Wyoming Reporter Caught Using Artificial Intelligence To Create Fake Quotes And Stories

Wyoming Reporter Caught Using Artificial Intelligence To Create Fake Quotes And Stories - NewsLab

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HELENA, Mont. (AP) — A quote 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 the Cody Stampede Parade.

“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.

“It matters not that the false quotes were the apparent error of a hurried rookie reporter that trusted AI. It was my job,” Bacon wrote. He apologized that “AI was allowed to put words that were never spoken into stories.’