The News faces criticism over Hindi pronunciation in kids section

LAHORE: The News International has come under criticism after its kids section published the meaning and pronunciation of an English word in Hindi, prompting social media users to allege that ChatGPT-generated content may have been printed without editorial verification.

The Word of the Day entry, published on Saturday, June 6, featured the English word “cordon”.

However, the word was accompanied by “घेरा”, its Hindi translation, while the pronunciation was written as “कॉर्डन” in Devanagari script.

Other parts of the entry, including its English definition, synonyms, antonyms and an example sentence, were published in English.

A photograph of the page circulated on social media, where users questioned why an English-language newspaper published in Pakistan had used Hindi to explain the meaning and pronunciation of an English word.

Users noted that the pronunciation could have been provided phonetically in English, as is generally done in English dictionaries and educational material. An Urdu translation or transliteration could also have been used for Pakistani readers.

The unexplained use of Hindi attracted further attention because the entry appeared in material prepared for children, who may rely on such pages for accurate language guidance.

Several social media users alleged that ChatGPT had been used to generate the entry and that the content was published without being reviewed by an editor or proofreader.

The use of ChatGPT has not been confirmed by The News International or Jang Media Group. However, users linked the language mismatch to the growing practice of using generative artificial intelligence tools to prepare content without adequate human verification.

The News International is an English-language newspaper published by Jang Media Group, which also owns Urdu-language media platforms in Pakistan.

The users were quick to point out that the incident has raised questions about how the content passed through the writing, editing, proofreading and page-production process without anyone identifying that Hindi script had been used for an English word intended for Pakistani children.

The error follows an earlier artificial intelligence-related blunder by Dawn, which published an editing instruction apparently generated by an AI tool at the end of a business report in November 2025.

Dawn subsequently acknowledged that artificial intelligence had been used to edit the report in violation of its policy and expressed regret over the error.

Unlike the Dawn case, The News entry did not contain a visible AI prompt or instruction. Claims that ChatGPT was used therefore remain allegations based on the nature of the mistake and reactions from social media users.

Regardless of whether the content was produced through ChatGPT or copied from another source, the publication of Hindi translation and pronunciation on an English-language Kids Page has raised concerns about editorial oversight and verification standards.

The News International and Jang Media Group had not issued a public explanation for the entry at the time the image circulated online.