Irish Times removes ‘fake tan’ column after AI queries

'The Irish Times' has removed an article on fake tan from its website while checks are made. File picture: PA

The Irish Times has removed an opinion article from its website while checks are carried out on its authenticity.

In a statement, it said: “On Friday, The Irish Times became aware that an article published online under the headline ‘Irish women’s obsession with fake tan is problematic’ may not have been genuine. The story has been removed from irishtimes.com, and a review has been initiated.” 

Follow-up articles published on radio station Newstalk’s website, including one headlined ‘Irish women's fake tan obsession 'reinforces self-hate' were also taken down yesterday evening.

Yesterday, social media users questioned whether the picture of the article's author,  which appeared with The Irish Times story,  may have been generated by artificial intelligence (AI).

The piece was credited to Adriana Acosta Cortez, described as a 29-year-old healthcare administrator living in Dublin.

The Irish Times article has now been replaced with a statement which reads: "Corrections & Clarifications: The Irish Times  has become aware that the article originally published on this page may not have been genuine. The article’s text was removed on Friday, May 12th, 2023, and a review has been initiated."