Fake books are parasitizing Amazon. The literary knock is displayed there, sold there, catches readers in its cheap net. In digital format as well as in paper format. With an invented author’s name or by usurping the reputation of a real writer. With text produced by artificial intelligence (AI) or copied and pasted from elsewhere. This 21st century hacke century crosses genres: travel guides, manuals, translations, school books or recipes. Mainly in English, also in French. The Quebec book has so far escaped the scam. Not the buyers.
” It’s absurd ! » exclaims artist Patsy Van Roost, showing the Duty the fake book she unknowingly bought on Amazon. In his hands, Bring No Clotha very poorly made copy of Bring No Clothes (Penguin), brand new book by Charlie Porter.
Between the covers of the real and fake books, we play “Find the mistake”. A plural is missing here. There is one more, in a character that is too small. So many details that we can miss if we only see it in very small thumbnails on our screen, or if we shop quickly.
It’s clear that I’m going to notice the fraud and return it
Inside this fake book, instead of analyzing the clothes of artists Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell or TS Eliot, we read testimonies from survivors of the Second World War concentration camps, numbered from 24 to 60. No connection between the cover and the text.
No beautiful reproductions of historical photos like in the original book. “A book is text, content! » exasperates, laughing Mme Van Roost. “It’s clear that I’m going to notice the fraud and return it! If I order a Ralph Lauren on Amazon and they send me a fake, at least I can wear it. But the ? »
Officially, “Amazon strictly prohibits counterfeit products,” explained Ryma Boussoufa for Amazon Canada. “We take proactive measures to prevent counterfeit products from appearing on our site and monitor it constantly. »
If there is a problem, Amazon acts “quickly to protect customers, removing listings for counterfeit products, blocking accounts and issuing refunds.” Patsy Van Roots noted the disappearance, within 24 hours, of its counterfeit seller. She will be reimbursed for the book.
In reality, ChatGPT’s fabulous advances in text production facilitate the proliferation of fakes on Amazon. Fraud takes many faces. There are poorly plagiarized books, like here. We also see “notebooks”: the cover is copied, and underneath… all blank pages. It’s up to the reader to fill them in!
Imagined guides for imaginary journeys
There are also books made entirely by AI. THE New York Times spoke last August about the flood of fake travel guides, signed by a nonexistent Mike Steves. This ghost author became, through this ploy, one of the authors with the most travel guides sold.
At the beginning of September, the Guardian reported for its part the sale of guides for picking wild mushrooms, visibly produced by AI, but containing advice potentially dangerous to the health of amateurs who would follow them and prepare a pan of these vegetables.
Another case? Public domain texts, which are no longer subject to copyright, such as 1984, by George Orwell. You will receive the book, but of deplorable quality: the ink bleeds, words or passages are missing, sometimes different sentences are printed on top of each other, making everything illegible.
Misappropriation of reputation
Again ? Existing authors see their names on books they didn’t write. The American Jane Friedman, who has worked in the United States in publishing for 25 years, was the victim of this piracy last summer.
Alongside his three books, including The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), have been added to Goodreads and Amazon How To Write and Publish an eBook Quickly and Make Money. Ironic? As Promote and Prosper: Strategies to Skyrocket Your eBooks Sales on Amazon. Two titles that she never wrote.
“These are fake books on the subjects that made my reputation, writing and publishing,” says Mme Friedman in interview. “If you look closely and think critically, you see that this is not even an approximation of what I do. »
“But if people don’t know me and read these books, produced by AI, of mediocre writing and quality, then they think that I don’t know what I’m talking about, or that I provides very poor information. » This is, according to her, an attack on her reputation and her ability to earn a living, since her income comes mainly from classes and writing support.
If people don’t know me and read these books, produced by AI, of mediocre writing and quality, they think that I don’t know what I’m talking about, or that I’m offering very poor information
Mme Friedman, who had already dealt with Amazon when some of her books were pirated in “traditional plagiarism”, this time ran into a wall: as these neopirates do not copy her books, there is no copyright infringement.
“And since my name is not a registered trademark, Amazon closed the file without reacting. » According to the online megabookseller, there could very well be another author, with the same name as Jane Friedman, who also writes books on writing.
In French ?
The media have also reported cases of fake books in French. At first glance, English seems to be the language of choice for fake books. “Amazon’s American market is, by far, the most profitable. I can actually very well imagine that the pirates focus on English,” comments Mme Friedman.
Amazon takes 15% of all book sales, real or fake. There is an additional $1 “transaction closing fee”, and at least $1.49 per item sold for “individual sellers”.
In Quebec, the National Association of Book Publishers has not heard of any forgery that would have affected its members to date. “Artificial intelligence raises a large number of questions and realities that we will certainly look into this year,” said the general director, Karine Vachon.
As for the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ), no victims yet among the members. But it is “essential to raise awareness among artists, the general public and public authorities” of this new reality, added UNEQ, recalling that authors who need help to remove titles from Amazon can contact her.
“Anyone can now produce a digital book using AI with their computer and put it on sale on Amazon. Nothing can stop this,” summarizes Jane Friedman. “This facility contributes to the establishment of an environment where abuse and forgeries abound. I would like Amazon to put in place a monitoring system to prevent at least the worst of these abuses. »