Chicago Sun-Times Faces Backlash After Promoting Fake Books In AI-Generated Summer Reading List

The Chicago Sun-Times newspaper is receiving major backlash after it printed an AI-generated “summer reading list for 2025” Sunday that promoted several nonexistent book titles.

While the reading list did recommend some real titles, like “Call Me By Your Name” by André Aciman, it also suggested readers dive into books such as “Tidewater,” a nonexistent book by real-life author Isabel Allende. The reading list described the book as a “multigenerational saga set in a coastal town where magical realism meets environmental activism.”

Five out of the list’s 15 recommended books were real, according to NPR.

“I do use AI for background at times but always check out the material first,” the list’s author, Marco Buscaglia, told independent tech news site 404 Media. “This time, I did not and I can’t believe I missed it because it’s so obvious. No excuses.”

“I assume I’ll be getting calls all day. I already am,” said Buscaglia, who is not a Sun-Times employee. “This is just idiotic of me, really embarrassed. When I found it [online], it was almost surreal to see.”

The Chicago Sun-Times is getting mocked after publishing a summer reading list that was AI-generated and contained fake book titles.

Scott Olson via Getty Images

Author Rebecca Makkai, who was featured on the summer reading list alongside “Boiling Point,” a nonexistent book attributed to her, expressed her shock on Bluesky.

“WHAT. THE ACTUAL. FUCK. Chicago Sun Times seems to have used AI to write its summer reading of BOOKS THAT DO NOT EXIST,” she wrote.

Book Riot editor Kelly Jensen called out the article in a post on Bluesky, asking, “Why the hell are you using ChatGPT to make up book titles? You used to have a books staff. Absolutely no fact checking?”

“This is the future of book recommendations when libraries are defunded and dismantled,” Jensen wrote in a follow-up post. “Trained professionals are removed in exchange for this made up, inaccurate garbage.”

The Chicago Sun-Times responded to critics on Bluesky, saying it was looking into how the AI-generated article made it to print in the first place.

“It is not editorial content and was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom,” the newspaper wrote. “We value your trust in our reporting and take this very seriously.”

Victor Lim, a spokesperson for the newspaper’s parent company, Chicago Public Media, told NPR that the AI book list was part of licensed content provided by a third-party company.

The Chicago Sun-Times Guild, which represents more than 600 workers at the newspaper, said in a Bluesky post that it was “aware of the third-party ‘summer guide’ content,” adding that the union was “deeply disturbed that AI-generated content was printed alongside our work.”

“We take great pride in the union-produced journalism that goes into the respected pages of our newspaper and on our website,” the union wrote. “The fact that it was 60+ pages of this ‘content’ is very concerning — primarily for our relationship with our audience but also for our union’s jurisdiction.”

Buscaglia told NPR the reading list was a “huge mistake” on his part and clarified that he “has nothing to do with the Sun-Times.”

“They trust that the content they purchase is accurate and I betrayed that trust. It’s on me 100 percent,” Buscaglia said.