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Pakistani newspaper mistakenly prints AI prompt with the article

(twitter.com)
444 points wg0 | 1 comments | 12 Nov 25 11:17 UTC | HN request time: 0.251s | source
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FatalLogic ◴[12 Nov 25 11:32 UTC] No.45898892[source]▶
The online edition was edited later.

"This newspaper report was originally edited using AI, which is in violation of Dawn’s current AI policy. The policy is also available on our website. The report also carried some junk, which has now been edited out. The matter is being investigated. The violation of AI policy is regretted. — Editor"

https://www.dawn.com/news/1954574

edit: Text link of the printed edition. Might not be perfect OCR, but I don't think they changed anything except to delete the AI comment at the end! https://pastebin.com/NYarkbwm

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nicbou ◴[12 Nov 25 11:55 UTC] No.45899052[source]▶
> The violation of AI policy is regretted.

That's a good example of when you shouldn't use passive voice.

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throwaway638637 ◴[12 Nov 25 12:59 UTC] No.45899604[source]▶
That's just a manner of speaking in former British colonies, or at least the subcontinent. Much of formal speech like a bureaucrat wrote it because, well, the civil service ran India and that's who everyone emulated.
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hbarka ◴[12 Nov 25 13:59 UTC] No.45900252[source]▶
It’s still passive voice, the kind used when trying to avoid blame or responsibility. So pretty much fits in bureaucratic places.

That’s just…mistakes were made.

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1. throwup238 ◴[12 Nov 25 17:29 UTC] No.45902961[source]▶
This pattern of writing goes back to the Spanish conquistadors at the very least. They frequently described their actions in a passive voice when doing something they knew was horrible, only to switch to aggrandizing active voice when writing about their successes. It’s a standard way to blur responsibility and present violence as an almost natural “fact” rather than a deliberate action by identifiable agents.

It didn’t escape everyone’s attention though. Bartolomé de las Casas definitely noticed it.