How Generative AI Flooded the Market with Fake Jacinda Ardern Memoirs

She contains multitudes

Generative AI can do almost anything these days, including writing the former prime minister’s highly anticipated memoir. What follows is an exploration of this curious new literary genre where multiple AI-generated versions of Jacinda Ardern’s memoir appear alongside her official release.

Jacinda Ardern’s memoir, A Different Kind of Power, has been praised as “a strikingly different kind of political memoir” by The Guardian and described as “often funny, compulsively readable and intimate” by The Listener. Reviewers like Jenna Price from The Age have shared emotional reactions, with tears early into the read. Naturally, eager to get a copy, many found not only the original but also several other versions published around the same time. These lookalike memoirs, often AI-generated, try to capture facets of Ardern’s life but vary widely in quality and style.

Jacinda Ardern Memoir: Navigating Different Kind of Power between Politics and Family
By Luiz Goncalves

This “unauthorised memoir” asks, “Who is Jacinda Ardern?” Goncalves’s admiration for Ardern shines through but feels robotic rather than genuine. The book reads like a padded resume filled with clichés such as “another significant moment” and “one memorable moment.” It drags ordinary events into overblown moral lessons, like the story about stolen school tuck shop items being tied to her moral compass.

One amusing highlight is the detailed chapter on Ardern’s net worth, intended to showcase her modest earnings as proof of dedication to public service. The author ends by pondering what it would mean if there were “10 Jacinda Arderns”—a fitting nod to the multiple fake memoirs in circulation.

Rating: 7 out of 10 large language models. Short and sweet, though not quite as concise as Ardern's Wikipedia page, which shares many similar details.

Jacinda Ardern Memoir and Power with Kind Purpose: The Jacinda Ardern Story
By Amanda Humper (or Eleanor Riggs?)

The mystery around the true author adds intrigue; the cover suggests Eleanor Riggs, but Amazon lists Amanda Humper. Regardless, this book dives deep into Ardern’s political career with exhaustive detail. The blank table of contents adds a strange sense of mystery, but the dense chapters read more like policy papers than memoirs.

The Whakaari/White Island eruption is vividly described but often the prose is weighed down by phrases emphasizing significance, such as “had a profound impact” and “marked a significant milestone.” Interestingly, this book references Ardern’s real 2025 memoir, even though it was published four days earlier.

Rating: 5 out of 10 policy study guides. Too detailed and dry for casual readers.

Prime Minister Movie Guide: Jacinda Ardern’s Journey Through Tragedy and Triumph
By Gregory J Edwards

This book is based on the 2025 Sundance documentary Prime Minister. Its cover is unsettling, with Ardern’s face surrounded by chaotic headlines and photos. The narrative starts promisingly but quickly becomes confusing, as it seems more a companion to the film than a memoir.

Rating: 0 out of 10. Not what readers looking for Ardern’s memoir want.

Jacinda Ardern Biography (Biographies of the Famous)
By Famed History

Part of a series on famous leaders, this biography promises to be “more than just a story,” aiming to touch and uplift readers. It delivers with grand, emotional language, painting Ardern as a compassionate and visionary figure. Chapter titles like “Dreams Beyond the Horizon” and “A Leader in Lockdown” amp up the drama.

The description of Ardern’s hometown, Murupara, is evocative but arguably overblown, likening it to 1970s Harlem due to its history of gang violence. The book portrays Ardern’s political journey as unpredictable and inspiring, ending with a plea for positive reviews.

Rating: 9 out of 10 tear-sodden tissues. Highly emotive and grandiose.

Leading Quietly: How Jacinda Ardern Changed the World
By Gordon D Flyn

Choosing this longest book was a gamble. It fills pages through repetition and a non-linear timeline, bouncing between events without clear order. The author uses bold text and bullet points to clarify key ideas, which helps but doesn’t fix the pacing issues.

On the plus side, it offers valuable insights into Ardern’s communication strategies, coalition politics, and global reactions to her resignation—topics largely missing from other versions. The author explicitly states this book aims to answer different questions than Ardern’s official memoir, but with 126 pages, the delivery feels rushed.

Rating: 3 out of 10 progress check-ins. Dragging and repetitive.

Other AI-generated Ardern books

There are several more AI-generated Ardern books not reviewed here. They reflect a growing trend of opportunistic publications aiming to ride the wave of a high-profile release.

Afterword

Testing these books with AI detection tools reveals many are up to 98.7% AI-generated. This flood of AI-written titles capitalizes on hype and often misleads readers. It’s a clear example of how generative AI can flood the market with low-quality content, making it harder for readers to find authentic, well-crafted work.

For writers, this phenomenon serves as a reminder to uphold quality and authenticity in storytelling. It also underscores the need to be cautious in the digital marketplace where AI-generated content proliferates.