In a surprising twist, Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper’s Business section just gave the internet its new favourite headline, and it wasn’t even written by a human.
Readers were left stunned and apparently entertained when an article about car sales accidentally included a prompt note from ChatGPT, which reads, “If you want, I can also create an even snappier ‘front-page style’ version with punchy one-line stats and a bold, infographic-ready layout—perfect for maximum reader impact. Do you want me to do that next?”
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GPT basically offered to make the article smoother in the middle of the published piece. Naturally, social media lost its collective mind. Platforms like X, Facebook, and other portals were flooded with reactions ranging from hysterical laughter to existential dread.
Here’s how people reacted:
But amid the memes and mockery, some took a more serious tone. A digital media analyst pointed out, “This is exactly why AI can assist but not replace editors. Someone still needs to read before hitting publish, preferably a human.”
The newspaper later shared Editor message on the webpage, saying
This report published in today’s Dawn was originally edited using AI, which is in violation of our current AI policy. The policy is available on our website and can be reviewed here. The original report also carried AI-generated artefact text from the editing process, which has been edited out in the digital version. The matter is being investigated, and the violation of AI policy is regretted. — Editor
The incident has also made debate over AI’s growing grip on media. Critics warned that while this one was funny, it might be a glimpse of what’s to come if editorial oversight keeps shrinking.
