It really makes you wonder, doesn’t it? In an age overflowing with information, actual, verifiable truth sometimes feels like searching for a specific brand of sensible shoes at a thrift store – you know it should be there, but good luck finding it among the mountains of nonsense. Everyone’s looking for a shortcut, a quick fix, an easy answer to complex questions, and boy, oh boy, does that lead to some spectacular own goals.
You see, there’s this quaint old idea that certain institutions, particularly those who loudly proclaim themselves guardians of information, are supposed to have, you know, standards. A bit of due diligence, perhaps? A quick once-over by a human being with a functioning brain cell before hitting “publish”? Apparently, for some, that’s asking too much. And when those standards slip, or are perhaps outsourced to the digital equivalent of a Magic 8-Ball, the results can be… well, let’s just say they’re pure gold for those of us paying attention.
And speaking of paying attention, did you hear the one about the Chicago Sun-Times? This isn’t a setup for a joke, though the punchline writes itself. This bastion of liberal thought decided to grace its readers with a “summer reading list for 2025.” Sounds lovely, right? Except, a rather significant portion of the recommended books were, shall we say, figments of a digital imagination. That’s right, people, they published a list featuring books that do not exist.
AI Dreams Up a Reading List, Media Nightmares Ensue
It turns out, according to Axios, the very first item on this illustrious list was a novel supposedly by the “beloved Chilean American author” Isabel Allende, titled “Tidewater Dreams.” The description? A “climate fiction novel” exploring “how one family confronts rising seas levels while uncovering long-buried secrets.” Sounds compelling, if only it were real. Readers, bless their sharp eyes and sharper wit, quickly took to social media to point out the phantom titles and mock the outlet. You truly can’t make this stuff up.
The Hill reported that the Sun-Times eventually had to apologize, explaining that the AI-generated list was part of a special section “licensed from a national content partner” and, get this, was inserted into the paper without review from its editorial team. The circulation department was apparently in charge of this literary foray. Because when you think rigorous fact-checking, you naturally think of the people who manage subscriptions.
The Robots Did It, But Who Let Them In?
The plot, like a bad AI-generated novel, thickens. Axios, digging deeper via 404 Media, revealed that a freelance writer, Marco Buscaglia, whose byline appeared on other stories in the supplement, admitted he wrote the piece using AI but – and here’s the kicker – failed to fact-check it. So, we have an AI prone to “hallucinations” (as AI experts politely call “making stuff up”), a writer who couldn’t be bothered to verify, and a newspaper that apparently just shrugged and sent it to the printers. All this, by the way, appeared opposite a house ad exhorting readers to “Donate your old car and fund the news you rely on.” The irony is richer than a triple-chocolate cake.
This debacle led the Sun-Times to release a statement, parts of which were truly remarkable.
From ‘The Hill’ (quoting the Chicago Sun-Times statement):
“We are in a moment of great transformation in journalism and technology, and at the same time our industry continues to be besieged by business challenges. This should be a learning moment for all journalism organizations: Our work is valued — and valuable — because of the humanity behind it.”
“The humanity behind it.” You mean the humanity that was conspicuously absent when an AI was dreaming up fake books and no actual human editor bothered to glance at it? That humanity? This “learning moment” seems to be a rather expensive lesson in basic competence.
Fake Books, Fake News: Is This the “New Normal” for Liberal Media?
And lest you think the Sun-Times is an isolated island of AI-induced incompetence, Axios also reported that the Philadelphia Inquirer published a similar AI-generated fake reading list from the same syndicated supplement. It’s a trend, it seems! One also has to wonder if the recent 20% cut to editorial staff at the Sun-Times, also reported by Axios, perhaps played a tiny role in this oversight. When you slash the humans, don’t be surprised if the robots start running amok.
It’s a stark reminder, isn’t it? These are the outlets that lecture us daily, that demand we trust them implicitly. Yet, they can’t even verify if the books they’re recommending for your summer vacation actually exist on planet Earth. It makes you wonder what other “facts” they’re peddling with the same level of rigorous non-vetting.
In a world clamoring for authenticity, this episode serves as a rather hilarious, yet deeply concerning, example of how easily misinformation – even of the most absurd kind – can slip through when diligence is replaced by algorithms and oversight is sacrificed for expediency. Perhaps the real “summer reading” should be a manual on critical thinking.
Key Takeaways:
- Liberal media giants published AI-generated fake book lists, exposing shocking editorial failures.
- Lack of human oversight and fact-checking raises serious credibility issues for these outlets.
- This blunder underscores the urgent need for journalistic integrity and reader discernment.
