Journalists at USA Today’s product review site, Reviewed, sounded the alarm, claiming some of the affiliate marketing articles published were AI-generated. According to a Washington Post report, staff writers and the union pointed to two reviews specifically, one for scuba masks and another for vacuum tumblers. The writers claim that the stories have similar wording throughout.
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According to recent reporting, the newly published shopping page where the articles were found was taken down as of Tuesday, Oct. 24, but the individual articles can still be found. Reviewed employees, represented by The NewsGuild of New York, claimed this was an attempt by the company to replace their labor and cut costs.
But a spokesperson at Reviewed told the Post that the articles were not AI-generated. Instead, the spokesperson said that freelancers that were hired by a third party wrote the articles, adding, “the pages were deployed without affiliate disclaimers and did not meet our editorial standards.”
However, the union claims that some freelancers credited with the reviews aren’t real, with writers at Reviewed saying they could not find evidence online that they existed.
The outcry comes a week after a one-day strike staged by Reviewed’s unionized employees, and as union members across the industry and in Hollywood are trying to negotiate for protections against the use of AI.
It’s been about a month since Hollywood writers returned to work after securing some AI protections. Now, actors and journalists hope to reach a deal of their own protecting their work against AI.
IT CAN READ, WRITE, SEE, HEAR AND UNDERSTAND, SPEAK, CREATE – IT CAN EVEN SEEMINGLY READ YOUR MIND AND IMPERSONATE YOU… IT’S ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND IS HAS BURST ONTO THE DIGITAL SCENE, MAKING IT EVEN HARDER TO TRUST WHAT YOU SEE AND READ ON THE INTERNET.
A FEW WEEKS AGO TOM HANKS TOOK TO SOCIAL MEDIA TO WARN HIS FOLLOWERS OF AN AI GENERATED VERSION OF HIMSELF MARKETING A DENTAL PLAN…
NOW, JOURNALISTS AT USA TODAY’S PRODUCT REVIEW SITE… REVIEWED.. ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM CLAIMING SOME OF THE AFFILIATE MARKETING ARTICLES PUBLISHED ON THE SITE WERE AI GENERATED…
STAFF WRITERS AND THE UNION POINTED TO THESE*** TWO REVIEWS SPECIFICALLY… ONE FOR SCUBA MASKS AND ANOTHER FOR TUMBLRS… EACH WITH SIMILAR WORDING.
QUOTE: “THESE ARE SOME OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO CONSIDER AS YOU DECIDE ON THE MASK THAT IS BEST FOR YOU.”
AND THEN.. QUOTE:
“WHEN SHOPPING FOR A TUMBLER, THERE ARE MANY FACTORS TO CONSIDER.”
THE NEWLY PUBLISHED SHOPPING PAGE WHERE THE ARTICLES WERE FOUND WAS TAKEN DOWN AS OF TUESDAY MORNING BUT THE INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES CAN STILL BE FOUND.. WRITERS REPRESENTED BY THE REVIEWED UNION, THE NEWS GUILD OF NEW YORK.. CLAIMED THIS WAS AN ATTEMPT BY THE COMPANY TO REPLACE THEIR LABOR AND CUT COSTS.
BUT A SPOKESPERSON AT REVIEWED TOLD THE POST THAT REVIEWS WERE NOT AI GENERATED… INSTEAD THEY WERE WRITTEN BY FREE-LANCERS HIRED BY A THIRD PARTY. AND ADDED QUOTE… “THE PAGES WERE DEPLOYED WITHOUT AFFILIATE DISCLAIMERS AND DID NOT MEET OUR EDITORIAL STANDARDS.”
HOWEVER THE UNION CLAIMS THAT SOME OF THE FREE-LANCERS CREDITED WITH THE REVIEWS AREN’T REAL… WITH WRITERS AT REVIEWED SAYING THEY COULD NOT FIND EVIDENCE ONLINE THAT THE WRITERS EXISTED..
THIS COMES A WEEK AFTER A ONE-DAY STRIKE STAGED BY REVIEWED UNION MEMBERS… AND AS UNION MEMBERS ACROSS THE INDUSTRY AND IN HOLLYWOOD ARE TRYING TO NEGOTIATE FOR PROTECTIONS AGAINST THE USE OF AI…
IT’S BEEN ABOUT A MONTH SINCE HOLLYWOOD WRITERS HAVE GONE BACK TO WORK AFTER SECURING SOME AI PROTECTIONS… NOW ACTORS AND JOURNALISTS HOPE TO DO THE SAME..
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