ClickOut previously faced a Metacritic ban over fraudulent AI reviews and used fake profile photos to hide staff cuts #
Ben Touati discovered that fresh stories were still being published under his byline despite the fact that his time with ClickOut Media had already ended.
Touati quickly realised AI-powered software had hijacked his name to churn out low-quality content, completely undermining the professional standards he upheld in his own reporting.
AI Articles Appeared After Dismissal #
Touati said the entire situation felt like a 'slap in the face'. Just days after his dismissal from ClickOut's German branch, new articles began appearing online under his name.
'The five articles were just like lazy, obviously slop, obviously there's not a real person that is behind that,' the Stockholm-based writer said.
When ClickOut Media responded, it failed to explain why AI had effectively been used to mimic a former employee. Instead, the company stated: '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.'
A Growing Pattern of AI Controversies #
ClickOut Media has repeatedly faced criticism over its use of artificial intelligence.
Earlier this year, readers discovered a fake AI reporter writing for Videogamer, one of the company's websites. The publisher has also acquired other outlets before replacing real staff with AI-generated authors, complete with fictional biographies and profile pictures.
Automated writers across ClickOut's sports sites, including Sportscasting, SheKicks and Football Blog, published articles riddled with errors. Meanwhile, review aggregator Metacritic removed the ClickOut-owned Videogamer from its platform after identifying a fraudulent AI-generated review.
Digital Ghost Under His Own Byline #
While ClickOut often replaces real writers with automated profiles, some even mistakenly displaying 'ChatGPT' in the filenames of profile pictures, Touati found himself in a different position. Instead of being replaced, his identity continued publishing stories after he had left. Although he had little knowledge of e-sports, his broader gaming experience impressed his manager, who hired him, saying: 'You're the nerd in chief.'
After ClickOut acquired Escapist magazine in August 2025, the same manager told him it was 'Even more your lane.'
Touati embraced the role, saying: 'I went full on, I even wrote articles about comic books, which was almost like a lifelong dream of mine. I got press passes for events, and all that kind of stuff.'
Pressure to Embrace AI #
Touati said managers increasingly encouraged staff to rely on AI, often telling them: 'It's almost impossible to get by without AI these days.'
Although he used AI for background research, he refused to let it write his stories. After ClickOut introduced mandatory AI training, which Touati admitted he had ignored by saying, 'I just left the video running', he was dismissed in March 2026.
Weeks later, he found new stories carrying his byline.
'It was a real slap in the face,' he said, describing the articles as 'obviously slop' that had been published at dawn. Technical tags later indicated they had been generated using AI.
Legal Fight Over Identity Misuse #
Touati filed a GDPR complaint on 2 June over the alleged misuse of his identity, prompting ClickOut to move the articles to another byline.
The Malta-paid writer said he felt 'exploited' by the remote company and has since launched his own website, Popkulturist.
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