Chicago Sun-Times confirms AI was used to create reading list of books that don't exist
Illinois' prominent Chicago Sun-Times newspaper has confirmed that a summer reading list, which included several recommendations for books that don't exist, was created using artificial intelligence by a freelancer who worked with one of their content partners.
Social media posts began to circulate on Tuesday criticizing the paper for allegedly using the AI software ChatGPT to generate an article with book recommendations for the upcoming summer season called 'Summer reading list for 2025'. As such chatbots are known to make up information, a phenomenon often referred to as 'AI hallucination', the article contains several fake titles attached to real authors.
'I went into my library's database of Chicago area newspapers to confirm this isn't fake, and it's not,' a post on Bluesky by Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen says. 'Why the hell are you using ChatGPT to make up book titles? You used to have a books staff. Absolutely no fact checking?'
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As early Tuesday afternoon, the post had more than 1,000 likes and nearly 500 reposts.
Among the fake book titles are Hurricane Season by Brit Bennett, Nightshade Market by Min Jin Lee, The Longest Day by Rumaan Alam, Boiling Point by Rebecca Makkai, Migrations by Maggie O'Farrell and The Rainmakers by Percival Everett. All of those authors listed are real acclaimed novelists – but the books attached to them are not genuine titles that they published.
Additionally, the article includes descriptions for each of the phoney books as well as reasons why readers may enjoy them.
The article does include a few real titles, such as Atonement by Ian McEwan.
Others on social media have pointed out that the use of AI appears to be found throughout the pages of the Chicago Sun-Times summer 2025 section. Screenshots of an article called 'Summer food trends' shows the piece quotes a purported Cornell University food anthropologist named Catherine Furst. But there appears to be no one by that name at Cornell.
In another article about ideas to spruce up one's back yard, it quotes a purported FirepitBase.com editor named Daniel Ray. No such website seems to exist.
On Tuesday morning, the official account for the Chicago Sun-Times on Bluesky addressed the controversy. 'We are looking into how this made it into print as we speak,' the account wrote. 'It is not editorial content and was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom. We value your trust in our reporting and take this very seriously. More info will be provided soon.'
By Tuesday evening, the publication had released a story confirming that AI had been used to create the list as part of the special section which was supplied by a nationally-recognized content partner and syndicated to the Chicago Sun-Times and other newspapers.
'This should be a learning moment for all of journalism that our work is valued because of the relationship our very real, human reporters and editors have with our audiences,' the Chicago Sun-Times said.
The AI-generated stories were syndicated outside of Chicago. A post on Threads by AngelaReadsBooks accused the Philadelphia Inquirer of publishing the same fake reading list.
'At a time when libraries and library budgets are being threatened every day, this is a slap in the face to anyone in the profession,' the post reads. 'Where is the journalistic integrity???'
Related: 'We need to set the terms or we're all screwed': how newsrooms are tackling AI's uncertainties and opportunities
Popular author Jasmine Guillory reacted to a post about the fake novels, writing on Threads: 'Holy shit. Just imaginary books and they printed it.'
The Chicago Sun-Times says it is 'committed to making sure this never happens again'. The special section will be removed from the e-paper version of the Chicago Sun-Times as the publication vowed to update their policies pertaining to third-party licensed editorial content.
'We know that there is work to be done to provide more answers and transparency around the production and publication of this section, and will share additional updates in the coming days,' the publication said.
The Chicago Sun-Times, resulting from a 1948 merger, has long held the second largest circulation among newspapers in the Windy City. It trails only the Chicago Tribune.
The rise of AI content is an ongoing issue with which newsrooms have had to grapple. Certain papers have openly utilized the technology and even put out job postings for 'AI-assisted' reporters.
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