Newspaper hoaxed by AI technology ‘story’

A RESPECTED newspaper in Ireland has apologised after falling victim to a hoaxer who submitted an artificial intelligence (AI) generated story.

Last week, The Irish Times ran an opinion piece from a contributor called Adriana Acosta-cortez, who described herself as a 29-year-old health worker living in north Dublin, excoriating Irish women for using fake tan.

The opinion piece accused them of mocking women with naturally dark skin and of “cultural appropriation and fetishisation of the high melanin content found in more pigmented people”.

It was the second most-read piece on the paper’s website and prompted a vigorous debate across the Irish media.

All was well until a Twitter account in the name Adriana Acosta-cortez disowned the piece. “Genuinely sad that a once respectable news source has degraded themselves with such divisive tripe in order to generate clicks and traffic for their website. You need a better screening process than a believable gmail address,” the tweet read.

It caused consternation at the respected newspaper which dates back to 1859. Ruadhán Mac Cormaic, the editor,

‘There had been lengthy consultations with author, who offered anecdotes and links to the research’

issued a lengthy mea culpa. “The paper had published the piece in good faith,” he wrote. “Indeed there had been lengthy consultations between The Irish Times and the author, who had made suggested edits, offered personal anecdotes and links to the relevant research. It now appears that the article and the accompanying byline photo may have been produced, at least in part, using generative AI technology,” he added.

“It was a hoax; the person we were corresponding with was not who they claimed to be. We had fallen victim to a deliberate and coordinated deception.”

The operator of the Adriana Acostacortez Twitter account explained all to The Sunday Independent, another Irish paper.

‘I made a semi-legitimate Gmail address with no numbers and I also repurposed a Twitter account that I set up during Covid,” the author wrote.

“I wiped it and followed some accounts, news and Ecuadorian outlets, some Spanish language to make it look legit.” An embarrassed Mr Mac Cormaic added: “We don’t take this lightly. It was a breach of the trust between [the newspaper] and its readers, and we are genuinely sorry.”