When A.I. Invaded ‘Heated Rivalry’ Fan Fiction, the Meltdown Was Epic (Gift Article)

Omfg why is this in the NYT. Stay out of fan business!!!!! www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

The document was a systematic takedown of writers of fan fiction inspired by “Heated Rivalry” who had used AI to generate parts of their stories. It named 38 popular fan stories that had taken text from Anthropic’s Claude chatbot, including works by some of the community’s most read writers.

How AO3 and Heated Rivalry fanfiction communities are dealing with the encroachment of AI-generated writing. h/t @tuhinchakr.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

In retrospect, the most important thing I have ever done may have been feeding this beautiful woman snacks while she helped found the Organization for Transformative Works. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

Using AI to write fic is the most pathetic thing. The fun is in agonizing over a single chapter that takes you a year to write, weirdos.

Reid began publishing the novels in 2018, and by last November, 223 stories based on the romance existed on AO3. That month, “Heated Rivalry” premiered on HBO Max. On AO3, HR fan fiction surged. Roughly 180 stories were uploaded a day after the show aired, and the total now exceeds 43K.

Gift link: When A.I. Invaded ‘Heated Rivalry’ Fan Fiction, the Meltdown Was Epic An anonymous X account posted a detailed breakdown of chatbot text in 38 popular stories inspired by the hockey romance. The fandom spiraled. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

Gift link. When A.I. Invaded ‘Heated Rivalry’ Fan Fiction, the Meltdown Was Epic An anonymous X account posted a detailed breakdown of chatbot text in 38 popular stories inspired by the hockey romance. The fandom spiraled. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

Bad content drives out good. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

What settled fandom's AI argument was markup that survives a paste out of Claude. It flags that chatbot and nothing else. The 38 fics named are a census of the careless, read as a census of the guilty. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/30/t...

Using AI to write fic is the most pathetic thing. Agonize over writing a single chapter and updating once a year, as the fandom gods intended.

[NYT] WHEN A.I. INVADED ‘HEATED RIVALRY’ FAN FICTION, THE MELTDOWN WAS EPIC