LAST UPDATE | 13 May 2023

THE IRISH TIMES has confirmed that it has initiated a review over the publication of an article which said that using fake tan was “problematic”.

The article was removed from the Irish Times website and app yesterday evening.

It was published online on Thursday with the headline “Irish women’s obsession with fake tan is problematic”. The byline on the piece was given as Adriana Acosta-Cortez.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the news organisation 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.

 A Twitter account with the same name as the article author has since tweeted criticism of the Irish Times, however is it unclear who may be behind that account.

Some users have raised concerns that the image associated with the account may have been generated using Artificial Intelligence (AI).

While the link to the article remains live, the text has been removed.

The article in question suggested that Irish women’s use of fake tan allowed them “to experience a fleeting taste of a more exotic identity, with none of the obstacles people of colour face”.