Chicago Sun-Times under fire for fake summer guide
Fictional titles and fabricated experts slipped into the Sun-Times summer feature, prompting the paper to remove the section and review its content policies.
The Chicago Sun-Times has come under scrutiny after its 18 May issue featured a summer guide riddled with fake books, quotes, and experts, many of which appear to have been generated by AI.
Among genuine titles like Call Me By Your Name, readers encountered fictional works wrongly attributed to real authors, such as Min Jin Lee and Rebecca Makkai. The guide also cited individuals who do not appear to exist, including a professor at the University of Colorado and a food anthropologist at Cornell.
Although the guide carried the Sun-Times logo, the newspaper claims it wasn’t written or approved by its editorial team. It stated that the section had been licensed from a national content partner, reportedly Hearst, and is now being removed from digital editions.
Victor Lim, the senior director of audience development, said the paper is investigating how the content was published and is working to update policies to ensure third-party material aligns with newsroom standards.
Several stories in the guide lack bylines or feature names linked to questionable content. Marco Buscaglia, credited for one piece, admitted to using AI ‘for background’ but failed to verify the sources this time, calling the oversight ‘completely embarrassing.’
Other articles included quotes attributed to public figures like Padma Lakshmi, which she appears never to have made.
The incident echoes similar controversies at other media outlets where AI-generated material has been presented alongside legitimate reporting. Even when such content originates from third-party providers, the blurred line between verified journalism and fabricated stories continues to erode reader trust.
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