• Sunday Event: The Chicago Sun-Times published a summer reading list on Sunday. According to social media reports, it contained at least 10 fake books attributed to real authors. Examples include "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir, which don't exist and were likely created by an AI system.
• Ars Technica Check: Ars Technica found that only five of the fifteen recommended books actually exist, with the rest being fabricated. AI assistants like ChatGPT are known for creating confabulations when lacking detailed information. This problem affects various areas such as AI search results and lawyers citing fake cases.
• Tuesday Morning: On Tuesday morning, the Chicago Sun-Times addressed the controversy on Bluesky. The official publication account said they were looking into how the fake list got printed. It was not editorial content and not created or approved by the newsroom. More information would be provided soon.
• Confabulated Books: In the supplement, books listed by Isabel Allende, Andy Weir, Brit Bennett, etc. are confabulated, while those by Françoise Sagan, Ray Bradbury, etc. are real. All the authors are real people.
• Novelist's Notice: Novelist Rachael King called attention to the error on Bluesky on Tuesday morning, expressing concern about the fake "summer reads" feature.
• Community Reaction: Online, community reaction to the list has been largely negative. Some have expressed sympathy, suggesting it might be "transparent filler" created by a lone freelancer.
• Staffing Connection: Two months ago, the Chicago Sun-Times lost 20 percent of its staff through a buyout program. In March, 30 employees, including 23 from the newsroom, accepted buyout offers due to financial struggles. The CEO said the exits would save $4.2 million annually. Despite these pressures, one Reddit user expressed disapproval of using AI in the newspaper.