On 10th November (Tuesday), The Indian Express published a column titled “The cockroach movement is a revolt against the tyranny of merit,” written by Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) spokesperson and advocate Prannv Dhawan. However, in an equal measure of embarrassment and irony, it has been revealed that the article was 100% AI-generated.
Paul Novosad, a researcher and professor of economics at Dartmouth College, unveiled that the entire piece was a product of artificial intelligence and wrote, “Ironic that this anti-meritocracy op-ed in the Indian Express is 100% AI-generated. Meritocracy is still underrated, I guess.” He further countered claims that AI detector tools are not 100% accurate, highlighting that “Pangram has a false positive rate far below 1%,” and even cited some examples to support his statement.
Sigh, here comes the misinformation in the replies. Pangram has a false positive rate far below 1%. Some examples: – Imas & Jabarian on internet text: https://t.co/v2eCBAAB0V – Paul GP tests Arxiv and NBER papers from pre-2022, zero AI detection: https://t.co/m8R9GUooIB – Our own internal experiments student writing demonstrate near-zero FPR
— Paul Novosad (@paulnovosad) November 10, 2026
The post triggered a series of reactions from netizens, who lashed out at both the CJP leader and The Indian Express. A person called out the Leftist cabal, outlining, “Did you observe any Indian Liberal Leftist commenters made any remarks on this? Because it was posted by a Western white gentleman. That allows them to criticise or critique or even surface this blunder.”
He remarked that had the comments come from a “person of different complexion or darker skin tone,” they would have triggered “visceral hatred and absolute degeneracy,” with the entire ecosystem jumping on the bandwagon, adding, “You can draw your own conclusions.”
Did you observe any Indian Liberal Leftists commenters made any remarks on this? Because it was posted by a western white gentleman. That allows them to criticise or critique or even surface this blunder. If the comments came from a person of different complexion or darker skin tone you would see the visceral hate and absolute degeneracy. The entire ecosystem and band wagon would have jumped right in. You can draw your own conclusions!
— Sougat Chakraborty (@sougat18) November 10, 2026
Another astonished individual expressed, “What the precise hell, man.” He further asked, “Indian Express, besides shoddy IR op-eds, you are platforming AI-generated op-eds too?”
What the precise hell mann!! Indian Express, besides shoddy IR op-eds, you are platforming AI generated opeds too?
— Subhajit Naskar (@subhajit_n) November 10, 2026
A netizen termed the development as “deeply embarrassing.” She mocked, “Perhaps it’s time for a complete rebranding. How does AIExpress sound? At least with that name you’d save yourself the embarrassment and Paul Novosad the hard work.”
Ouch! This is deeply embarrassing, @IndianExpress @rajkamaljha. Perhaps it’s time for a complete rebranding. How does AIExpress sound? Atleast with that name you’d save yourself the embarrassment and @paulnovosad the hard work
— Adit (@IndicSociety) November 10, 2026
A user also took a jab and commented that he was “feeling sad” for those with IE’s paid subscription.
Feeling sad for those guys who have @indianexpress paid subscription
— Siddharth Dwivedi (@Naamhaisidu) November 10, 2026
Another person shed light on the irony of an article arguing against meritocracy by a member of CJP who portrayed their political protests as a “movement of backbenchers” being written by AI.
Wait, so someone wrote an article against meritocracy calling cockroach movement as a movement of backbenchers and it is 100% AI generated? 😂😂😂
— Abhishek Dwivedi (@Rezang_La) November 11, 2026
Notably, the fresh row erupted a few days after The Hindu publicly called out the media house for reproducing substantial portions of its exclusive interview with Tamil actor Rishikanth, reworking parts of the original story and using an accompanying photograph without permission or attribution.
The controversy centred on an exclusive interview with Rishikanth conducted by The Hindu journalist Srinivasa Ramanujam at the newspaper’s Chennai office. Afterwards, the platform accused The Indian Express of appropriating its original reporting and photography, questioning the latter’s disregard for basic journalistic standards.
