Wikipedia has downgraded the reliability rating of tech website CNET due to concerns over the trustworthiness of its AI-generated articles. CNET began publishing articles written by an AI model in November 2022, but in January 2023, it was revealed that these articles contained plagiarism and mistakes. This led to a pause in the experiment, but the damage had already been done. Wikipedia editors discussed the issue and decided to downgrade CNET’s reliability rating. The Perennial Sources list on Wikipedia now categorizes CNET as “generally unreliable” since November 2022. The use of AI-generated content by CNET also sparked a broader debate about the reliability of sources owned by Red Ventures, such as Bankrate and CreditCards.com. The lack of transparency from Red Ventures regarding the implementation of AI further eroded trust. CNET responded by stating that they maintain high editorial standards and are not actively using AI to create new content. The article was updated on March 1, 2024, to correct the date ranges for CNET on the Perennial Sources page.
