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Medium reported severity Internal Action

Madison newspaper reporter fired after story ran with invented quotes the paper blamed on unauthorized AI use; she says company-installed Copilot added them

On 13 July 2025 the Wisconsin State Journal in Madison, Wisconsin, published on its front page a reporter's story about redevelopment proposals for a downtown block. It quoted the co-owner of a cafe that does not exist and described proposal features that the developer says were not in its proposal. The paper removed the story and on 17 July published a re-reported version with an editor's note saying the original contained incorrect information and quotes created by an unauthorized use of AI. The reporter, who had been with the paper for a couple of months, told Isthmus that she ran her finished draft through the AI program the company had installed on her work computer, Microsoft Copilot, which she believed was approved for checking copy, and that the AI-edited version contained the invented quote. She says she was fired by phone the day the re-reported story ran, without a formal investigation, and later lost her health insurance and has had little luck finding another job. She takes full responsibility for the errors and also points to rushed editing and the absence of an AI policy or training. The paper said it does not comment on personnel matters.

AI system
Microsoft Copilot (reported)
Occurred
17 Jul 2025
Reported
17 July 2025
Event location
United States
What the AI did
Communicated with the person
Reported harm
Professional HarmFinancial LossReputational Harm
Whose AI use
Their own AI use
Setting
Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution supported · 3 sources
6 claims: 1 documented, 1 corroborated, 4 reported. 3 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: An AI program installed by the newspaper's owner on the reporter's work computer, identified by the reporter as Microsoft Copilot; the newspaper's note says only that the content was created by an unauthorized use of AI

What Happened

The story. A Wisconsin State Journal reporter covered proposals for the Brayton Lot, a city-owned downtown Madison block, for a colleague on leave. The story ran online and on the front page of the Sunday 13 July 2025 paper. Isthmus found that it quoted the co-owner of a cafe that does not exist anywhere in Madison and described features of one developer's proposal that the developer said were wrong and that do not appear in its submitted document. The paper removed the story on 16 July and on 17 July published a re-reported version with an editor's note saying the original contained incorrect information and quotes created by an unauthorized use of AI, which did not meet its editorial or ethical standards.

The AI step. In an interview with Isthmus in September, the reporter said that after finishing her draft she ran it through the company-installed AI program on her work computer, which she identifies as Microsoft Copilot, installed on her work laptop as part of a security upgrade by the newspaper's owner after a cyberattack. She said she cannot recall the prompt, had previously used it to check spelling, grammar and style, and believed it was a newsroom-approved tool. She said the post-AI version quoted a fictitious business owner and contained made-up information about a proposal, which she did not notice before filing on deadline. She said she was never given a written AI policy or training.

The dismissal. She says she was fired by phone on 17 July without a formal investigation or a chance to explain. She says she lost her health insurance and has had little luck finding another job. A state workforce agency letter quoted by Isthmus found that her discharge was due to performance and not misconduct. She says she takes full responsibility for the inaccuracies while also criticising the paper's editing and staffing. The editor said the paper does not comment on personnel matters.

Reported harm

The reporter lost her job after a story carrying AI-invented quotes was retracted, and says she then lost her health insurance and has had little luck finding another job.

Outcome

Resolved

The original story was removed from the website and replaced by a re-reported story with an editor's note. The reporter says she was fired the same day. A Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development determination letter quoted by Isthmus found her discharge was due to performance, not misconduct. The newspaper declined to comment on personnel matters.

What remains unknown

  • The prompt the reporter gave the AI program and the program's exact output: she does not recall the prompt and kept no screenshot.
  • Whether the newspaper identified the tool or reviewed the reporter's AI use before dismissing her: it declined to comment on personnel matters.
  • Whether all the errors in the first draft came from the AI program: Isthmus notes questions about the draft that are not necessarily tied to AI.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The newspaper's editor's note says the retracted story contained incorrect information and quotes created by an unauthorized use of AI. The reporter says she ran her finished draft through the AI program installed on her work computer, which she identifies as Microsoft Copilot, and that the AI-edited version quoted a fictitious business owner and contained made-up information about a proposal. Isthmus independently found that the quoted cafe does not exist and the developer said the described features were wrong. The AI output she relied on was published and the paper then dismissed her. The prompt she used is not known.

6 claims: 1 documented, 1 corroborated, 4 reported. What the statuses mean

Documented The newspaper removed the 13 July 2025 story and published a re-reported version with an editor's note saying the original contained incorrect information and quotes created by an unauthorized use of AI.

Causal attribution. Established by the editor's note itself.

  • madison.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'contained incorrect information and quotes that were created by an unauthorized use of AI'; 'Staff re-reported the story, which is below.'
  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'A story about development plans for a vacant downtown block that appeared on the front page of the Sunday, July 13, issue of the Wisconsin State Journal was removed Wednesday'
Corroborated The original story quoted the co-owner of a cafe that does not exist and described proposal features that the developer said were wrong.

Causal attribution. Isthmus's own checks and the reporter's later account are separate origins.

  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'No such business exists on East Main Street or anywhere in Madison.'; 'Neither of those features, nor the name “The Grove,” appear in Neutral’s proposal'
  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'quoted a fictitious business owner'; 'included made-up information about the proposal submitted by Neutral'
Reported The reporter says she ran her finished draft through the company-installed AI program on her work computer, which she identifies as Microsoft Copilot, and that the AI-edited version contained the fictitious quote and made-up proposal details.

Causal attribution. Her own account; she cannot recall the prompt, and the newspaper has not named the tool.

  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'ran it through the company-installed AI program on her work computer'; 'Microsoft Copilot, an AI program, was installed on her work laptop'; 'included made-up information about the proposal submitted by Neutral'
Reported She says she was fired the same day the re-reported story ran, without a formal investigation; the newspaper declines to comment on personnel matters.

Causal attribution. Her account of the dismissal; Isthmus's July report records only that she was no longer with the company.

  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'she was fired the same day by executive editor'; 'She says she was terminated without a formal investigation and was not given a chance to explain herself'; 'We do not comment on personnel matters'
  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'is no longer with Lee Enterprises'
Reported She says she lost her health insurance and has had little luck finding another job; a state workforce agency letter found her discharge was due to performance, not misconduct.

Causal attribution. Her account and a letter quoted by Isthmus; the letter itself was not inspected.

  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'She lost her health insurance when she lost her job.'; 'but so far has had little luck'; 'discharge was not for misconduct or substantial fault connected to her employment. The employee was discharged due to performance.'
Reported She takes full responsibility for the inaccuracies, says she believed the program was approved for checking copy, and says she was never given a written AI policy.

Causal attribution. Her own account, including her acceptance of responsibility, recorded as context and counterevidence.

  • isthmus.com(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'takes full responsibility for the story’s “multiple factual inaccuracies,” including a made-up source, which she attributes to the use of a company-installed AI program on her work computer'; 'She says she was never presented with a written AI policy'

Sources

3 sources inspected. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read in English on 2026-10-29 through an Internet Archive capture (the live page returned HTTP 429). The newspaper's re-reported story carrying its editor's note. Applies to s1.

Read in English on 2026-10-29 (HTTP 200). Isthmus checked the original story against the submitted proposals and searched for the quoted business. Applies to s2.

Read in English on 2026-10-29 (HTTP 200). Interview with the dismissed reporter and her public statement; the paper's editor declined to comment. Applies to s3.

Event countries: United States. Affected-person countries: Unknown. Court countries: Unknown.

The newspaper, its newsroom and the story are in Madison, Wisconsin (Isthmus, Wisconsin State Journal). Her own residence is not used.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-29: Published because the newspaper's own note attributes invented quotes in a retracted story to AI use, the reporter says the company-installed AI program added them to her draft, Isthmus independently confirmed the quoted business does not exist, and the reporter was dismissed. The tool's identity and her account of the dismissal are hers; she accepts responsibility for the errors.

People described

A city reporter at the Wisconsin State Journal, new to the newsroom, who used the AI program on her work computer and was dismissed after the story was retracted

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

1 AI participant · 0 other people harmed

One person: the reporter who used the AI program and was dismissed (Isthmus interview; the paper's note and staff auto-reply). Readers and the developer whose proposal was misdescribed are not counted.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#work#journalism#dismissal#fabricated-quotes#workplace-ai-tool#retraction

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Madison newspaper reporter fired after story ran with invented quotes the paper blamed on unauthorized AI use; she says company-installed Copilot added them. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2025-madison-newspaper-reporter-fired-after-story-ran-with-ai-invented-quotes-she-says-company-installed-copilot-added

BibTeX

@misc{2025_madison_newspaper_reporter_fired_after_story_ran_with_ai_invented_quotes_she_says_company_installed_copilot_added,
  title = {Madison newspaper reporter fired after story ran with invented quotes the paper blamed on unauthorized AI use; she says company-installed Copilot added them},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2025-madison-newspaper-reporter-fired-after-story-ran-with-ai-invented-quotes-she-says-company-installed-copilot-added}
}

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