Chicago Sun-Times publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle | The Verge
A summer reading guide included made-up books by real authors.
theverge.com
TL;DR: Chicago Sun-Times accidentally ran a “summer guide” packed with AI-made book recs and phantom experts. Under a section licensed from a third-party (likely Hearst), real authors like Min Jin Lee and Rebecca Makkai were credited with titles they never wrote, while articles quoted professors and analysts who don’t exist. The paper says it didn’t approve the content, is yanking it from digital issues, and will tighten up how it vets and labels third-party material.
Beyond the bogus reading list, other mini-features by Marco Buscaglia and pals used AI-generated sources (“Dr. Jennifer Campos,” a Cornell food anthropologist, etc.) that slipped through fact-checks. Buscaglia admits he leaned on AI for background and “totally missed it.” This fiasco echoes similar AI-sludge episodes at Gannett and Sports Illustrated—and underlines how machine-made fluff can erode trust when mixed with real reporting.
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