Latest news with #ChicagoSun-Times
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
"Well-deserving Americans": Trump pardons convicted reality TV fraudsters Todd, Julie Chrisley
Donald Trump officially pardoned Todd and Julie Chrisley on Wednesday, freeing the former reality TV stars from combined sentences of 19 years in prison on tax evasion and fraud charges. The Chrisleys were the attractions at the center of USA Network's "Chrisley Knows Best," a series that followed the wealthy real estate developers for 10 seasons. In 2022, the couple were convicted over what prosecutors called a "fifteen-year fraud spree." The couple was found to have duped banks into granting them millions of dollars in loans via the use of falsified bank statements and outright lies. Todd and Julie were sentenced to 12 years and 7 years in prison, respectfully, and ordered to pay more than $17 million in restitution. Trump's pardons wipe the slate clean for the pair of former television stars. In a statement, Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said that the Chrisleys' "sentences were far too harsh." 'The President is always pleased to give well-deserving Americans a second chance, especially those who have been unfairly targeted and overly prosecuted by an unjust justice system," Fields said. The president called the Chrisleys' daughter, Savannah, from the Oval Office on Tuesday to inform her of the pardon. "Your parents are going to be free and clean," Trump said, in a video posted to X. The Chrisleys weren't the only notable prisoners to have their sentences cut short by Trump this week. He commuted the federal life sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover. Hoover will be moved out of federal prison, following the commutation, as he was also convicted on a state-level murder charge. 'The federal government has done its part. Now it's time for the State of Illinois to finish the job," Hoover's attorney Justin Moore told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Int'l Business Times
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Journalist Caught Using AI After Publishing Summer Reading List Full of Made Up Books
A Chicago-based freelance journalist was caught using AI after two prominent newspapers published a summer reading list filled with mostly made-up titles and summaries. The Chicago Sun-Times and Philadelphia Inquirer published an AI-generated "Summer Reading List for 2025" this month, syndicated by King Features Syndicate, a Hearst Corporation company, according to reporting by 404 Media. Of the list's 15 book recommendations, just five exist, including "Dandelion Wine" by Ray Bradbury. Some of the made-up titles, credited to real writers, included "Tidewater Dreams" by prominent Chilean-American author Isabel Allende, "The Rainmakers" by Pulitzer-prize winning author Percival Everett, and "The Last Algorithm" by "The Martian" novelist Andy Weir. Ironically, "The Last Algorithm" is a real book available on Amazon, but, according to the book's sole review, it is also "AI created garbage." Freelance journalist Marco Buscaglia, who was hired to create a 64-page section, titled "Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer" for the syndicate company, took full responsibility for the list making it into the major newspapers. "Stupidly, and 100% on me, I just kind of republished this list that [an AI program] spit out," Buscaglia told the Sun-Times. "Usually, it's something I wouldn't do." "I mean, even if I'm not writing something, I'm at least making sure that I correctly source it and vet it and make sure it's all legitimate. And I definitely failed in that task," he continued. King Features wrote in a statement that Buscaglia violated a "strict policy" against using AI. As a result, it terminated its relationship with the freelance journalist. "We regret this incident and are working with the handful of publishing partners who acquired this supplement," a spokesman for King Features added, according to the Sun-Times. Originally published on Latin Times
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
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?' Related: Musk's AI bot Grok blames 'programming error' for its Holocaust denial 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 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.
Arabian Post
25-05-2025
- Business
- Arabian Post
AI Missteps Erode Trust in Newsrooms
Major news organisations are grappling with the fallout from deploying artificial intelligence in content creation, as instances of fabricated material and misattributed authorship surface, raising concerns over journalistic integrity. The Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer faced backlash after publishing a summer reading list featuring non-existent books and fictitious expert quotes. The content, syndicated by King Features and crafted by freelance writer Marco Buscaglia using AI tools, included fabricated titles like 'Tidewater Dreams' by Isabel Allende. Both newspapers have since removed the content and issued statements condemning the breach of editorial standards. Similarly, Sports Illustrated encountered criticism for publishing articles under fake author names, with AI-generated headshots and biographies. The Arena Group, its publisher, attributed the content to third-party provider AdVon Commerce, asserting that the articles were human-written but acknowledging the use of pseudonyms. The controversy led to the dismissal of CEO Ross Levinsohn and mass layoffs, following the revocation of the magazine's publishing license.
RTÉ News
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
The Chicago Sun-Times debacle proves why we need to protect human voices in journalism
It was inevitable, but it doesn't make it any less terrifying. Most people working within the creative arts - musicians, animators, filmmakers, designers - have already felt the ramifications of AI within their industries. We've seen very recently how writers have had their work essentially stolen by Meta for the purpose of 'training' their AI model. And now it's coming for journalism. The slow creep that began with harmless self-service checkouts at Tesco is now beginning to look like a landslide. You may have already heard the story about the Chicago Sun-Times ' recent run-in with AI. An eagle-eyed reader spotted that a 'Summer reading list for 2025' feature contained several titles that were… well, non-existent. Mixed in with some genuine publications like Atonement by Ian McEwan (not exactly what you might call a 'beach book') and Jess Walter's Beautiful Ruin, it made for a chillingly convincing read, nonetheless. One of the entries, titled The Last Algorithm by Andy Weir, read: "Following his success with The Martian and Project Hail Mary, Weir delivers another science-driven thriller. This time, the story follows a programmer who discovers that an AI system has developed consciousness - and has been secretly influencing global systems for years.' Not only does the book not exist, but it felt like a very pointed piece of guff. Listen: The Ray D'Arcy Show on AI and the music industry The newspaper quickly released a statement saying "We are looking into how this made it into print as we speak. 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." They later claimed that it was licenced from a 'national content partner' and syndicated to various publications, including their own. Embarrassing, yes. Worrying? Speaking as a journalist, without a doubt. Most people working within the creative arts - musicians, animators, filmmakers, designers - have already felt the ramifications of AI within their industries. It's not the first time that AI has pulled the wool over newspaper editors' eyes, either. In 2023, The Irish Times was pretty effectively duped after it was revealed that an opinion piece they had published, which was supposedly written by someone purporting to be a young immigrant, was actually generated by AI. All of this proves a very important point: AI might cut down on an editor's workload (and budget), never miss a deadline and provide copy that's clean as a whistle - but it cannot replicate the human experience. Listen: RTÉ Drivetime on AI and the creative industries When I first dipped my toe into music writing over twenty years ago, I had little to no experience. With no university degree and no formal training, it was a case of learning on my feet. I loved music and I could string a decent sentence together, so it was simply a matter of writing (and reading, and listening to) as much as possible - not an overnight endeavour, by any means. I began writing for an online music zine for free to get experience, and eventually got a job on a website doing interminably dull data entry, in the hope that I could somehow get a foot in the door and work my way up the ladder. A couple of decades later, I'd like to think that I'm a better writer, having interviewed hundreds of people from across the arts, listened to countless albums, attended a multitude of gigs, read endless books and watched innumerable films and TV shows. I write from the experience of being a human who has done those things and learned something from them all. Even so, the fear that AI is coming for my job - a job that I love, albeit in an industry that is increasingly difficult to make a living from as a freelancer - is always in the back of my mind. When editors choose to syndicate something like the 'summer reading list for 2025' instead of commissioning a living person who has amassed that knowledge or researched it the old fashioned way, it proves the importance of protecting human voices more than ever. And in this era of convincing deepfakes and disinformation, who else can we trust?
