Disagree, the article's lead image is actually better. The Getty image is way too cluttered, and just artistically uninspired in general. If the author got his hero image by feeding the Getty image to AI and asking for a cleaned-up, focused version, then that's doing it right in my book, ethical considerations aside.
There really should be a way to credit the original source image without being compelled to actually use it. The image in the article isn't a "rip off," but it is a derivative work made without permission, and the law doesn't currently make a distinction AFAIK.