{"meta":{"exportedAt":"2026-11-15T08:21:06.384Z","formatVersion":2,"selection":{"q":"quebec","system":"","harm":"","context":"","country":"","role":"","relation":"","evidence":"","year":"2026","response":"","severity":"","verification":"","view":"incidents","sort":"added"},"totalIncidents":2,"coverage":{"cases":2,"countries":2,"languages":3,"unknownLocation":0,"locationPending":0,"unknownLanguage":0,"unknownDate":0,"lawsuits":0,"regulatory":0,"minors":0,"coreRelations":1,"contextualRelations":1,"mixedRelations":0,"unknownRelations":0,"relationPending":0,"relationUnknown":0},"countingNote":"Distinct public cases in this selection. People counts apply within individual cases only; cross-case person overlap has not been resolved. No population incidence estimate.","affectedCountNote":"Interpret person counts with affectedCountStatus and the reported effects. Unquantified zeros are placeholders, not a measured zero.","source":"AI incidents","publisher":"NOPE","url":"https://nope.net/incidents","license":"CC BY 4.0"},"incidents":[{"id":"2026-levis-quebec-pupils-suspended-after-ai-altered-images-of-school-staff-circulated-in-snapchat-group","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Certaines photos de membres du personnel de l’école ont été modifiées par l’intelligence artificielle et ont circulé sur un média social de messagerie, dans un groupe privé portant le nom de l’école, entre le 18 et le 21 octobre'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Certaines photos de membres du personnel de l’école ont été modifiées par l’intelligence artificielle et ont circulé sur un média social de messagerie, dans un groupe privé portant le nom de l’école'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"According to the CSSDN, some photos of members of the school's staff were modified with artificial intelligence and circulated on a messaging social network, in a private group bearing the school's name, between 18 and 21 October 2026.","causal_attribution":"The school service centre's own statement; its staff viewed the material on the pupils' phones. The AI tool is not named."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Des images générées étaient « de nature offensante, diffamatoire, haineuse ou violente », selon le Centre de services scolaire des Navigateurs'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'were suspended for violating the school’s code of conduct, which prohibits posting any \"offensive, defamatory, hateful, or violent content or images.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Radio-Canada reports the CSSDN saying the generated images were of an offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent nature, and CBC reports the pupils were suspended for breaching the school's code of conduct that prohibits such images.","causal_attribution":"Characterisation by the school service centre, as reported."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Dans la plupart des cas, il s’agissait d’images qui pouvaient être qualifiées de niaiseries'; 'Une photo truquée à caractère violent montrait néanmoins un membre du personnel avec un fusil sur la tempe'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'one of the fake images posted on Snapchat reportedly showed a gun being held to the head of a teacher'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"André Bernier, president of Quebec's school administrators' association, citing information from the school, said most images could be called silly but one violent fake showed a staff member with a gun to the temple.","causal_attribution":"Second-hand account from the association president; CBC says teacher, Radio-Canada says staff member."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'it was other students who first reported the images to school staff because they felt uncomfortable'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'La situation a été dénoncée par des élèves qui ont avisé des membres du personnel'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"Pupils who felt uncomfortable reported the images to school staff.","causal_attribution":"CSSDN account as relayed."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'La dizaine d’élèves concernés a été suspendue à l’interne (à l’école) ou à l’externe (à la maison) jusqu’à trois jours'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Les élèves à l’origine de ces images fabriquées ont été entendus par la direction et la policière-école'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'la mesure concernait une dizaine de jeunes adolescents, surtout de deuxième secondaire'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"About ten pupils were suspended at school or at home for up to three days after they were met by the administration and the school police officer and deleted the material.","causal_attribution":"The school's disciplinary response, from the CSSDN."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'À l’heure actuelle, aucune plainte n’a été déposée auprès de notre service. Il n’y a pas d’élément criminel là-dedans'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s4"},{"locator":"'Le CSSDN n’a pas porté plainte à la police et affirme qu’aucun membre du personnel enseignant ne l’a fait non plus'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"A Lévis police spokesperson said no complaint had been filed and there was no criminal element; the CSSDN said neither it nor any teacher had complained to police.","causal_attribution":"Police and school service centre statements about the legal response."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'new Education Minister Joël Arseneau said the school was right to suspend the students'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"Quebec's education minister said the school was right to suspend the pupils.","causal_attribution":"Ministerial statement reported by CBC."}],"effects":[{"label":"school staff depicted without consent in AI-altered images the school service centre called offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent; one reportedly showed a gun to a staff member's head","claim_id":"c3","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2295957/ia-eleve-photos-truquees-ecole-secondaire-levis","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-29; passages translated by the research agent (an AI); locators are the original French. Radio-Canada report quoting a CSSDN written response and an interview with André Bernier.","independence_group":"radio-canada-levis-oct-2026"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/students-suspended-levis-high-school-ai-images-9.7398634","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-29; no translation needed. CBC report written with files from Radio-Canada; treated as dependent on the Radio-Canada reporting.","independence_group":"radio-canada-levis-oct-2026"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.noovo.info/nouvelles/education/article/photos-truquees-par-lia-une-dizaine-detudiants-suspendus-a-levis/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-29; passages translated by the research agent (an AI); locators are the original French. Noovo Info report quoting a CSSDN email.","independence_group":"noovo-levis-oct-2026"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://www.lavoixdelest.ca/actualites/education/2026/10/27/des-eleves-de-levis-suspendus-pour-la-production-dimages-ia-inappropriees-IPANRMVEFFC53N6NWM7XGV47M4/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read in French by the research agent (an AI) on 2026-10-29; passages translated by the research agent (an AI); locators are the original French. Le Soleil report republished by La Voix de l'Est, quoting the CSSDN spokesperson and a Lévis police spokesperson.","independence_group":"le-soleil-levis-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["education","work"],"unknowns":["Which AI tool was used and how the photos were altered.","How many staff members and classmates were depicted.","Whether any image was sexualised: Le Soleil reported unconfirmed descriptions, while Radio-Canada reports that the police and the CSSDN say no sexual fakes of staff circulated.","How the depicted staff members were affected."],"geography":{"basis":"The school is a secondary school in Lévis, Quebec, run by the Centre de services scolaire des Navigateurs, and the images circulated in a group of its pupils (Radio-Canada, Noovo Info, Le Soleil). No court is involved.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["CA"],"affected_person_countries":["CA"]},"publication":{"basis":"Published as a core case (depicted_or_impersonated): the school service centre, whose staff viewed the material, says pupils altered photos of staff with AI and shared them in a group, and it called the images offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent. The depicted staff's own reactions are not reported.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-29"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Centre de services scolaire des Navigateurs, whose school administration and police officer viewed the material on the pupils' phones, says photos of staff members were modified by artificial intelligence and circulated among pupils; those altered images, which depicted staff in scenes the service centre called offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent, are the harm. The tool and the technical basis for the attribution are not disclosed.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["depicted_or_impersonated"]},"name":"Lévis, Quebec: about ten pupils suspended after school says AI-altered photos of staff, one reportedly showing a gun to a staff member's head, circulated online","summary":"About ten pupils at a secondary school in Lévis, Quebec, were suspended for up to three days in October 2026 after photos of school staff altered with artificial intelligence circulated between 18 and 21 October in a private messaging group bearing the school's name, according to the Centre de services scolaire des Navigateurs (CSSDN). The CSSDN said the material breached school rules against offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent images. The president of Quebec's school administrators' association, citing the school, said most images were silly but one violent fake showed a staff member with a gun to the head. Pupils who felt uncomfortable reported the images; the pupils who shared them were met by the administration and the school police officer and deleted the material, and their parents were also met. Lévis police say no complaint was filed and they see no criminal element. Which AI tool was used is not reported.","incidentDate":"2026-10-18","incidentEndDate":"2026-10-21","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-10-27","aiSystem":"An unnamed artificial intelligence tool that pupils used to alter photos of school staff, according to the Centre de services scolaire des Navigateurs","aiProduct":"Unidentified image tool","severity":"low","verificationStatus":"credible","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"School staff were depicted without their consent in AI-altered images that the school service centre says breached rules against offensive, defamatory, hateful or violent images; one reportedly showed a staff member with a gun to the head (CSSDN; André Bernier via Radio-Canada and CBC).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"supported","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"partial","affectedCountEvidence":"One counted: the staff member shown in the violent fake with a gun to the head (André Bernier via Radio-Canada). Other staff members and, per Le Soleil, classmates were also depicted; their number is not stated. The suspended pupils who made or shared the images are not counted.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"CA-QC","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"resolved","primarySourceUrl":"https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/2295957/ia-eleve-photos-truquees-ecole-secondaire-levis","primarySourceLabel":"Radio-Canada, 27 October 2026: IA : une dizaine d'élèves suspendus pour des photos truquées dans une école de Lévis","firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-29T03:08:42.013904+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-29T03:08:42.013904+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-altered-images","school-staff","school-discipline","quebec"]},{"id":"2026-orelien-goncourt-selection-removed-ai-detector-accusation","caseFacts":{"claims":[{"id":"c1","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Le 21 septembre, le compte « Balance ton Claude », jusque-là peu connu, affirme avoir soumis plusieurs extraits de C’était ça ou mourir au logiciel américain Pangram, spécialisé dans la détection de textes potentiellement générés par intelligence artificielle. Certains passages auraient obtenu des scores allant jusqu’à 100 % de probabilité de génération par IA.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"},{"locator":"'Les premières accusations ont été portées lundi par un compte anonyme sur X, mettant en avant le verdict du détecteur d'IA Pangram. L'essayiste Samuel Fitoussi a confirmé vendredi être derrière ce compte, Balance ton Claude, assurant n'être qu'un des membres d'un collectif.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"}],"assertion":"The accusation began when an anonymous X account, Balance ton Claude, said it had run excerpts of the novel through the Pangram AI-detection software, with some passages scoring up to 100 per cent probability of AI generation; essayist Samuel Fitoussi later said he was one of the people behind the account.","causal_attribution":"Account of how the accusation arose, as reported."},{"id":"c2","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'L'Académie Goncourt a annoncé, vendredi 25 septembre, la \"suppression\" du roman C'était ça ou mourir de Thélyson Orélien de sa première sélection'; 'L'ouvrage \"est selon toute vraisemblance très largement le produit d'une intelligence artificielle\", justifie-t-elle après plusieurs jours de polémique, expliquant se reposer sur le \"résultat convergent de plusieurs analyses de chercheurs et journalistes dignes de foi\".'; 'L'Académie Goncourt justifie également sa décision par \"des plagiats dont son auteur s'est rendu coupable au fil du temps et qui viennent d'être révélés\", qui ne concernent pas son roman mais au moins une nouvelle et des articles publiés au Canada.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'L'Académie Goncourt a annoncé vendredi qu'elle retirait le roman de l'auteur canado-haïtien Thélyson Orélien de sa sélection pour le prix Goncourt en raison des accusations de plagiat et d'utilisation de l'intelligence artificielle (IA) le visant.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"}],"assertion":"On 25 September 2026 the Académie Goncourt removed the novel from its first selection, stating that it is in all likelihood very largely the product of an artificial intelligence on the basis of several analyses by researchers and journalists, and also citing plagiarism by the author in older texts published in Canada that do not concern the novel.","causal_attribution":"The Académie's stated reasons combine AI analyses and plagiarism findings; the weight given to the Pangram results is not stated. The communiqué itself was not read directly."},{"id":"c3","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'L'écrivain canado-haïtien conteste avoir eu recours à l'intelligence artificielle, et a dénoncé jeudi une \"volonté\" de le \"faire taire\".'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s1"},{"locator":"'Il explique que son style, marqué notamment par les répétitions et certains rythmes propres à son univers linguistique et culturel, pourrait être interprété à tort par des outils automatisés.'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"Orélien denies using artificial intelligence to write the novel and says its repetitions and rhythms reflect his linguistic and cultural background and may be misread by automated tools.","causal_attribution":"The author's denial; the Académie and the accusers maintain the contrary. No decisive evidence either way is reported."},{"id":"c4","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'Les éditions du Boréal, basées à Montréal, ont annoncé suspendre \"les activités promotionnelles\" autour du livre'; '\"Malheureusement, il nous est impossible à ce stade-ci d'infirmer ou de confirmer les allégations auxquelles l'auteur fait face\", a expliqué Boréal'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s2"},{"locator":"'Au Canada, les Éditions du Boréal ont suspendu les activités promotionnelles entourant le roman'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s3"}],"assertion":"His Montreal publisher, Éditions du Boréal, suspended promotional activities around the book, saying it could neither confirm nor refute the allegations.","causal_attribution":"Publisher statement as reported; the suspension followed both the AI and plagiarism allegations."},{"id":"c5","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'has abandoned efforts to compile evidence supporting his denial that artificial intelligence was used to write his novel, his publisher has confirmed'; 'The publishing house supported him in this process, which he chose to end'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"Boréal confirmed in October 2026 that the author had abandoned his effort to compile evidence supporting his denial that AI was used to write the novel, and said it would have preferred to give definitive answers to the allegations.","causal_attribution":"Publisher statement as reported by The Canadian Press; the author did not immediately respond to its request for comment."},{"id":"c6","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'acknowledged plagiarism in some of his previous work in his statement Tuesday, apologizing for what he described as unacceptable mistakes in his youth, while maintaining that no sentence in his novel was generated by a machine'; 'saying he began working on it in 2017 and completed a first draft of more than 300 pages in 2019'; 'manuscript on Sept. 12, 2025, and could not independently verify how the novel had been written before that date'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"The author acknowledged plagiarism in some of his previous work while maintaining that no sentence in the novel was generated by a machine; he says he began the novel in 2017 and finished a first draft in 2019, and Boréal says it received the manuscript on 12 September 2025 and cannot verify how it was written before then.","causal_attribution":"The author's statement and the publisher's; whether AI was used remains disputed and unresolved."},{"id":"c7","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'sales of the novel have slowed since the controversy began, although it declined to provide specific figures'; 'had not observed any significant change in sales of the novel over the preceding weeks'; 'with 1,713 reservations for its digital edition through its online lending service as of Oct. 14'; 'it would continue selling the book in the absence of definitive findings about the AI allegations'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s5"}],"assertion":"On 17 October Boréal said sales of the novel had slowed since the controversy began, without giving figures, and that it would continue selling the book; a major Quebec bookstore chain reported no significant change in sales, and the Quebec national library reported 1,713 reservations for the digital edition as of 14 October.","causal_attribution":"Publisher's statement on sales, set against the bookseller's and library's figures; no sales effect is quantified."},{"id":"c8","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'announced Wednesday it is ending its professional relationship with Thélyson Orélien.' ... 'Consequently, Boréal will not reprint the novel, nor will it publish any further books by Thélyson Orélien,' ... 'revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents,' ... 'it doesn't know to what extent AI was used'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"},{"locator":"'Consequently, Boréal will not reprint the novel and will not publish any other books by Thélyson Orélien,' ... 'gathered all the working versions of the novel and commissioned a thorough external analysis' ... 'The results obtained this week revealed traces of AI tags in the metadata of some documents,'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s7"}],"assertion":"On 21 October 2026 Boréal announced it was ending its professional relationship with Orélien and would not reprint the novel or publish any further books by him, saying an external analysis it commissioned of all working versions of the novel revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents, and that it does not know to what extent AI was used.","causal_attribution":"Publisher's statement; the analysis itself is not published and the extent of AI use is unknown."},{"id":"c9","status":"reported","evidence":[{"locator":"'In a statement last week, Orélien said the accusations were \"slander and heresy,\" and that while he did use AI tools \"here and there\" for research, he says the text, structure and plot all come \"straight from my gut.\"'","relation":"supports","source_id":"s6"}],"assertion":"In a statement the week before Boréal's decision, Orélien called the accusations slander and said he used AI tools here and there for research while the text, structure and plot came from him.","causal_attribution":"The author's own statement as reported by CBC News; the sources read do not report his response to the 21 October decision."}],"effects":[{"label":"novel removed from the Goncourt prize selection after accusations, based partly on AI-detector scores, that it was largely AI-generated","claim_id":"c2","direction":"negative"},{"label":"publisher suspended promotion of the book pending the allegations","claim_id":"c4","direction":"negative"},{"label":"publisher says the novel's sales slowed after the controversy (no figures)","claim_id":"c7","direction":"negative"},{"label":"publisher ended its relationship with him and will not reprint the novel or publish further books by him","claim_id":"c8","direction":"negative"}],"sources":[{"id":"s1","url":"https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/livres/le-roman-de-thelyson-orelien-supprime-de-la-selection-du-prix-goncourt-en-raison-de-soupcons-de-recours-a-l-intelligence-artificielle-et-d-accusations-de-plagiats_8209475.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read live in French on 2026-09-28; bylined 'franceinfo avec AFP'. Quotes the Académie communiqué. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"goncourt-communique-afp"},{"id":"s2","url":"https://www.rts.ch/info/culture/livres/2026/article/thelyson-orelien-l-essayiste-samuel-fitoussi-dit-avoir-lance-la-polemique-29367142.html","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read live in French on 2026-09-28 (25 September 2026). No wire credit visible in the saved text but the account parallels the AFP copy; treated as the same chain. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"goncourt-communique-afp"},{"id":"s3","url":"https://www.juno7.ht/thelyson-orelien-polemique-ia-goncourt-pangram/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"fr","translation_note":"Read live in French on 2026-09-28 (26 September 2026). A Haitian synthesis of published reporting with no independent sourcing; treated as the same chain. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"goncourt-communique-afp"},{"id":"s4","url":"https://t24.com.tr/dunya/odullu-yazarin-romanina-yapay-zek-suclamasi-adayliktan-cikarildi,1350116","kind":"news_relay","access":"read","language":"tr","translation_note":"Read live in Turkish on 2026-09-28 (27 September 2026); relay of the same reporting. Researcher translation.","independence_group":"goncourt-communique-afp"},{"id":"s5","url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/orelien-abandons-effort-to-document-novels-origins-9.7385321","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English at cbc.ca on 2026-10-18 (HTTP 200); bylined Charlotte Glorieux, The Canadian Press, posted 17 October 2026. Quotes an email from Boréal and the author's statement released through Boréal.","independence_group":"canadian-press-boreal-oct-2026"},{"id":"s6","url":"https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-authour-ai-scandal-thelyson-orelien-9.7390119","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English at cbc.ca on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200); CBC News report by Annabelle Olivier posted 21 October 2026, quoting Boréal's news release.","independence_group":"boreal-news-release-21-oct-2026"},{"id":"s7","url":"https://montreal.citynews.ca/2026/10/21/boreal-writer-thelyson-orelien-ai/","kind":"news_report","access":"read","language":"en","translation_note":"Read in English at montreal.citynews.ca on 2026-10-22 (HTTP 200); The Canadian Press report of 21 October 2026 quoting Boréal's statement.","independence_group":"boreal-news-release-21-oct-2026"}],"version":1,"ai_roles":["others_use"],"contexts":["work"],"unknowns":["The extent of any generative-AI use in writing the novel: Boréal says an analysis found AI markers in document metadata but that it does not know to what extent AI was used; the author has said he used AI tools only for research.","Which analyses by researchers and journalists the Académie relied on, and how much weight it gave the Pangram scores relative to the plagiarism findings.","The novel's status on the Femina, Médicis and Renaudot lists after the Goncourt decision.","The size of any sales effect: Boréal gives no figures and a major bookstore chain reported no significant change.","Why the author ended the evidence-gathering effort; he did not immediately respond to The Canadian Press.","The author's response to Boréal's 21 October decision, and whether the external analysis will be published."],"geography":{"basis":"The decision was taken by the Académie Goncourt for the French literary prize (franceinfo) while the author was in France promoting the book (RTS). The author is described as Canadian-Haitian, his publisher is in Montreal and The Canadian Press calls him a Quebec author (CBC, 17 October 2026); the September sources do not state where he lives and no affected-person country is recorded.","court_countries":[],"event_countries":["FR"],"affected_person_countries":[]},"publication":{"basis":"Published under the 2026-09-15 charter as a contextual case (an AI-detection tool's output about his text launched public accusations of AI authorship, and the Académie Goncourt then removed his novel, citing unnamed analyses finding it probably AI-generated as well as separate plagiarism). AI authorship is disputed and unproven, and the decision also rested on separate plagiarism findings; the record states both. The author is a public figure; the September sources derive from the same public statements and AFP-led reporting. Reviewed again on 2026-10-18 to add the October developments reported by The Canadian Press (CBC), including the publisher's statements and the author's admission of earlier plagiarism. Reviewed again on 2026-10-22 to add Boréal's 21 October decision to end the relationship and stop reprinting the novel, citing an external analysis that found AI markers in document metadata (CBC News; The Canadian Press); the extent of AI use remains unknown.","reviewed_on":"2026-10-22"},"ai_involvement":{"basis":"The Pangram AI-detection software was used by the accusing account to score excerpts of the novel as AI-generated (franceinfo; RTS; juno7). That generative AI was used to write the novel is disputed: the author denies it. The Académie relied on unspecified analyses by researchers and journalists, not solely on Pangram. On 21 October 2026 his publisher said an external analysis of the novel's working versions revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents and that it does not know to what extent AI was used (CBC News; The Canadian Press); the author had said he used AI tools only for research.","status":"reported"},"person_relations":["made_claim_about"]},"name":"Académie Goncourt drops Thélyson Orélien's novel as likely AI-generated after Pangram claims; his publisher later says it found AI traces and ends ties","summary":"On 21 September 2026 an anonymous X account, Balance ton Claude, said it had run excerpts of Thélyson Orélien's debut novel C'était ça ou mourir through the American AI-detection software Pangram, with some passages scoring up to 100 per cent probability of AI generation. On 25 September the Académie Goncourt removed the novel from the first selection of sixteen books for its 2026 prize, stating that the work is 'in all likelihood very largely the product of an artificial intelligence', based on 'the convergent result of several analyses by researchers and journalists', and also citing plagiarism in older texts by the author published in Canada (at least one short story and articles), which do not concern the novel. Orélien, a 38-year-old Canadian-Haitian writer whose novel had won the Fnac novel prize, denies using AI and says its repetitions and certain rhythms reflect his linguistic and cultural world and may be misread by automated tools. His Montreal publisher Boréal suspended promotional activities, saying it could neither confirm nor refute the allegations. Essayist Samuel Fitoussi said he was one of the people behind the account. AI-detector reliability is contested in the coverage. In October the author acknowledged plagiarism in some of his earlier work while maintaining that no sentence of the novel was generated by a machine. On 17 October 2026 The Canadian Press, published by CBC, reported that Boréal confirmed he had ended an effort to compile evidence of how the novel was written; Boréal said at that point it would keep selling the book, that sales had slowed since the controversy began, and that it could not verify how the novel was written before it received the manuscript on 12 September 2025. A major Quebec bookstore chain reported no significant change in sales. On 21 October 2026 Boréal announced that it was ending its professional relationship with him and would not reprint the novel or publish any further books by him. It said an external analysis it commissioned of all working versions of the novel revealed traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain documents, and that it does not know to what extent AI was used. In a statement the previous week Orélien had said he used AI tools 'here and there' for research but that the text, structure and plot were his own.","incidentDate":"2026-09-21","incidentEndDate":"2026-09-25","incidentKind":"bounded_series","incidentDatePrecision":"range","exposurePattern":"unknown","reportedDate":"2026-09-25","aiSystem":"Pangram, an AI-text detection tool, used by the Balance ton Claude account to score excerpts of the novel (juno7; RTS; franceinfo); the publisher later said an external analysis found traces of AI markers in the metadata of certain working documents, while the extent of any generative-AI use in writing the novel is unknown (CBC News, 21 October 2026)","aiProduct":"Pangram AI-text detector","severity":"medium","verificationStatus":"disputed","harmCategories":[],"harmOutcomes":["professional_harm","reputational_harm"],"harmOutcomeSummary":"The author's novel was removed from the Goncourt prize selection and his publisher suspended its promotion after public accusations, based partly on AI-detector scores, that the book was largely AI-generated; he denies using AI and the Académie also cited separate plagiarism (franceinfo with AFP; RTS; juno7). Boréal later said sales had slowed since the controversy began (CBC / The Canadian Press, 17 October 2026). On 21 October 2026 Boréal ended its relationship with him and said it would not reprint the novel or publish further books by him (CBC News; CityNews / The Canadian Press).","frameworkFacets":[],"causationStatus":"disputed","participantUsersAffectedMin":0,"otherPeopleHarmedMin":1,"affectedCountStatus":"exact","affectedCountEvidence":"One person, the author Thélyson Orélien, whose novel was removed from the selection (franceinfo; RTS). Exact 1.","victimAgeRange":"adult","jurisdiction":"FR","platformType":"other","outcomeType":"internal_action","outcomeStatus":"ongoing","primarySourceUrl":"https://www.franceinfo.fr/culture/livres/le-roman-de-thelyson-orelien-supprime-de-la-selection-du-prix-goncourt-en-raison-de-soupcons-de-recours-a-l-intelligence-artificielle-et-d-accusations-de-plagiats_8209475.html","primarySourceLabel":"franceinfo (with AFP), 25 September 2026: Orélien novel removed from the Goncourt selection over suspected AI use and plagiarism","firstPublishedAt":"2026-09-28T03:31:42.415125+00:00","updatedAt":"2026-10-22T03:16:17.888695+00:00","scopeVersion":"facts-v3","tags":["ai-detection","ai-detector-accusation","literary-prize","goncourt","pangram","france","disputed","made-claim-about"]}]}