Overview

• The AI-generated Heat Index supplement featured a summer reading list with invented book titles falsely attributed to real authors like Min Jin Lee and Andy Weir.
• Fabricated expert quotes included a fictitious anthropologist from Cornell University and a misidentified park coordinator from the Great Smoky Mountains.
• Freelance writer Marco Buscaglia admitted to using ChatGPT for book recommendations without verifying the content's accuracy.
• Both newspapers removed the digital section, issued public apologies, and pledged to improve transparency and verification processes for AI-generated material.
• The incident highlights industry-wide concerns about generative AI's reliability and the need for stronger editorial oversight to maintain journalistic standards.