United StatesMedia and entertainment2024Cody Enterprise
Reporter's use of AI to write news stories
Wyoming's Cody Enterprise found AI-made quotes in seven stories by a new reporter, who resigned
Problem
The small Wyoming newspaper had a new reporter, and its editors had no written policy on AI use. They did not catch fabricated quotes in his stories before publication.
Approach
Reporter Aaron Pelczar used AI to write stories in 2024. A reporter at the rival Powell Tribune, CJ Baker, noticed odd quotes in a June article about a parade grand marshal and told the paper. Pelczar resigned before the Enterprise's review ended. The editor and publisher apologised, added editor's notes to affected stories, and planned an AI policy. The publisher said the paper already had a way to recognise AI-written stories.
Results
Takeaway
The paper had no AI rule when the problem surfaced, and a rival newsroom found it before the paper's own editors did. The editor said the failure to catch it was his.
Categories
- Size
- Small business
- Industry
- Media and entertainment
- Business function
- Internal work and knowledge management
- Innovation type
- Process innovation
- AI technology
- Generative AI
- Adoption
- Off-the-shelf tool or platform
- Evidence
- Company's own claim
Sources
Source summaries
The AP reported that a Powell Tribune reporter spotted fabricated quotes in a Cody Enterprise story and that the Enterprise's review found seven stories with AI-generated quotes from six people. Two stories carried fake quotes from Governor Mark Gordon. The editor said he failed to catch the copy, the paper had no AI policy and planned one within the week, and the publisher said the paper now has a way to recognise AI-written stories.
Full details are in the original sources.
