Remember the old days when journalists would be excommunicated for plagarism and/or making things up? Some of those folks must be like "I was just too early..."
Ars is owned by Conde Nast, which had to let go of its HQ in 2024. I suspect they don't have a plan to replace a journalist like Benj if they axe him. And it's not like readers are going to hold them accountable.
Signing off on an article that 'quotes' someone by hallucination? I would say that, for a journalist- especially on ars - is slightly more than 'clumsy'.