Picture of the AI prompt published in the Pakistani newspaper Dawn
Pakistani newspaper accidentally slips AI prompt into published story
Note: AI technology was used to generate this article’s audio.
- Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper published a news story with an AI prompt still visible.
- The mistake appeared in the Business section’s “Auto sales rev up in October” article.
Pakistan’s leading English-language newspaper, Dawn, found itself at the center of online ridicule after an AI prompt was accidentally left in one of its published articles.
The error appeared in the Business section on November 12, in a report titled “Auto sales rev up in October.” The final paragraph contained a ChatGPT-style message, clearly left in by mistake.
The oversight quickly went viral, with readers and social media users pointing out the lapse. Screenshots of the paragraph circulated widely on X, showing a line that read, “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?”, revealing the AI prompt.
Journalists and public figures were quick to react. Commenting on the mistake, journalist Omar Quraishi said that while AI use in newsrooms is common today, this error went “too far.” Another journalist suggested that the Business desk should have removed the last paragraph before publication.
Former Federal Minister for Human Rights of Pakistan Shireen Mazari criticized the editors, saying they should have deleted the AI prompt to maintain the newspaper’s credibility. Journalist Moeed Pirzada joked that Dawn needed “intelligence to use AI” properly.
