Sports Illustrated publisher Arena Group announced Monday that CEO Ross Levinson has been fired, the company’s latest layoff in the wake of the AI scandal.
The Arena Group said in a statement that Mr. Levinson will be succeeded for the time being by Manoj Bhargava, founder and CEO of Innovation Ventures, known for developing the 5-hour energy drink. .
The reason for Levinson’s termination was not disclosed, but the company said its board had “taken steps to improve the company’s operational efficiency and profitability.”
This comes after the company fired business president and chief operating officer Andrew Craft, media president Rob Barrett and corporate general counsel Julie Fenster last week.
Sports Illustrated found itself in a quagmire in November after an article on science and technology news site Futurism accused the former sports news giant of using AI-generated content and author headshots without revealing them to readers. Ta.
The author’s name and background are not related to any real person, Futurism reported.
When Futurism reached out to The Arena Group for comment on its use of AI, all AI-generated authors disappeared from Sports Illustrated’s website. Arena Group later stated that the articles in question were product reviews and content licensed from an external third-party company, AdVonCommerce, that all articles were written and edited by humans, and that writers were allowed to use pseudonyms. announced that it was guaranteed.
Neither the Arena Group firings nor Mr. Levinson’s firing last week touched on the AI controversy.