As individuals searched for more details regarding the lethal shooting of right-wing commentator and activist Charlie Kirk, some came across peculiar Amazon listings—books concerning the incident.

“The Legacy of Charlie Kirk: A Biography of His Rise, His Movement, and His Tragic Death” was one such title. Another included “The Charlie Kirk Shooting: A Nation on Edge.”

The most viral of these hastily published books was titled, “The Shooting of Charlie Kirk: A Comprehensive Account of the Utah Valley University Attack, the Aftermath, and America’s Response.”

Amazon users were astonished to find these titles available, with some published just hours after the shooting on Sept. 10. The more viral title garnered attention as it had a listed publish date of Sept. 9, the day preceding Kirk’s death.

Amazon has subsequently removed these titles from its platform.

“We have content guidelines governing which books can be presented for sale, and we remove titles that do not comply with these guidelines,” an Amazon representative informed Mashable.

Nonetheless, conspiracies quickly circulated.

How were books like these published so rapidly? The answer: Generative AI. What did the “authors” know about the shooting beforehand? Answer: Nothing.

No conspiracy. Just a quick cash-grab AI scheme.

All the since-removed books concerning Kirk’s shooting appear to have been generated by AI. AI platforms can produce not only articles but entire books in mere minutes. Even the cover art for some titles related to Kirk seems to be AI-generated.

AI-generated books may seem human-written or may contain inaccuracies and barely readable text. Following the shooting, many users reported that AI chatbots provided misinformation, making basic errors. If AI chatbots find it challenging to create paragraph-length responses without mistakes, imagine the number of inaccuracies that could emerge in an AI-generated book. Of course, accuracy might not be the priority. Decoder recently reported that Amazon is battling a “flood” of AI-generated books, which can be churned out in bulk and sold for profit.

Genuine authors can’t produce 100 pages of well-researched material in this timeframe. Neither can AI, but it can generate a convincing imitation.

Current events are a prime target for these AI-generated titles because there’s little competition.

What about the “authors” of these books? The author of “The Shooting of Charlie Kirk” is credited as Anastasia J. Casey. However, there’s no digital presence for an author by that name.

It’s also crucial to recognize that anyone can self-publish a book on Amazon. There’s no need for a traditional publisher or to print books beforehand. Self-published authors can register, provide the necessary details, and upload their work at any moment.

How did “The Shooting of Charlie Kirk” possess a publishing date of Sept. 9? Amazon states it was a glitch, confirming to Mashable that the book was published after the shooting.

“Due to a technical issue, the publication date that was shown for this title, while it was briefly available, was incorrect, and we apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused. The title was published late in the afternoon on September 10th,” an Amazon representative told Mashable. “The title in question is no longer available for purchase.”

Mystery resolved.