Kathmandu. The Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer are facing intense backlash after using AI-generated content without proper oversight. The controversy erupted after both newspapers published a summer reading list that included several books that don’t actually exist, provided books had fake titles.
On May 18, 2025, the Chicago Sun-Times released a special 64-page issue titled “Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer”, which featured a list of 15 recommended books. However, readers quickly discovered that 10 of those 15 titles were completely fabricated. These included books like Nightshade Market (Min Jin Lee), The Last Algorithm (Andy Weir), and Tidewater Dreams (Isabel Allende) — all attributed to real authors, but none of which actually exist. The titles were, in fact, generated by AI.
Who’s responsible?
Following the backlash, the newspapers clarified that the content had been created by King Features Syndicate, a third-party content provider that distributes material to multiple publications. Freelance writer Marco Buscaglia later admitted to using AI to create the list and failing to verify the generated results. “I published the AI-generated content without proper fact-checking, which was a serious mistake on my part,” he stated.
What did the newspapers say?
Both Chicago Sun-Times and The Philadelphia Inquirer have acknowledged the incident and expressed regret. A spokesperson for Sun-Times said, “It was unacceptable to offer this content to our readers. We take our readers’ trust seriously and are addressing the matter accordingly.”
Inquirer publisher Lisa Hughes added, “Using AI-generated material violates our internal editorial policy and was a major lapse in judgment.”
Not the first time
This incident is not an isolated case. In 2023, Sports Illustrated faced similar criticism for publishing AI-written product reviews under the names of fictitious authors.
