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  3. What's going on here?

What's going on here?

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  • TaggartM Taggart

    What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

    UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

    https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

    dataramaD This user is from outside of this forum
    dataramaD This user is from outside of this forum
    datarama
    wrote last edited by
    #11

    @mttaggart Why is it that I *immediately* figured that the byline would be Benj Edwards?

    rewarpR 1 Reply Last reply
    0
    • TaggartM Taggart

      What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

      UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

      https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

      Corey Snipes 🕯️❄️C This user is from outside of this forum
      Corey Snipes 🕯️❄️C This user is from outside of this forum
      Corey Snipes 🕯️❄️
      wrote last edited by
      #12

      @mttaggart lol @ the one downvote

      1 Reply Last reply
      0
      • SnoopJS SnoopJ

        @jalefkowit @mttaggart I'm really saddened that Benj's work seems to have fallen off. I trusted his writing, once.

        GlyphG This user is from outside of this forum
        GlyphG This user is from outside of this forum
        Glyph
        wrote last edited by
        #13

        @SnoopJ @jalefkowit @mttaggart I am tempted to go on a tagging spree but out of respect for your mentions I will refrain. but what the hell, someone needs to be held to account for this

        GlyphG 1 Reply Last reply
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        • GlyphG Glyph

          @SnoopJ @jalefkowit @mttaggart I am tempted to go on a tagging spree but out of respect for your mentions I will refrain. but what the hell, someone needs to be held to account for this

          GlyphG This user is from outside of this forum
          GlyphG This user is from outside of this forum
          Glyph
          wrote last edited by
          #14

          @SnoopJ @jalefkowit @mttaggart in this day and age I do not want to go around saying reporters should be fired, I get that it’s hard out there, but this needs to be a MAJOR scandal for ars and for Benj and Kyle personally

          SnoopJS 1 Reply Last reply
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          • GlyphG Glyph

            @SnoopJ @jalefkowit @mttaggart in this day and age I do not want to go around saying reporters should be fired, I get that it’s hard out there, but this needs to be a MAJOR scandal for ars and for Benj and Kyle personally

            SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
            SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
            SnoopJ
            wrote last edited by
            #15

            @glyph @jalefkowit @mttaggart at the very least, it is egregious malpractice.

            TaggartM Asta [AMP]A 2 Replies Last reply
            0
            • SnoopJS SnoopJ

              @glyph @jalefkowit @mttaggart at the very least, it is egregious malpractice.

              TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
              TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
              Taggart
              wrote last edited by
              #16

              @SnoopJ @glyph @jalefkowit I can not imagine an explanation of how this occurred that isn't damning.

              SnoopJS 1 Reply Last reply
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              • TaggartM Taggart

                @SnoopJ @glyph @jalefkowit I can not imagine an explanation of how this occurred that isn't damning.

                SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                SnoopJ
                wrote last edited by
                #17

                @mttaggart @glyph @jalefkowit laying my personal wager on "someone used the nonsense machine" but agreed, I cannot think of any explanation for this that would be remotely acceptable.

                SnoopJS 1 Reply Last reply
                0
                • SnoopJS SnoopJ

                  @mttaggart @glyph @jalefkowit laying my personal wager on "someone used the nonsense machine" but agreed, I cannot think of any explanation for this that would be remotely acceptable.

                  SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                  SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                  SnoopJ
                  wrote last edited by
                  #18

                  @mttaggart @glyph @jalefkowit correction: I *can* think of one, and it's "they accidentally quoted from the hit-piece blog articles instead"

                  But they didn't do that, those don't contain the quotes either.

                  Jason LefkowitzJ 1 Reply Last reply
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                  • SnoopJS SnoopJ

                    @glyph @jalefkowit @mttaggart at the very least, it is egregious malpractice.

                    Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                    Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                    Asta [AMP]
                    wrote last edited by
                    #19

                    @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io @glyph@mastodon.social @jalefkowit@vmst.io @mttaggart@infosec.exchange I am disappointed, although not surprised, that my read on Benj's work at Ars turned out to the accurate one in recent years. Bleh.

                    SnoopJS 1 Reply Last reply
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                    • TaggartM Taggart

                      What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                      UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                      https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                      AddisonA This user is from outside of this forum
                      AddisonA This user is from outside of this forum
                      Addison
                      wrote last edited by
                      #20

                      @mttaggart@infosec.exchange link is dead

                      chris@strafpla.netC 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • Asta [AMP]A Asta [AMP]

                        @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io @glyph@mastodon.social @jalefkowit@vmst.io @mttaggart@infosec.exchange I am disappointed, although not surprised, that my read on Benj's work at Ars turned out to the accurate one in recent years. Bleh.

                        SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                        SnoopJS This user is from outside of this forum
                        SnoopJ
                        wrote last edited by
                        #21

                        @aud very rude of him to fall off so strongly immediately after I defended his work to you

                        Asta [AMP]A cthos 🐱C 2 Replies Last reply
                        0
                        • TaggartM Taggart

                          What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                          UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                          https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                          BrettB This user is from outside of this forum
                          BrettB This user is from outside of this forum
                          Brett
                          wrote last edited by
                          #22

                          @mttaggart

                          Seeing the absolute shit shoveling going on that counts for producing content at Ars over the past well...10-15 years at this point...

                          I'm not sure anyone should be following them let alone paying them subscription money.

                          That they are now using AI to write their articles is the least surprising thing ever. What a catastrophic fall from grace.

                          1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • TaggartM Taggart

                            What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                            UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                            https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                            Eric JenningsH This user is from outside of this forum
                            Eric JenningsH This user is from outside of this forum
                            Eric Jennings
                            wrote last edited by
                            #23

                            @mttaggart @mhoye Looks like @arstechnica just pulled the article.

                            TaggartM 1 Reply Last reply
                            0
                            • SnoopJS SnoopJ

                              @aud very rude of him to fall off so strongly immediately after I defended his work to you

                              Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                              Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                              Asta [AMP]
                              wrote last edited by
                              #24

                              @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io One explanation I can think of is that an editor or Conde Nast higher up generated this using the author's bylines, without their involvement.

                              I would not put it past Conde Nast.

                              Asta [AMP]A 1 Reply Last reply
                              0
                              • TaggartM Taggart

                                What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                                UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                                https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                                brendan (ジャンク品)B This user is from outside of this forum
                                brendan (ジャンク品)B This user is from outside of this forum
                                brendan (ジャンク品)
                                wrote last edited by
                                #25

                                @mttaggart i expect better from kyle; i do not trust benj edwards at all. between him and eric berger doing free pr for elon musk ars is in a sorry state right now

                                Dr. SobekS Lee from ColoradoC 2 Replies Last reply
                                0
                                • Asta [AMP]A Asta [AMP]

                                  @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io One explanation I can think of is that an editor or Conde Nast higher up generated this using the author's bylines, without their involvement.

                                  I would not put it past Conde Nast.

                                  Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Asta [AMP]A This user is from outside of this forum
                                  Asta [AMP]
                                  wrote last edited by
                                  #26

                                  @SnoopJ@hachyderm.io but if his work had been good (which I was not familiar with before I started reading his articles that smacked increasingly more of boosterism) before... well, it certainly seems to fall into the pattern that people are seeing with regards to LLM usage (trusting it more and more without checking, etc).

                                  1 Reply Last reply
                                  0
                                  • TaggartM Taggart

                                    What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                                    UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                                    https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                                    ? Offline
                                    ? Offline
                                    Guest
                                    wrote last edited by
                                    #27

                                    @mttaggart Seems they took it down. Just wow.

                                    1 Reply Last reply
                                    0
                                    • Eric JenningsH Eric Jennings

                                      @mttaggart @mhoye Looks like @arstechnica just pulled the article.

                                      TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
                                      TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
                                      Taggart
                                      wrote last edited by
                                      #28

                                      @HitokiriEric @mhoye @arstechnica Maybe, but Pepperidge Farm remembers: https://mttaggart.neocities.org/ars-whoopsie

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      0
                                      • TaggartM Taggart

                                        What's going on here? The matplotlib maintainer this story is about correctly notes that all the quotes from his post in the article are made up.

                                        UPDATE: Link was pulled; see below.

                                        https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name

                                        TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
                                        TaggartM This user is from outside of this forum
                                        Taggart
                                        wrote last edited by
                                        #29

                                        UPDATE: They pulled the story, but I had it up and had SingleFile in my browser, so: https://mttaggart.neocities.org/ars-whoopsie

                                        hackilluH João Tiago Rebelo (NAFO J-121)J TaggartM bbbhltzB E 17 Replies Last reply
                                        0
                                        • SnoopJS SnoopJ

                                          @mttaggart @glyph @jalefkowit correction: I *can* think of one, and it's "they accidentally quoted from the hit-piece blog articles instead"

                                          But they didn't do that, those don't contain the quotes either.

                                          Jason LefkowitzJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Jason LefkowitzJ This user is from outside of this forum
                                          Jason Lefkowitz
                                          wrote last edited by
                                          #30

                                          @SnoopJ @mttaggart @glyph Looks like the article has been completely deleted.

                                          Aurich said in the comments before it vanished that they were aware of the issue and looking into it. I assume the findings were pretty dire.

                                          https://arstechnica.com/ai/2026/02/after-a-routine-code-rejection-an-ai-agent-published-a-hit-piece-on-someone-by-name/

                                          1 Reply Last reply
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