Journalist Joanna Stern recently discovered a major problem with the digital book market. Shortly after launching her new book about artificial intelligence, she found numerous fake versions trying to trick buyers. These computer-generated copies popped up on the Apple digital storefront, using similar covers and even misspelled versions of her name to steal sales from the real release.
The issue highlights a growing problem for authors trying to protect their hard work from automated content farms.
The storefront struggles to stop fake books from returning
Stern shared a video online explaining how she spotted over 10 fake books mimicking her work, I Am Not a Robot. She reached out to the tech giant, and the company quickly removed the copied files. However, the victory did not last long. More fake versions appeared on the platform shortly after the first batch was deleted.
This situation is not entirely new for the publishing world. A couple of years ago, author Kara Swisher dealt with the same issue when her book was copied on Amazon. Swisher had to contact leadership directly to get the fakes removed. While that store seems to have improved its detection tools since then, Stern still found and bought two knockoff workbooks related to her release on their site, which were later taken down.
The rise of tools powered by AI makes it incredibly cheap and easy for bad actors to scrape ideas and generate entire books in minutes. The iPhone maker stated that it has strict rules against content that misleads buyers or breaks copyright laws. It also noted that it requires disclosure for materials created using these new tech tools. Despite these rules, the automated junk keeps slipping past the filters.
Authors face an uphill battle trying to monitor these platforms manually. Until online stores build better ways to catch fake content before it goes live, creators will have to keep hunting down the copies themselves.
