexistent writers. The profiles presented names, biographies and portraits as though they represented real contributors.
The investigation highlighted author pages for names including Sora Tanaka, Drew Ortiz and Ben Ortiz. Their biographies were described as generic or synthetic, while the profile photographs appeared to be AI-generated. Several profiles and articles reportedly disappeared or changed after questions were sent to the publisher.
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- Fabricated author identities: strongly supported by the contemporaneous reporting and partly acknowledged by the publisher’s admission that pseudonyms had been used.
- AI-written article text: alleged by Futurism, but denied by The Arena Group and not publicly proven through an independent forensic audit.
Who were the alleged fake writers?
Sora Tanaka was presented on a Sports Illustrated author page as a fitness and nutrition expert. The Guardian reported that Futurism concluded she was not a real person.
Drew Ortiz was associated with a volleyball article and had what reporting described as a fabricated biography and headshot. Ben Ortiz was also identified by Futurism as a purported author whose identity and profile were questioned.
These should be described as purported authors, apparently fabricated bylines or nonexistent or unverifiable author profiles. The available evidence does not justify claiming that every name ever used by Sports Illustrated was fabricated.
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Contemporaneous reporting pointed to several warning signs:
- Headshots that appeared to be AI-generated.
- Biographies containing generic, awkward or machine-like language.
- No readily verifiable professional history outside Sports Illustrated-related sites.
- Author pages that appeared to exist primarily to support the published content.
- Profiles or articles being removed or altered after the investigation.
Those indicators support describing the images as AI-generated-looking or reported as AI-generated. They are not, by themselves, a technical forensic finding about how each image was made.
Were the articles themselves written by AI?
Futurism alleged that at least some of the articles appeared to be AI-generated. Its reporting cited a source who characterized the content that way and pointed to repetitive, generic or unnatural prose, as well as the connection between the articles and apparently fictional author identities.
The Arena Group, which operated Sports Illustrated at the time, rejected that conclusion. According to its response, the material consisted of commercial and product-review content licensed from AdVon Commerce. The company said AdVon had assured it that the articles were written and edited by humans and that the vendor used anti-plagiarism and anti-AI software.
The Arena Group did acknowledge that AdVon had used pen names or pseudonyms in some articles. It condemned the practice, said it had removed the material, ended its relationship with AdVon and begun an internal investigation.
That response did not resolve the entire controversy. Human-written text can still be published under a deceptive identity. Conversely, unusual prose or an AI detector’s result cannot conclusively establish that a particular article was generated by a machine.
Fake identity is not the same as a pen name
A legitimate pen name can protect a writer’s privacy or provide a consistent editorial identity. The issue here was the apparent presentation of fictional people as real contributors, complete with biographies and portraits.
The publisher’s explanation that pseudonyms were used to protect author privacy was its stated justification, not an independently validated explanation. A privacy-protective pseudonym is materially different from a profile that appears to invent a person’s expertise and image.
AdVon Commerce and the accountability gap
The Arena Group identified AdVon Commerce as the external company that supplied or licensed the affected e-commerce articles. That distinction matters: the episode was not simply a newsroom replacing sports reporters with chatbots. It involved outsourced commercial publishing, vendor assurances, author pages and a major media brand.
But outsourcing does not eliminate the publisher’s responsibility. A reader visiting a Sports Illustrated page could reasonably assume that the publication had checked the author’s identity, reviewed the biography and applied its normal editorial standards. A third-party vendor’s assurances do not substitute for that verification.
Product reviews may be commercial or affiliate-oriented, but they can still influence purchasing decisions. They therefore require accurate bylines, clear disclosure and a truthful explanation of who produced and reviewed the material. Contemporary reporting said some pages later carried language identifying the content as third-party material and stating that SI editorial staff were not involved; that wording should not be treated as a universal disclosure on every affected page. (TheWrap)
What the publisher removed
The Arena Group said it removed the content in question and ended the AdVon partnership. Reporting also described individual author pages and articles disappearing or being altered after the investigation.
That does not establish that every affected page was permanently deleted. The current Sports Illustrated site should not be treated as a complete public archive of its 2023 pages.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why the scandal mattered
The central problem was not merely whether software helped produce prose. It was the combination of:
- Deception: readers were shown identities, biographies and faces that apparently did not belong to real contributors.
- Brand trust: Sports Illustrated’s name implied editorial oversight and expertise.
- Commercial ambiguity: product reviews could influence purchases while resembling ordinary editorial articles.
- Accountability gaps: responsibility was divided among a vendor, publisher, brand owner and editorial operation.
- Representation concerns: Futurism criticized the apparent use of synthetic identities to make the operation look more diverse or authoritative. That criticism should be attributed, not presented as a proven corporate motive.
What happened to Sports Illustrated afterward?
The corporate aftermath unfolded amid broader financial and operational turmoil. It should not all be attributed to the fake-author episode alone.
- November 27–28, 2023: Futurism published its investigation. The Arena Group denied that the articles were AI-generated, attributed them to AdVon, acknowledged pseudonyms and said the content would be removed.
- December 2023: The Arena Group fired CEO Ross Levinsohn amid the company’s wider turmoil. The timing was linked to the controversy in contemporary reporting, but the scandal was not established as the sole formal reason.
- January 18, 2024: Authentic Brands Group terminated Arena’s Sports Illustrated licensing arrangement after a disputed missed payment. Arena’s filings described an approximately $3.75 million payment and a $45 million termination liability. (Arena Group annual report)
- March 18, 2024: Minute Media reached an agreement with Authentic Brands Group to take over Sports Illustrated’s publishing rights and editorial operations. Authentic retained ownership of the brand. (Associated Press)
- June 2024: Sports Illustrated’s FAQ said Minute Media had taken over editorial operations for the magazine and digital products. (SI FAQ)
- August 7, 2024: Minute Media announced that FanNation’s localized team sites were being rebranded as On SI.
- January 20, 2026: Sports Illustrated announced SI TV, a free ad-supported streaming channel under Minute Media’s operation. (SI press release)
Where Sports Illustrated is now
As of August 18, 2026, Sports Illustrated remains active under Minute Media, with digital and print publishing and the SI TV streaming channel. Minute Media’s operation is distinct from The Arena Group’s 2023 operation.
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The later licensing and operating transition does not prove that the AI allegations were legally adjudicated, nor does it establish that Minute Media was responsible for the earlier content.
Final verdict
Sports Illustrated undeniably published content under author identities that were reported as fabricated, and its then-publisher acknowledged that pseudonyms had been used. The stronger claim—that the article text itself was definitively AI-generated—was disputed by The Arena Group and was not established by a publicly disclosed independent audit.
The lasting lesson is broader than “AI wrote Sports Illustrated articles.” The documented failure was presenting outsourced commercial content through fictional or apparently nonexistent people and attaching it to the credibility of a major journalism brand.
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