A freelance writer was outraged that his name was still being used in AI-generated articles even after he had been fired.
Ben Tuati, a freelance writer who worked for publishing and SEO company Clickout Media, has revealed that after being fired, AI-generated articles were published under his name. Tuati, who wrote gaming-related articles, had his name used for all of the online casino articles.
Journalist fired by Clickout Media saw robot reporter take over their byline - Press Gazette
Tuati, who lives in Sweden, worked as a German and English teacher and in customer support while also working as a freelance writer. She joined Clickout Media in January 2024 and began working as a full-time journalist.
According to Tuati, who worked for Clickout Media, he wrote articles on AI, cryptocurrencies, and general technology topics for a media outlet called Techopedia. However, Google determined that Techopedia was engaging in ' parasite SEO ,' which involves abusing domain authority to mass-produce low-quality articles, and began to exclude it from Google search results. Techopedia published many articles related to casinos.
According to Tuati, the company did not provide a detailed explanation for these issues, only telling him that 'Google had penalized him for keyword issues.' Tuati's superior then instructed him to 'reassign him to another site as we own many other sites,' and he was transferred to Esports Insider, an esports-focused media outlet.
Tuati had no prior knowledge of esports, but was very knowledgeable about games in general, and his boss accepted him, saying, 'You're the ultimate geek.' Tuati wrote articles for the German version of Esports Insider's website, and in August 2025, when Clickout Media acquired the entertainment media outlet The Escapist, he began writing for The Escapist as well.
Tuati recalls, 'I took it very seriously. I even wrote comic book articles because it had been my dream since childhood. I even got a press pass for the event, it really felt like a dream.' On the other hand, management was constantly encouraging writers to 'use AI to write articles.'
Mr. Tuati was beginning to realize that the clutches of AI were closing in on The Escapist. In early 2026, Aftermath
In March 2026, Clickout Media laid off freelancers, including Tuati, citing a lack of work and employees becoming more productive through AI. One manager reportedly told Tuati that they had to terminate his contract because Esports Insider had been removed from Google search results and Escapist was no longer generating much profit.
Tuati's misfortunes didn't end there. On May 26, 2026, Tuati checked Esports Insider and discovered articles published under his name that he didn't remember writing. All of the articles were published after Tuati's contract had been terminated and showed signs of being AI-generated.
Ms. Tuati felt she had been 'humiliated' and filed a GDPR-based claim against Clickout Media, alleging that her personal information had been misused. As a result, Ms. Tuati's name was removed from all articles, which were later republished under a different name. However, at the time of writing, numerous additional articles under Ms. Tuati's name have been posted.
While the German version of Esports Insider already has several articles related to esports posted at the time of writing, the 'Gambling' category is prominently displayed, and there are also many articles about online casinos.
Esports Insider also had a Japanese version of its website, which was once criticized for possibly employing AI writers.
Gaming Ghost Story: The Mysterious Operation of the Japanese Version of the Overseas Esports Media 'Esports Insider' | Yossy
The Escapist has a Japanese version available at the time of writing, and several articles are published under Japanese journalist names, but they are all clearly machine-translated.
The categories that stand out are those related to online casinos.
Incidentally, Mr. Tuati later became independent and launched his own website.
Popkulturist — Essays on games, screens, and the culture around them
https://popkulturist.com/
Related Posts:
in AI, Posted by log1p_kr