Top News Site Deletes Dozens of Articles After AI Scam Probe [View all]

Source: Daily Beast

Updated Sep. 6 2025 4:28AM EDT
Published Sep. 5 2025 4:43PM EDT


A leading news website has removed dozens of articles after apparently being conned by bogus “journalists”—who may have been assisted in their deception by AI.

Business Insider quietly deleted at least 34 articles written under 13 different bylines after admitting it had published two articles written by a phony “journalist” who used the fake name “Margaux Blanchard.”

Now it has deleted dozens more written by “Tim Stevensen,” “Nate Giovanni,” “Nathan Giovanni,” “Amarilis J. Yera,” “Onyeka Nwelue,” “Alice Amayu,” “Mia Brown,” “Tracy Miller,” “Margaret Awano,” “Erica Mayor,” “Kalmar Theodore,” “Lauren Bennett,” “Louisa Eunice,” and “Alyssa Scott.” All were replaced with a single-sentence note saying they “didn’t meet Business Insider’s standards.”

A review by the Daily Beast has found the articles that Business Insider deleted were all “personal essays,” for which the outlet pays between $200 and $300. The first was published in April 2024 and the most recent in August, days before the “Margaux Blanchard” scam came to light.

Read more: https://www.thedailybeast.com/business-insider-deletes-dozens-of-articles-after-ai-scam-probe/