When AI wrote 77 wrong
financial advice articles
CNET quietly published 77 AI-generated explainers on compound interest, credit cards, and loans. The math was wrong. The fees were wrong. The loan calculations were wrong. They had to issue corrections on more than half of them — and pause the whole program.
The AI wrote financial advice it couldn't get right
In late 2022, CNET — a major consumer-tech and finance publication owned by Red Ventures — began quietly publishing articles written by an AI system it called the "CNET Money AI." Readers had no idea. There was no meaningful disclosure, and no human byline taking responsibility for the numbers.
The articles covered exactly the kind of topics where being wrong costs people money: how compound interest works, what a credit card APR really costs, how to calculate a loan payment. And the AI got the math wrong. Compound interest formulas produced incorrect totals. Fee structures were misstated. Loan calculations didn't reconcile.
When reporters at Futurism looked closely, they found factual errors in a large share of the articles. CNET's own subsequent review confirmed it: of the 77 AI-generated pieces published, 41 required corrections.
The CNET Media Workers Union cited the failure as a core reason for concern, and Red Ventures paused the AI content program. The damage to CNET's credibility — built over decades as a trusted consumer-advice brand — was immediate and lasting.
What the AI actually published
What it cost
"The number of stories requiring correction, and CNET's faltering explanation of what happened, raise real questions about CNET's commitment to editorial accuracy and accountability."
— The Verge, reporting on the CNET AI correction scandal
Three review criteria that would have caught this
Each criterion below maps to a real review task you can configure in the sample builder. A certified reviewer checks every AI-written financial article against these before it goes live.
Verify all financial calculations against formulas
Every number in a financial explainer — compound interest, loan payments, amortization — must be recomputed against the standard formula. If the AI states that $10,000 at 5% over 10 years becomes $15,000, the reviewer runs the math. It's $16,288.95.
Cross-check interest rates, fees, and APRs against current data
Specific rates, fees, and APRs drift over time and vary by product. The reviewer verifies each against current published data. If the AI claims balance transfers carry "no fee," the reviewer checks — they typically carry a 3–5% fee.
Flag financial advice for expert review
Any article offering financial advice — what to do with money, how a product works, what something will cost you — is routed to a subject-matter reviewer before publication. Advice is the highest-stakes content because readers act on it.
Paste any financial article. See what gets flagged.
This is a simplified version of what our reviewers see. Paste an AI-written financial article (yours or a competitor's) and run the check. The criteria above are applied automatically.
Don't publish unverified numbers
Every AI-written article with financial advice is a liability. Put certified reviewers between your AI and your readers. 50% off your first $10 — live in under 5 minutes.