After author Jane Friedman raised complaints, Amazon removed five books falsely listed as being authored by her, suspected to be generated by AI. The titles, including “How to Write and Publish an eBook Quickly and Make Money” and “A Step-by-Step Guide to Crafting Compelling eBooks, Building a Thriving Author Platform, and Maximizing Profitability”, mimicked Friedman’s real work on the publishing industry. The discovery was made when a reader noticed the fraudulent listings on Amazon and alerted Friedman.

Friedman expressed feeling violated by the low-quality material bearing her name. Suspecting AI involvement due to her familiarity with AI tools like ChatGPT, she took immediate action to have the titles removed. Despite Amazon’s initial response citing the lack of trademark on her name, the books were eventually taken down, possibly due to Friedman’s public outcry on social media.

Friedman emphasized the need for Amazon to establish policies preventing unauthorized uploads and urged platforms to verify authorship. This incident echoes similar cases of fraudulent titles on Amazon in the past, highlighting the importance of robust content guidelines and author protection measures.

An Amazon spokesperson assured their commitment to content guidelines and prompt investigation of concerns, emphasizing their efforts to maintain a trustworthy shopping experience and protect both customers and authors.