Wired and Business Insider removed articles credited to a seemingly fictitious writer after suspicions arose that the pieces were AI-generated and contained fabricated details. According to Yahoo News, which cites a Press Gazette investigation, multiple outlets took down features by “Margaux Blanchard” after questions about authenticity and sourcing.
Publications pull articles and post editor’s notes
Press Gazette reported that Index on Censorship concluded an article by the same author “appears to have been written by AI” after being contacted about it. Wired and Business Insider subsequently deleted work under the Blanchard byline. Business Insider added an editor’s note stating the essay “Remote work has been the best thing for me as a parent but the worst as a person” was removed because it did not meet the outlet’s standards. Wired posted an editor’s note explaining that “They Fell in Love Playing Minecraft. Then the Game Became Their Wedding Venue” was taken down for not meeting editorial standards.
An archived version of the Wired feature showed a polished narrative about a couple who met in Minecraft, but closer reading suggested familiar AI-like sentence patterns, and it referenced a Chicago officiant who does not appear to exist. The Wired story was aggregated by other outlets, including Mashable, where the associate editor described it as a “charming feature” before the post was replaced by an editor’s note.
Other outlets named in the investigation
Business Insider also ran two personal essays under the same byline within days of each other; one, about becoming a parent, remains available on the site’s Dutch localization. Additional publications cited as carrying Blanchard-bylined work include Cone Magazine and SFGate. An SFGate piece on Disneyland superfans remained live and mentioned a TikTok creator said to have more than 100,000 followers who does not seem to exist.
Editors describe suspicious pitches and verification hurdles
Dispatch editor Jacob Furedi told Press Gazette he received a convincing pitch about a Colorado town purportedly repurposed into the “world’s most secretive training grounds for death investigation,” but he could find no evidence the town existed. He raised alarms and said he believed Blanchard was “bullshitting.”
The episode underscores how quickly AI-written copy can infiltrate reputable outlets and how human editors can be misled by convincing submissions. Yahoo News notes that several publications have taken down questionable articles and added editor’s notes, while also highlighting prior instances of news organizations publishing similar content.
