Topic

ai slop

A collection of 2 issues

A roundup of links on the summer guide AI slop

So much AI slop.

This time, a textbook case in journalism.

The gist is that a syndicated summer guide (things to do, books to read, etc.) published in the Chicago Sun-Times and the Philadelphia Inquirer was filled with AI-generated fake books and misinformation.

Now here's the roundup. đŸ§”

The 404 Media published a piece of true journalism on the viral guide.

The independent tech news site also released a podcast episode, AI Slop Summer.

Jason Koehler, author of the 404 Media story, is on Bluesky posting behind-the-scenes updates.

I spoke to the person who AI-generated the Chicago Sun-Times reading list. Says he's very embarrassed. This was part of a generic package inserted into newspapers and other publications, so likely to run elsewhere. He didn't know it'd be in Chicago Sun-Times www.404media.co/chicago-sun-...

— Jason Koebler (@jasonkoebler.bsky.social) 2025-05-20T14:47:27.261Z

The Chicago Sun-Times issued a response in a Bluesky thread.

On Sunday, May 18, the print and e-paper editions of the Chicago Sun-Times included a special section titled the Heat Index: Your Guide to the Best of Summer, featuring a summer reading list that our circulation department licensed from a national content partner. đŸ§”

— Chicago Sun-Times (@chicago.suntimes.com) 2025-05-20T19:53:14.302Z

Look at the comments; one unhappy subscriber responded:

Nowhere in this “What We Are Doing” do I see a pledge to your subscribers, of which I am one, to not use AI-generated content, either in-house or from 3rd-party providers. And if a syndicator can’t make that same pledge, their content doesn’t belong in our newspaper. Not so hard, is it?

— Joel Craig (@joelcraig23.bsky.social) 2025-05-20T21:37:25.338Z


Others asked about hiring actual writers and journalists. Among them, a writer who lost her job to AI.

I’m a writer who was recently laid off from my full time job and “replaced” by AI. Spoiler alert, AI can’t produce quality content the way humans can, and any journalist worthy of the title would never submit anything without fact checking. Fortunately, I’m available for hire! 😊

— Lauren (@l-auren.bsky.social) 2025-05-20T23:11:54.106Z

A headline from The Atlantic asked the question on everyone's mind — AI in Newspapers. How Did This Happen? The article surfaced the many issues that plague the industry.

There are layers to this story, all of them a depressing case study. The very existence of a package like “Heat Index” is the result of a local-media industry that’s been hollowed out by the internet, plummeting advertising, private-equity firms, and a lack of investment and interest in regional newspapers. In this precarious environment, thinned-out and underpaid editorial staff under constant threat of layoffs and with few resources are forced to cut corners for publishers who are frantically trying to turn a profit in a dying industry. It stands to reason that some of these harried staffers, and any freelancers they employ, now armed with automated tools such as generative AI, would use them to stay afloat.

Another from the Nieman Lab featured Reddit comments, including one from a subscriber:

Do they use AI consistently in their work? How did the editors 
 not catch this?” Reddit user xxxlovelit wrote. “As a subscriber, I am livid! What is the point of subscribing to a hard copy paper if they are just going to include AI slop too!?