The Irish Times removes hoax article generated by AI, issues apology

The Irish Times has removed an article which was submitted to it by a hoaxer who used artificial intelligence (AI). Issuing an apology on its website on Sunday (May 14), The Irish Times said the article headlined- "Irish women’s obsession with fake tan is problematic"- was written by someone purporting to be a young immigrant woman in the country. The article made an argument which has been aired in other countries but related it to the Irish context.

"Over the course of several days, the author engaged with the relevant editorial desk - taking suggestions for edits on board, offering personal anecdotes and supplying links to relevant research. All of this was taken in good faith, and the article was published online on Thursday morning (May 11)," The Irish Times said in its apology.

The publication added that less than 24 hours after the article was published, it became aware that the column might not have been genuine.

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"It now appears that the article and the accompanying byline photo may have been produced, at least in part, using generative AI technology. 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 Irish Times further said.

According to a report by The Guardian on Monday, The Irish Times ran the opinion piece from a contributor bylined as Adriana Acosta-Cortez. The article accused Irish women who used fake tan of mocking those with naturally dark skin.

The writer Adriana Acosta-Cortez was identified as a 29-year-old Ecuadorian health worker who lived in north Dublin. The article started with this line- “Dear Irish women, we need to talk about fake tan.” It said that women who artificially darkened their skin were donning exotic costumes.

“Fake tan represents more than just an innocuous cosmetic choice; it raises questions of cultural appropriation and fetishisation of the high melanin content found in more pigmented people,” it further said.

The article was the second-most-read story in The Irish Times. The Guardian reported that a day after the article was published, a Twitter account in Acosta-Cortez's name posted a tweet, criticising the publication.

"The Irish Times 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 on May 12 read.

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