Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books

On Sunday, the Chicago Sun-Times published an advertorial summer reading list containing at least 10 fake books attributed to real authors, according to multiple reports on social media. The newspaper's uncredited "Summer reading list for 2025" supplement recommended titles including "Tidewater Dreams" by Isabel Allende and "The Last Algorithm" by Andy Weir—books that don't exist and were created out of thin air by an AI system.

The creator of the list, Marco Buscaglia, confirmed to 404 Media that he used AI to generate the content. "I do use AI for background at times but always check out the material first. This time, I did not and I can't believe I missed it because it's so obvious. No excuses," Buscaglia said. "On me 100 percent and I'm completely embarrassed."

A check by Ars Technica shows that only five of the fifteen recommended books in the list actually exist, with the remainder being fabricated titles falsely attributed to well-known authors. AI assistants such as ChatGPT are well-known for creating plausible-sounding errors known as confabulations, especially when lacking detailed information on a particular topic. The problem affects everything from AI search results to lawyers citing fake cases.

On Tuesday morning, the Chicago Sun-Times addressed the controversy on Bluesky. "We are looking into how this made it into print as we speak," the official publication account wrote. "It is not editorial content and was not created by, or approved by, the Sun-Times newsroom. We value your trust in our reporting and take this very seriously. More info will be provided soon."

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In the supplement, the books listed by authors Isabel Allende, Andy Weir, Brit Bennett, Taylor Jenkins Reid, Min Jin Lee, Percival Everett, Delia Owens, Rumaan Alam, Rebecca Makkai, and Maggie O’Farrell are confabulated, while books listed by authors Françoise Sagan, Ray Bradbury, Jess Walter, André Aciman, and Ian McEwan are real. All of the authors are real people.

Novelist Rachael King initially called attention to the error on Bluesky Tuesday morning. "The Chicago Sun-Times obviously gets ChatGPT to write a 'summer reads' feature almost entirely made up of real authors but completely fake books. What are we coming to?" King wrote.

So far, community reaction to the list has been largely negative online, but others have expressed sympathy for the publication. Freelance journalist Joshua J. Friedman noted on Bluesky that the reading list was "part of a ~60-page summer supplement" published on May 18, suggesting it might be "transparent filler" possibly created by "the lone freelancer apparently saddled with producing it."

Staffing pressures in a difficult industry

The reading list appeared in a 64-page supplement called "Heat Index," which was a promotional section produced by King Features Syndicate and not specific to Chicago. It also ran in the Philadelphia Inquirer last week. Buscaglia told 404 Media the content was meant to be "generic and national" and would be inserted into newspapers around the country. "We never get a list of where things ran," he said.

The publication error comes two months after the Chicago Sun-Times lost 20 percent of its staff through a buyout program. In March, the newspaper's nonprofit owner, Chicago Public Media, announced that 30 Sun-Times employees—including 23 from the newsroom—had accepted buyout offers amid financial struggles.

A March report on the buyout in the Sun-Times described the staff reduction as "the most drastic the oft-imperiled Sun-Times has faced in several years." The departures included columnists, editorial writers, and editors with decades of experience.

Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, stated at the time that the exits would save the company $4.2 million annually. The company offered buyouts as it prepared for an expected expiration of grant support at the end of 2026.