Illinois’ well-known newspaper, the Chicago Sun-Times, has confirmed that a recent summer reading list—filled with book recommendations for titles that don’t even exist—was created using artificial intelligence by a freelancer working through one of their content partners.
On Tuesday, social media erupted after users noticed the piece, titled “Summer reading list for 2025,” seemed suspiciously fake. Critics quickly pointed fingers at the use of ChatGPT, the AI chatbot infamous for its tendency to invent information—a behavior known as “AI hallucination.” The result? A list of phony book titles falsely credited to real authors.
“I dug into my library’s archives of Chicago newspapers to see if this was real—and unfortunately, it is,” wrote Kelly Jensen, an editor at Book Riot, on Bluesky. “Why in the world are you letting ChatGPT cook up fake books? You used to have a real books team. Does fact-checking not exist anymore?”
By early Tuesday afternoon, her post had already clocked over 1,000 likes and nearly 500 reposts.
Some of the fake book titles included: 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. While every author listed is a real and respected novelist, none of these books actually exist.
To make matters worse, the article didn’t just list these fictional titles—it also included invented summaries and reasons why readers would allegedly enjoy them.
Amid the misinformation, the piece did manage to name at least one authentic book: Atonement by Ian McEwan.
But the rabbit hole goes deeper. Other users pointed out that AI may have crept into multiple stories in the Sun-Times’ summer 2025 section. Screenshots from a “Summer food trends” article quote a supposed Cornell University food anthropologist named Catherine Furst—but no such person exists at Cornell.
Another story about backyard upgrades references a so-called FirepitBase.com editor named Daniel Ray—but there’s no sign of that site or person existing at all.
By Tuesday morning, the official Bluesky account for the Chicago Sun-Times tried to calm the waters: “We’re actively investigating how this content ended up in print,” the paper stated. “This is not editorial content and was not created or approved by the Sun-Times newsroom. We take your trust seriously and are digging in.”
Later that evening, the Sun-Times dropped a bombshell: yes, AI had indeed generated the controversial content, which was part of a special section provided by a nationally syndicated content partner and distributed to multiple papers, including theirs.
“This should be a wake-up call for all of journalism,” the paper wrote. “Our value comes from the real human relationships our reporters and editors have with our audiences.”
Turns out, the issue wasn’t isolated. A post on Threads by AngelaReadsBooks called out the Philadelphia Inquirer for publishing the same fake reading list.
“At a time when libraries and their budgets are constantly under threat, this is a massive insult to every professional in the field,” she wrote. “Where is the journalistic integrity?”
Best-selling author Jasmine Guillory also weighed in on Threads, reacting bluntly: “Holy shit. Just imaginary books, and they printed it.”
The Chicago Sun-Times says it’s taking action to ensure this never happens again. The fake section will be pulled from the e-paper, and the publication is reviewing and updating its policies around third-party editorial content.
“We know we owe our readers clarity and transparency, and we’ll be sharing more in the days to come,” the paper added.
With a legacy tracing back to a 1948 merger, the Chicago Sun-Times holds the position of second-largest circulation in the city—right behind the Chicago Tribune.
But the rise of AI-generated content is now a battle every newsroom is fighting. Some publications are embracing the tools—and even hiring for AI-assisted reporter roles—but incidents like this prove the importance of keeping the human touch in journalism.
Description:
Discover how the Chicago Sun-Times came under fire for publishing an AI-generated summer reading list filled with fake book titles. Learn about the controversy, social media backlash, and the newspaper's response as it vows to prevent future AI-related errors. A must-read on journalism, AI, and editorial integrity.