AI-generated fake books impersonating real authors flood Amazon
Fake AI-generated books mimicking real authors are being sold on Amazon with made-up authors, deceiving readers and costing writers sales.
A friend sent ABC journalist Cam Wilson a WhatsApp link to an AI-generated book titled Conspiracy Nation Exercises: Redefine Living Through Cam Wilson Teachings on Amazon. The author, Leni McAllister, doesn't seem to exist.
The book had 89 pages in Comic Sans, double-spaced, filled with things Wilson never said. Fellow author Natalie Kyriacou discovered the same problem with a book called Nature's Last Dance Exercises under her name.
Amazon removed the listings after being contacted, but didn't say who created them. Lucy Hayward, head of the Australian Society of Authors, says this is now common.
Authors lose sales and receive bad reviews from deceived buyers. Hayward calls for platforms to police derivative works and require AI companies to license author work.
- 89
- Pages in fake book
- Leni McAllister
- Fake author name
- Comic Sans
- Font used
Why it mattersAuthors lose income to fraud, readers buy fake books thinking they're real, and the problem shows how AI can be misused to deceive and profit at creators' expense.
AustraliaAustralian authors face growing fraud with AI-generated impostor books, and copyright law changes under government consultation could worsen it by making it opt-out rather than opt-in for AI training.
✓ Claims checked against the source and corrected before publish. checked 1 h ago
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