Haitian-born Canadian author Thélyson Orélien denies allegations that his acclaimed debut novel, C’était ça ou mourir, was generated by artificial intelligence. The accusations emerged online shortly after the author won the Fnac literary prize, plunging France’s literary establishment into a fierce debate weeks before the Prix Goncourt decision.
Prize-Winning Novel and the Anonymous Online Accusation
Thélyson Orélien’s debut novel, C’était ça ou mourir (It Was that or Die), has sold 35,000 copies in five weeks. The work follows a young Haitian migrant fleeing violence in his homeland for Canada. On Monday, the book secured the Fnac literary prize. It is also in contention for several other major honors, including the Renaudot and Femina awards, alongside its status as a finalist for the Goncourt prize.
Hours after the Fnac victory, an anonymous account on X called Balance ton Claude claimed the manuscript had been written almost entirely by artificial intelligence. The allegations generated nearly four million views, fueled by tests from an AI detection tool known as Pangram. The group behind the account described Pangram as by far the most accurate
and claimed several tested passages returned a 100 percent AI result, while citing a false-positive rate of 0.0041 percent.
Newspaper Testing and Divergent Literary Reactions
Major French media outlets investigated the claims using the same detection software, yielding mixed results that highlighted the limitations of automated detection tools. Le Monde tested more than half the novel independently, finding that the software classified over 95 percent of the text as AI-generated while isolating passages from 15 other novels as human-written. Libération examined Orélien’s earlier work, reporting that the detector identified writing from the 2010s as human but flagged more recent material, including 2024 columns. However, neither publication could establish conclusively that a machine wrote the book.
The controversy split literary figures ahead of the upcoming Goncourt selection. Pierre Assouline, a Goncourt judge, admitted to having doubts about the manuscript.
Pierre Assouline stated that it is a remarkable book, but he has his doubts, according to Le Figaro.
Conversely, Philippe Claudel, chairman of the Goncourt jury, defended the author and criticized the timing and nature of the accusations. He noted that Orélien should not be rushed to judgment.
Political Tensions and Publisher Defenses
The dispute has taken on broader political dimensions. Right-wing commentators amplified the anonymous allegations on social media. Observers also noted links to recent corporate shifts at Grasset, the author’s French publisher. The novel was among the last selected by Olivier Nora before his dismissal as head of Grasset under billionaire owner Vincent Bolloré, a sacking that previously drew criticism for editorial overreach. Orélien had publicly supported the ousted publisher during earlier literary disagreements.
Grasset rejected the allegations outright, calling them atrociously injurious
to a writer with an exceptional life story. The publisher pointed out that Orélien began writing the novel in 2017, years before the widespread emergence of ChatGPT. Born in Gonaïves, northern Haiti, in 1988, Orélien worked as a journalist in Montreal before focusing on poetry and fiction rooted in Haitian and Caribbean traditions.
Author Denials and What Lies Ahead
Orélien has strongly rejected the claims, stating that his writing stems from a lifelong passion for literature rather than technological shortcuts.
Thélyson Orélien stated that he has always loved creation and literature, via Libération.
The author said he is preparing a dossier with his publishers to defend his reputation and document his creative process. He also maintained that he has faced racist attacks since arriving in France, raising questions about whether his background as a foreign, French-speaking Black author from Haiti and Canada made him a target while emotions run high.
Experts have cautioned that AI detectors frequently misinterpret non-English texts and stylistic nuances. The next crucial milestone in the prize cycle is scheduled for October 6, when the Goncourt jury will make its next selection. Philippe Claudel stated that the panel would take action if irrefutable proof emerged before that date, though no such evidence has been verified.