The Onion has come under fire for accidentally using an AI-generated image in a recent article, despite the CEO's assurances to the contrary. Following criticism from readers, CEO Ben Collins clarified that this was an innocent mistake, attributing it to a stock photo incident. He stated that their commitment to avoiding AI in their content is genuine and outlined in their union contract. The situation highlights ongoing tensions regarding the use of AI in creative industries, where concerns about originality and artist livelihoods continue to grow amid legal challenges surrounding AI art.
"Come on man, not the AI art," one Bluesky user who spotted the image wrote in a post, highlighting a growing dissent against publications moving away from paying human artists and using lazily AI-generated illustrations instead.
"Hi! Quick note," Collins wrote on Bluesky, minutes after news of the AI image started to spread. "The Onion accidentally posted a stock photo from a vendor with an AI-generated image in it."
"We pulled the post down once we found that out," Collins added. "Our commitment to not using AI is very real. It's in the union contract to disclose it if we ever do."
"World is a slop minefield and we're sorry," Collins concluded, referring to an internet-wide infestation of lazily AI-generated slop that's drowning out entire social media platforms.
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