Chicago Sun-Times features non-existent books, people: How it happened
The AI hallucinations were included in a 60-page 'Best of Summer' guide that featured a summer reading list, summer food trends and a section on 'America's growing hammock culture.'
'This is licensed content that was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom, but it is unacceptable for any content we provide to our readers to be inaccurate,' spokesman Victor Lim told WGN via email. 'We value our readers' trust in our reporting and take this very seriously.'
Speaking to 404 Media, Lim said the content was licensed from a company called King Features Syndicate, a subsidiary of Hearst Magazines.
In a public statement, the Chicago Sun-Times said its partner confirmed 'a freelancer used an AI agent to write the article.'
'It is unacceptable that this content was inaccurate, and it is equally unacceptable that we did not make it clear to readers that the section was produced outside the Sun-Times newsroom,' the statement said, in part.
Chicago Public Media owns the Sun-Times and local NPR station WBEZ.
The content also reportedly appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Among the authors mentioned in the summer reading list is Chilean-American writer Isabel Allende. The guide suggests reading Tidewater Dreams, 'Allende's first climate fiction novel.' The book doesn't exist.
Nor does 'Nightshade Market' by real author Min Jin Lee.
An analysis by the technology website Gizmodo indicates that of the 15 works mentioned, all but five are fake.
Readers looking to get a feel of 'what's hot on plates this season' were informed of social media's role in food trends, but the feature includes a quote from Dr. Catherine Furst, purportedly a food anthropologist. WGN and journalists at other organizations can find no confirmation she is a real person.
Author Marco Buscaglia's byline appears on a feature story about hammock culture in America, but it appears to quote people and other publications that cannot be verified. Mentioned is Dr. Jennifer Campos, billed as a professor of leisure studies at the University of Colorado. She does not appear to be real.
Author Brianna Madia is real, but a quote she purportedly gave to Outdoor Magazine two years ago appears to be made up. A review of Outdoor's archives turns up no content of Madia speaking about hammocks. WGN has reached out to Madia for confirmation.
WGN has also tried to contact Buscaglia, whose name appears on some but not all of the features in the guide. The request has so far gone unanswered.
The Chicago Sun-Times Guild, the union that covers the organization's journalists, said in a statement that it was 'deeply disturbed' by the inclusion of syndicated section that was 'produced externally without the knowledge of the members of our newsroom.'
'We take great pride in the union-produced journalism that goes into the respected pages of our newspaper and on our website. We're deeply disturbed that AI-generated content was printed alongside our work. The fact that it was sixty-plus pages of this 'content' is very concerning — primarily for our relationship with our audience but also for our union's jurisdiction,' the guild's statement said. 'Our members go to great lengths to build trust with our sources and communities and are horrified by this slop syndication. Our readers signed up for work that has been vigorously reported and fact-checked, and we hate the idea that our own paper could spread computer- or third-party-generated misinformation. We call on Chicago Public Media management to do everything it can to prevent repeating this disaster in the future.'
'We are committed to making sure this never happens again.'
In its statement, the Sun-Times listed five actions it was immediately taken. In addition to not charging subscribers for Sunday's edition, the organization said it was removing the section from the e-paper version of Sunday's edition. The Sun-Times said it was updating policies to ensure third-party content meets the same editorial standards as in-house produced content. In the future, the Sun-Times said it will be more transparent and 'explicitly identify' third-party licensed editorial content. Finally, the organization said it was reviewing its relationship with its partner.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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