AI written articles kept appearing under Ben Touati's byline
Press Gazette reported that Ben Touati, a freelance writer for the publishing and SEO company Clickout Media, saw AI-written articles continue to appear under his name after he was made redundant. The name on these pieces was his, and Press Gazette's report sets out when and how they appeared.
Timeline of the case
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| January 2024 | Touati's contract with Clickout Media begins |
| 9 March 2026 | Clickout revokes his access |
| 23 March 2026 | He is no longer employed |
| 29 May 2026 | The early-morning publishing stops |
| 2 June 2026 | He files a GDPR claim |
| 9 July 2026 | Press Gazette publishes the story |
| 14 July 2026 | The site appears to have reappeared online |
| 16 July 2026 | Press Gazette's update reports 28 new articles |
"A freelance writer who worked for publishing and SEO company Clickout Media has revealed how AI-written articles continued to appear under his name after he was made redundant."View official source →
Clickout Media revoked his access on 9 March 2026
Touati's contract with Clickout Media began in January 2024, when the company was still known as Finixio. On 9 March 2026 Clickout revoked his access, and from 23 March he was no longer employed.
He told Press Gazette that every one of the articles falls after 9 March. Whenever they were first written, he said, every change happened while he was locked out. Press Gazette adds that the articles all have last-updated dates between 15 May and 14 July 2026.
"Touati's contract with the organisation began in January 2024, when ClickOut Media was still known as Finixio."／"“Every one falls after 9 March, the day Clickout revoked my access, and from 23 March I wasn't even employed. Whenever they were first written, every change happened while I was locked out.”"／"The articles all have last-updated dates between 15 May and 14 July 2026. The site appears to have reappeared online on 14 July."View official source →
Five articles went live before working hours
Touati found five articles under his byline. He told Press Gazette they were all published before working hours, with times from about 5:39am to six-something am. This went on day after day, and it stopped on 29 May.
He judged the articles to be AI-written from what he called technical fingerprints, including strange tags that bore the hallmarks of AI. That is his statement, and Press Gazette reports it as such. He described the experience as a real slap in the face and said it left him feeling exploited.
"“They were all published before working hours, so times ranged from like 5:39am to six something am, and it happened day after day after day, and then they stopped on the 29th of May.”"／"He said that “technical fingerprints” on the articles showed him they had all been written by AI – including strange tags that bore the hallmarks of AI."／"He said: “It was a real slap in the face.”"／"He said the experience left him feeling “exploited.”"View official source →
The GDPR claim removed his byline; the articles reappeared
The GDPR is the EU regulation on how personal data is handled. After Touati's claim under it, Clickout took his byline off those articles, and the company gave Press Gazette a statement.
Touati filed a claim over his personal information
On 2 June 2026, Touati filed a GDPR claim against Clickout for misuse of his personal information. Clickout then removed the byline from those articles. The articles reappeared under another writer.
"Touati filed a GDPR claim against Clickout on the second of June for misuse of his personal information and they removed the byline for those articles which then reappeared under another writer."View official source →
Clickout Media says it pairs AI with human checks
Clickout Media replied to Press Gazette by email. The company said it uses AI-assisted content where appropriate, together with human checks and edits. It also said it keeps developing its AI agents to be more accurate and keeps improving its human editorial processes.
"Clickout Media said in an email: “We use AI-assisted content where appropriate in tandem with human checks and edits. We continue to evolve our AI agents to be more accurate and improve our human editorial processes.”"View official source →
The German site returned with 28 articles under his byline
On 16 July 2026, Press Gazette added an update to its story. In the wake of its reporting, it wrote, Clickout Media appears to have resurrected its German Esports Insider site. As of that update, the site showed 28 new articles under Touati's byline.
The wording is cautious: Press Gazette says the site "appears to" have come back, and it dates the reappearance to 14 July. The articles' last-updated dates run from 15 May to 14 July.
"In the wake of Press Gazette's reporting of the issue, Clickout Media appears to have resurrected their German Esports Insider site with 28 new articles now appearing under Ben Touati's byline."／"The articles all have last-updated dates between 15 May and 14 July 2026. The site appears to have reappeared online on 14 July."View official source →
Parasite SEO and casino links behind Clickout Media
Parasite SEO is a search tactic in which a site borrows the authority of an existing site to rank articles on another topic. Press Gazette uses the term to explain Google's penalties in this story.
Google penalized Techopedia for parasite SEO
Press Gazette writes that Google penalizes sites for so-called parasite SEO. In Clickout's case, it says, the articles on the other topic are almost always casino articles. The site Techopedia got delisted from Google.
A second passage describes a site that Google penalized in late 2024 for parasite SEO. It recovered, but was penalized again in December, at which point Clickout abandoned it and made many staff redundant. Press Gazette's wording there says only "the site" and gives no name.
"But the site Techopedia got delisted from Google (Google penalises sites for so-called 'parasite SEO' where they use the authority of an existing site to boost articles on another topic, which in Clickout's case is almost always casino articles)."／"the site was penalised by Google in late 2024 for parasite SEO, recovered, but was then penalised again in December, at which point Clickout abandoned it, making many staff redundant"View official source →
Press Gazette says the firm replaces journalists with AI
Press Gazette describes Clickout as an SEO firm that buys publications, often for large sums, before replacing journalists with AI in order to earn money through casino links. Clickout Media's own statement, quoted above, speaks of AI-assisted content alongside human checks and edits.
"the SEO firm (which buys publications, often for large sums, before replacing journalists with AI in order to earn money through casino links)"View official source →
Managers pushed AI use before the freelancers left
According to Touati, managers constantly encouraged writers at the sites to use AI to write articles. He quotes them as saying that it is almost impossible to get by without AI these days.
"Touati said that managers constantly encouraged writers at the sites to use AI to write articles, with managers saying: “It's almost impossible to get by without AI these days.”"View official source →
Why Touati was let go: Esports Insider and The Escapist
A manager wrote to Touati that Esports Insider had been de-indexed by Google and The Escapist barely made money, so the manager would have to let him go. That reason differed from the one managers gave Touati in early 2026 for letting multiple freelancers go: there was not enough work, and everyone had "upscaled" their productivity with AI.
"In early 2026, managers told Touati that they had let multiple freelances go because there was not enough work and everyone had “upscaled” their productivity with AI."／"A manager wrote to him saying that because Esports Insider had been de-indexed by Google and The Escapist barely made money, so he would have to let him go."View official source →
AI byline cases at Ohio newspapers, McClatchy and Hoodline
Other outlets have reported disputes over bylines on AI articles. Each item below gives the claim in that outlet's own headline.
- Futurism reported that a journalist accused Ohio's main newspaper of putting her name on an AI "Express Desk" article without her knowledge, while she was on honeymoon.
- SAN reported that an Ohio paper put a reporter's byline on an AI-generated article, and its title quotes the reporter saying "they just own my name".
- NewsBytes reported that McClatchy is publishing AI-written articles under journalists' real bylines. One of its headings says unions claim McClatchy broke notification agreements.
- CNN Business reported on 30 May 2024 that a national network of local news sites was publishing AI-written articles under fake bylines. The report's URL names Hoodline.
- Press Gazette's tracker lists an entry from September 2026 titled "Cleveland.com adds reporter to story she was not involved in". Its title does not say whether it concerns the same incident as the Ohio reports above.
In the Clickout Media case, Press Gazette reported that AI written articles appeared under Ben Touati's byline after his access was revoked on 9 March 2026. After his GDPR claim of 2 June, Clickout removed the byline, and the articles reappeared under another writer.
Press Gazette's 16 July update said the German Esports Insider site appears to be back, with 28 new articles under his byline. Clickout Media told Press Gazette that it uses AI-assisted content together with human checks and edits. The Clickout Media facts above come from Press Gazette's report.
FAQ
- What actually happened?
- Press Gazette reported that AI-written articles continued to appear under the name of Ben Touati, a freelance writer for the publishing and SEO company Clickout Media, after he was made redundant. Touati called the experience a real slap in the face.
- What did he do about it?
- On 2 June 2026 Touati filed a GDPR claim against Clickout for misuse of his personal information. Clickout removed the byline for those articles, and they then reappeared under another writer.
- How did the company respond?
- Clickout Media told Press Gazette by email that it uses AI-assisted content where appropriate, together with human checks and edits. It added that it continues to make its AI agents more accurate and to improve its human editorial processes.
- How did he know the articles were AI-generated?
- Touati told Press Gazette that technical fingerprints on the articles showed him they were written by AI, including strange tags. The articles were also all published before working hours, from about 5:39am to six-something am, day after day.
- Did it stop after the story ran?
- In a 16 July 2026 update, Press Gazette wrote that, in the wake of its reporting, Clickout Media appears to have resurrected its German Esports Insider site, with 28 new articles now appearing under Ben Touati's byline.
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