Sports Illustrated's publisher has ousted CEO Ross Levinsohn following the publication of articles featuring nonexistent writers and AI-generated profile pictures. The board of directors at The Arena Group made the decision to terminate Levinsohn's employment, appointing Manoj Bhargava as interim Chief Executive Officer.
In a statement, the company explained that this action follows the recent termination of operations president and COO Andrew Kraft, media president Rob Barrett, and corporate counsel Julie Fenster.
The controversy surrounding the use of AI in creating content sparked intense criticism within the media sphere and prompted outrage among Sports Illustrated staff, according to reports from Futurism.
"Effective immediately, Ross Levinsohn will be leaving the company and his role as CEO," Grady Tripp, the company's senior vice president of people, wrote in an email to staff.
"This follows the recent departure of three senior executives last week."
Bhargava is the founder of the energy drink brand 5-hour Energy and majority investor of The Arena Group, which owns Sports Illustrated, TheStreet, Parade, Men's Journal, and HubPages.
The company aggregates content across a diverse portfolio of over 265 brands, reaching over 100 million users monthly.
