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Thélyson Orélien, a 38-year-old Canadian-Haitian author, has denied using AI to write his award-winning novel "C'était ça ou mourir" ("It Was Either That or Die"), which explores migration and won the Prix du Roman Fnac. The denial came after an anonymous X account accused him of writing the book almost entirely with AI. Orélien believes the accusations are racially motivated and is working to provide evidence that he wrote the novel himself. Multiple verification tools have produced conflicting results, highlighting the challenge in detecting AI-generated text.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-24,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian-Canadian author based in Montreal, faces controversy over accusations that he used artificial intelligence (AI) to write his debut novel C’était ça ou mourir (“It Was Either That or Die”). The allegations emerged on September 21 when an anonymous X account called “Balance ton Claude” claimed AI detection tool Pangram showed the book was written almost entirely by machines. Despite these claims, Orélien denied using AI and suggested the accusations were racially motivated. His publishers have defended him, stating they are not taking the allegations lightly but cannot confirm or deny them definitively. The novel has sold about 35,000 copies and won the Prix du Roman Fnac; however, it was removed from the shortlist for the prestigious Goncourt prize due to these accusations. This scandal has sparked debates about AI's role in literature and its impact on literary integrity and recognition.
Written for “AI In Literature Controversy” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
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An award-winning Canadian-Haitian author has denied claims he used AI to write parts of his novel about migration.
Thélyson Orélien rejected the allegations on Tuesday after an anonymous account on X accused him of using AI to write the book 'almost entirely'.
The 38-year-old recently won the Prix du Roman Fnac for C'était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That or Die).
uncertain
It → see → C'était
The accusation was posted by 'Balance ton Claude', an account with fewer than 100 followers.
asserted
accusation → post → followers
Its post had been viewed more than three million times by Tuesday, when Orélien spoke to French newspaper Libération to deny the claim.
'I've always loved creating and writing, I don't see why I would use a machine,' he said, adding that he was 'in the process of putting together a file' with his publishers 'to prove' that he wrote the book himself.
uncertain
he → view → book
Orélien said he believed the attacks were racially motivated.
asserted
attacks → say → ?
Boreal, the Montreal publishing house that originally bought the rights, told reporters it had 'taken note of the allegations' and was not 'taking them lightly' but added that its confidence in the work remained 'intact.'
An award-winning Canadian-Haitian author has denied claims he used AI to write parts of his novel about migration.
uncertain
he → buy → migration
Thélyson Orélien (pictured) rejected the allegations on Tuesday after an anonymous account on X accused him of using AI to write the book 'almost entirely'
The 38-year-old recently won the Prix du Roman Fnac for C'était ça ou mourir (It Was Either That or Die)
AFP ran the excerpts selected by the 'Balance ton Claude' X account through other detectors and obtained differing results.
The verification tool InVID-WeVerify, co-created by AFP, concluded that the passages were 'very likely written by a human.'
asserted
passages → picture → human
Seven other detectors (Winston AI, detecting-ai.com, app.its-ai.org, detectgpt.com, isgen.ai, copyleaks.com, ghostbuster.app), also tested by AFP, produced differing assessments, underlining the difficulty in detecting AI-generated text.
asserted
detectors → test → text
One indicated that there was a 100% probability that the passages were produced by AI (app.its-ai.org/), while two others reached the opposite conclusion (detectgpt.com, isgen.ai).
asserted
others → indicate → detectgpt.com
In the novel, written in the first person, Orelien tells the story of Jonas Dorleon, a history and geography teacher who flees gang violence in Haiti, embarking on a perilous journey through 12 countries to Canada.
asserted
who → write → Canada
The plot, which taps into the debate about immigration in Western countries, as well as Orelien's personal story of fleeing Haiti, have made him a compelling and high-profile new literary figure, with The New York Times dedicating a profile to him in May.
uncertain
Times → tap → May
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