You're missing 2 key bits of context: the when and the stated reason. Goncourt had the novel on their long list until this accusation surfaced, and explicitly stated that they removed it not because they found the content lacking after all (which would be a strange retrospective), but because they "had taken note of the AI and plagiarism accusations"[0] and acted thus. Goncourt has no idea if the novel was primarily done by AI or not, but they're going with the narrative because they have their brand to protect. Heck even the mud-slinging group had to use a tool, because they have no idea otherwise. And there's still not 100% certitude; all they have is a "very likely", but their narrative took like a flame to a dry forest because of the current AI controversy.

[0] https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/26/europe/frances-goncourt-p...