Quebec Author Thélyson Orélien Faces AI and Plagiarism Scandal

The AI Allegations and Literary Prizes

The controversy began on Monday—the exact day Orélien won the Prix du roman Fnac—when the anonymous X account “Balance ton Claude” claimed to uncover AI-generated text within his novel. According to statements released by the account and replicated tests by CBC News using the Pangram AI-detector tool, several book excerpts returned a “100 per cent” AI probability rating. Despite the online allegations, Claudel Philippe, president of the Académie Goncourt, stated Wednesday on franceinfo that the author would not be disqualified from their shortlist unless “irrefutable evidence” surfaced.

The Académie Goncourt is taking time to evaluate the situation to protect the integrity of its award, Philippe noted in a Thursday statement to CBC. Meanwhile, David Leonard, executive director of the Writers’ Trust of Canada, highlighted that the publishing industry is currently struggling with the reliability of AI-detection tools. Leonard explained that his organization relies on self-declarations from authors while exploring options, noting they want to avoid both false positives and ineffective detection software.

Publisher Response and Author Defense

On Thursday afternoon, Orélien’s Montreal-based publisher, Éditions du Boréal, announced it was suspending the author’s press tour in France, where he had been preparing for the upcoming literary award season. The publishing house stated it took the action to protect Orélien’s well-being following a wave of hateful messages and personal attacks, though copies of the novel remain available to the public. The publisher previously defended the manuscript’s creation, stating it was drafted years ago and developed through numerous edits with his editor.

Orélien strongly denied using generative AI in a statement issued Tuesday evening through Éditions du Boréal. Addressing critics who pointed to his frequent use of metaphors and similes as indicators of artificial generation, Orélien defended his stylistic choices. “I come from a Haitian and Caribbean literary tradition in which poetry, imagery, repetition, and rhythm carry a living voice,” Orélien said in his statement. “One might debate my style, but treating its techniques as evidence of artificial intelligence has nothing to do with literary criticism.”

Plot Background and Compounding Plagiarism Inquiries

C’était ça ou mourir, which translates to It was either that or die, follows a teacher fleeing gang violence in Port-au-Prince on a dangerous journey across the Americas. Orélien drew upon his personal departure from Haiti following the 2010 earthquake and stories from migrants he met in Montreal to construct the narrative. However, the controversy expanded on Wednesday when the Quebec newspaper La Presse published findings detailing multiple instances of suspected plagiarism across Orélien’s columns published in various outlets since 2012. Radio-Canada’s Décrypteurs subsequently verified those findings, and Orélien has not publicly addressed the additional plagiarism allegations.