Mysterious bylines appeared on a USA Today site. Did these writers exist?

Staffers at Reviewed, a USA Today-owned website devoted to shopping recommendations, were about to end their workday Friday when one of them noticed something strange:

Articles were publishing on the site by writers none of them had ever heard of — and using suspiciously similar language.

Jaime Carrillo, a senior staff writer, couldn’t figure out where the reviews — for products like insulated drink tumblers and scuba gear — were coming from. “I stayed at my desk for the next hour, just kind of panicking over this new website that none of us...