A French novelist has been dropped from consideration for the country's most prestigious literary prize after a pseudonymous social media account claimed an AI detection tool found his book was entirely machine-written, according to Plagiarism Today. The novelist denies the claim, and the episode is raising new questions about how literary institutions should handle unverified AI accusations.
Thélyson Orélien had just won the Prix du Roman Fnac and was on the long list for the Goncourt Prize for his novel C'était Ça ou Mourir (It Was Either That or Die), Plagiarism Today reported. The book had sold translation rights in more than 20 regions, according to the outlet.
The same day Orélien won the Fnac prize, a pseudonymous X account called Balance ton Claude posted screenshots claiming an AI check using the detection tool Pangram found the novel was 100% AI-generated, Plagiarism Today reported.
Orélien has denied the allegation. In one interview, cited by Plagiarism Today, he said he wrote the first draft of the novel in 2019, before generative AI tools were widely available. French media outlets have reported that other AI detection tools found the novel was human-written, according to Plagiarism Today.
Despite the dispute, Goncourt organizers dropped Orélien from the long list. Plagiarism Today reported that the organizers said the decision was made to protect the prize's integrity and the Académie's mission of honoring literature written by women and men.
Other allegations surface
After the AI claims emerged, separate allegations of plagiarism also surfaced involving a 2012 short story, a 2013 opinion piece and various social media posts, Plagiarism Today reported. It is unclear whether these older allegations played any role in the Goncourt decision, according to the outlet.
Orélien's French and Canadian publishers have said they are standing by him. Plagiarism Today reported that the publishers are pausing promotional activities for his wellbeing, not because of the allegations, and that the book remains available for purchase.
Who is behind the account
The Balance ton Claude account had been publishing for only four days before it posted the allegations against Orélien, according to Plagiarism Today. Le Figaro later reported that the account was run, at least in part, by one of its own columnists, Samuel Fitoussi, who is known for right-wing views, Plagiarism Today reported.
Fitoussi has said the account is a "collective project" but has not named other contributors, according to Plagiarism Today. He has denied that race or politics played any role in his decision to publish the allegations, the outlet reported.
Plagiarism Today's editorial argued that Goncourt's decision was premature, noting that even strong AI detectors can make errors and may perform less reliably in certain languages or writing styles. The outlet also compared the case to a July story involving academic Jason Arday, in which a conservative academic published plagiarism allegations against a Black scholar that were then picked up by mainstream publications.
Plagiarism Today said it could not determine whether the older plagiarism allegations against Orélien factored into the Goncourt organizers' decision, and noted that his career may struggle to recover from the episode even if the AI allegations are eventually disproven.
Sources
- Author Dropped from Literary Prize Over AI Allegations — Plagiarism Today,
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