The Chicago Sun-Times Misreported: “To the Best of Summer,” By Marko Buscaglia, and Gabino Iglesias
The “Summer reading list for 25 years” stated that Isabel Allende had written a book called “Tidewater Dreams”, but she didn’t write it.
Yep- the bogus summer reading list from the Chicago Sun Times is real. Here I am with it from a few minutes ago. Support the local library with this image or embedded link.
For author and NPR Books contributor Gabino Iglesias, the fake book list speaks to the problems plaguing all media these days: “How many full-time book reviewers are there in the U.S.? He said that it was very few.
The May 18th issue of the Chicago Sun-Times features dozens of pages of recommended summer activities: new trends, outdoor activities, and books to read. Some of the recommendations point to fake books, and other articles cite people that don’t exist.
In a post on Bluesky, the Sun-Times said it was “looking into how this made it into print,” noting that it wasn’t editorial content and wasn’t created or approved by the newsroom. Victor said in his email to The Verge that it was unacceptable for any of the content to be inaccurate and that he would provide more information soon. It’s not clear if the content is sponsored — the cover page for the section bears the Sun-Times logo and simply calls it “Your guide to the best of summer.”
On Bluesky, author, former librarian and Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen laments, “This is the future of book recommendations when libraries are defunded and dismantled. Trained professionals are removed in exchange for this made up, inaccurate garbage.”
“As a subscriber, I am livid!” xxxlovelit writes on Reddit. “What is the point of taking a hard copy paper if they’re just going to include AI slop too?”
The list has no byline. But writer Marco Buscaglia has claimed responsibility for it and says it was partly generated by Artificial Intelligence, as first reported by the website 404 Media. In an email to NPR, Buscaglia writes, “Huge mistake on my part and has nothing to do with the Sun-Times. They trust that the content they purchase is accurate and I betrayed that trust. It’s on me 100 percent.”
According to Victor Lim, marketing director for the Chicago Sun-Times’ parent company Chicago Public Media, the list was part of licensed content provided by King Features, a unit of the publisher Hearst Newspapers.
Fake Experts in Artificial Intelligence Debacle: Chicago Sun-Times published publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle
Ray Bradbury, who coincidentally hated computers, did write Dandelion Wine, Jess Walter wrote Beautiful Ruins and Françoise Sagan penned the classic Bonjour Tristesse.
Alongside actual books like Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman, a summer reading list features fake titles by real authors. Min Jin Lee is a real, lauded novelist — but “Nightshade Market,” “a riveting tale set in Seoul’s underground economy,” isn’t one of her works. Rebecca Makkai, a Chicago local, is credited for a fake book called “Boiling Point” that the article claims is about a climate scientist whose teenage daughter turns on her.
Marco Buscaglia is credited for other pieces in the summer guide even though the book list does not have a byline. Buscaglia’s byline appears on a story about hammock culture in the US that quotes several experts and publications, some of whom do not appear to be real. I was not able to find a article in Outside magazine by Brianna Madia, that it references. The piece also cites an “outdoor industry market analysis” by Eagles Nest Outfitters that I was unable to find online. There is a professor at the University of Colorado who doesn’t appear to exist. Buscaglia admitted in an interview with 404 media that he uses artificial intelligence for background and always checks the material.
Source: Chicago Sun-Times publishes made-up books and fake experts in AI debacle
What I Did Not Say About Artificial Intelligence Next to Journalism: A Reappraisal by Cornell University Food Anthropologist Padma Lakshmi
“This time, I did not and I can’t believe I missed it because it’s so obvious. He told 404 that there were no excuses. I am completely embarrassed and it is 100 percent on me.
An article titled “Summer food trends” features a food anthropologist at Cornell University. There is a quote that is attributed to Padma Lakshmi, but she doesn’t appear to have said it.
News outlets often blame third-party content creators for the issue of running artificial intelligence-generated content next to their journalism. High-profile incidents of AI-generated content at Gannett and Sports Illustrated raised questions about the editorial process, and in both cases, a third-party marketing firm was behind the AI sludge. The appearance of fake news alongside real reporting and writing by human staffers damages trust just as much as the fact that there was no content at all.
