FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (Diya TV) — The publisher of Sports Illustrated, The Arena Group, fired its CEO, Ross Levinsohn, in the aftermath of an AI content debacle. The move, part of a broader shake-up, comes after revelations that Sports Illustrated published articles with fake author names and AI-generated profile photos.
Effective immediately, Levinsohn was replaced by Manoj Bhargava, founder of 5-Hour Energy and a majority stakeholder in The Arena Group. The decision follows the termination of three major executives last week.
The controversy unfolded when tech-focused publication Futurism reported Sports Illustrated used AI created content featuring fictitious authors. Arena Group denied the claims, but removed the questionable content pending an internal investigation.
In a statement, The Arena Group’s spokesperson stated the board’s decision to remove a number of executives aimed at enhancing overall business operations
The company’s shares experienced a more than 5% decline following the announcement.
Levinsohn, who assumed the CEO position in 2020 and was a short lived CEO of Yahoo!, led the move to sell a majority of Arena Group to Bhargava just a few months ago.
Editor’s Note: Diya TV’s sister company, Major Market Broadcasting, provided broadcast distribution for SI’s sibling company Newsnet prior to the Arena Group’s merger with that network.
