Chicago Newspaper Apologizes For (Another!) Epic AI Fail

This isn't the first time and it probably won't be the last.

Chicago Sun-Times Newspaper apologizes for false AI information, even though it wasn't theirs.

The legendary newspaper recently published a special feature section that was included in their Sunday, May 18th Edition. Entitled The Heat Index, it was a guide to some of the best books to read this summer. However, it quickly became apparent that some of the titles included in the story did not exist.

The newspaper explained the feature came from King Features Syndicate, a corporate supplier of content for them and other newspapers. The Heat Index was included in their Sunday edition without being proofread for accuracy. While King Features policies strictly prohibit the use of AI or other artificially-generated content, they learned the freelance writer who supplied the content had used AI to help write the story.

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KIng says it has terminated its relationship with that writer, the paper has offered free content or removed charges for that feature from subscriber's bills and issued an apology.

This isn't the first time media or content creation companies have been 'busted.' Newsbreak, one of the largest content and news aggregator (a site that collects and displays content), was accused of publishing a fake story about a New Jersey shooting around Christmas of 2023. It took them four days to take it down and drew a harsh rebuke from New Jersey Police. According to Reuters News, Newsbreak has used AI to help publish at least 40 erroneous or even fake stories since 2021.

Last year, according to CNN, another website claiming to aggregate, or collect and display content, from multiple local or regional news sites was also found to be fake. The reporters and authors on Hoodline were all found to be AI-generated, the people did not exist.

The Gannet Newspaper chain canceled a project where they were using AI to help gather and report HS and regional sports scores and information after being mocked by readers for inaccuracies, and in a few cases, games that were never played.

AI does have some time-saving and useful applications for workers, but in the world of media, journalism, and sports, it appears it's a long way from being credible. It wouldn't hurt to reach out to the news and information sources you rely on, and ask them if they are using AI to help generate any of their content.