Sports Illustrated Accused of AI Plagiarism Jonathan Bailey May 19, 2026 4 minutes read On Sunday, Sportico editor and journalist Dan Bernstein took to X (formerly Twitter) to accuse Sports Illustrated (SI) of plagiarism . Two days earlier, he, along with his co-author Lev Akabas, had published a piece entitled Kalshi Retail Bettors Have Lost $100m+ on Parlays This Year . The article is a detailed analysis of parlay bets made on the Kalshi platform, finding that gamblers had lost approximately $117 million in the first four months of this year. Two days after the Sportico article debuted, SI published its own article, this one entitled, Who Is Really Winning on Kalshi Parlays According to the Data. The article, attributed to Parker Loverich, contained all of the same information as the Sportico one, without any attribution or acknowledgment. Because of the nature of the article, many, including Bernstein, hypothesized that the article was generated with AI. Though there is no definitive way to prove that, the article contained all of the same data and information, simply rewritten, which is commonly done using AI. After Bernstein’s post went live and Maggie Harrison Dupré at Futurism covered the story , SI responded quickly. It not only deleted the article but deleted the entire author’s profile. Then, everything else connected with Loverich also went offline, including his LinkedIn, his X account, and more. In a statement to Awful Announcing , a spokesperson for SI said, “Parker Loverich is a real reporter. The predictions market on SI’s site was managed by an independent publisher who is expected to abide by Sports Illustrated’s editorial guidelines. Sports Illustrated became aware of a violation of those guidelines in regards to the use of AI and immediately took steps internally to address this violation, including cutting ties with the publisher.” While that would seem to be a strong, ethical reaction by SI, the problem is that the company doesn’t have a lot of credibility in this space. It was barely two and a half years ago that the company made headlines for adopting AI in all the worst possible ways. A Sordid History Back in November 2023, Sports Illustrated found itself at the center of a different AI controversy . Also first reported by Maggie Harrison Dupré at Futurism , the company was accused of publishing low-quality AI-generated content using the names and images of fake reporters, whose bios and images were also AI-generated. At the time, the publication was owned by The Arena Group. Similar to this case, SI said that the content was provided by a third-party service and that, after learning of the AI usage, the company parted ways with the publisher. A few months later, SI would part ways with The Arena Group and come under the banner of Minute Media . Minute Media, at the time, was investing heavily into the brand and was seeking to rehire some of the staffers that The Arena Group laid off. Now, just two years after that change, SI is back exactly where it was. Facing allegations of unethical AI writing, blaming the issue on dubious third-party content partners and losing even more of its once-stellar reputation. To make matters worse, though it does appear that Parker Loverich is a real person , he has disappeared. We have no way of getting his side of the story or even confirming that he was the person who “wrote” the article in question. Normally, I would be willing to give SI the benefit of the doubt here. However, they have been caught using fake reporters before. And that, ultimately, is the problem. How can we believe their narrative after all that has happened? I don’t feel like we can. Benefit of the Doubt All of that said, let’s give Sports Illustrated the benefit of the doubt regardless. This still doesn’t make SI look good. It’s bad enough to give a third-party publisher so much leeway that they publish AI content with your approval once, but to have it happen twice, under different ownership, is mind-boggling. The November 2023 incident was an opportunity to learn and rebuild. The acquisition by Minute Media could have been an excellent opportunity to do exactly that. Instead, they fell into the same trap and made largely the same mistake. The adage that begins with “Fool me once, shame on you” feels very apropos here. At some point, the issue isn’t the third parties, but SI itself. The problem isn’t an individual reporter or publisher, but the structure of the publication itself. To be clear, I am not without sympathy. These are very difficult times for news publishers. They have been struggling for decades, and AI introduces still more challenges. However, the solution is not to surrender control of what is published under your name. Media outlets like Sports Illustrated live and die by their reputation. The problem with a reputation is that it takes decades to build but only seconds to destroy. Stories like this one are textbook examples of how to destroy a reputation. When publications like SI allow others to publish under their banner, they inevitably will have to own any ethical missteps those people commit. So blaming a third party does not absolve them of responsibility, especially since this isn’t the first time. Bottom Line This story breaks my heart. Though I’ve never been significantly into sports, I am old enough to remember when Sports Illustrated was the pinnacle of sports journalism. It’s where college students dreamed of writing and the place that even non-sports fans, like myself, trusted the most on the topic. That is not the case anymore. When Bernstein describes SI as a “husk,” he is not wrong. Stories like this one paint the picture of SI being a brand that is being exploited instead of honored. It’s sad. Though all legacy media properties have struggled some over the past few decades, many are still relevant today. What they have in common is that they’ve, by and large, maintained their reputation for quality work and have largely avoided scandals and issues like this one. Though SI could have turned things around, it clearly has made choices that make it impossible. I suspect most people are unaware of the ownership changes the magazine has gone through. I was until researching this article. As such, this isn’t the “first Minute Media” scandal but the “second Sports Illustrated” one. That is something SI cannot afford, especially with the headwinds it is facing. Want to Reuse or Republish this Content? If you want to feature this article in your site, classroom or elsewhere, just let us know! We usually grant permission within 24 hours. Click Here to Get Permission for Free Jonathan Bailey May 19, 2026 4 minutes read Share Facebook X LinkedIn Print
Curated by Taleb Kabbara · Source: www.plagiarismtoday.com