New York Times Fires Freelancer for AI-Assisted Plagiarism in Book Review
A freelance book reviewer for the New York Times used an AI tool to help write a review that unintentionally incorporated passages from a Guardian review of the same book without attribution. The Times discovered the overlap when a reader flagged similarities, leading the newspaper to terminate its relationship with the reviewer and add an editor's note acknowledging the unauthorized use of AI and unattributed content.
What happened
Alex Preston, a freelance journalist writing for the New York Times, used an AI tool to assist in writing a book review of 'Watching Over Her' by Jean-Baptiste Andrea published in January 2026. A New York Times reader flagged similarities between Preston's review and a Guardian review of the same book written by Christobel Kent in August 2025.
During the New York Times investigation, Preston admitted he used an AI tool that incorporated material from the Guardian review into his draft without his awareness or identification. Passages including descriptions like 'lazy Machiavellian Stefano' and concluding assessments about the novel's characterization of Italy were found to overlap between the two reviews.
Reported impact
The New York Times added an editor's note to Preston's review acknowledging the use of AI and the unattributed material from the Guardian. The newspaper cut ties with Preston, and he will no longer write for the publication.
Index analysis
Preston stated he was 'hugely embarrassed' and acknowledged making 'a serious mistake,' noting that he failed to identify and remove the duplicated language that the AI tool had inserted from the Guardian review. Preston claimed he had not used AI for his other work published in the New York Times between 2021 and 2026.
Governance controls
The New York Times determined that Preston's reliance on AI and use of unattributed work from another writer constituted a clear violation of the Times's editorial standards.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.