IFJ webinar to examine AI, newsroom ethics and public trust

The International Federation of Journalists will hold an online training event on Sept. 29 examining how news organisations can use artificial intelligence while addressing ethical standards, public trust and risks to journalism. The full-day session, “Artificial intelligence and journalism: audiences, guidelines and products,” runs from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central European time. The fourth online event in the Media for Citizens and Democracy in the Digital Age, or M4CD, programme is free to attend but requires registration. It will be conducted in English and hosted on Zoom. Its programme is set to start with ethical-AI guidelines and recent research, followed by academic findings on how audiences perceive AI in journalism. Representatives of technology companies will then discuss ways their products can be incorporated into journalists’ and newsrooms’ work. The event description frames the central question as how journalists can integrate new technologies while limiting risks to job security and journalistic quality. Elda Brogi and Konrad Bleyer-Simon of the European University Institute are listed as scientific organisers. Speakers include Morana Perić of DeepL, Hans Brorsen of Valid, Manuel Herranz of Pangeanic and J. Alex Dalessio of eQualitie. The programme also lists Dren Gërguri of the University of Prishtina, Amina Mahović of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Regional Network, Hannes Cools of the University of Amsterdam and Nisrine Salameh of the IFJ. The session comes as public use of generative AI has grown, while comfort with its direct use in news remains limited. A Reuters Institute survey of roughly 12,000 people across Argentina, Denmark, France, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States found that 61% had ever used a standalone generative-AI system in 2025, up from 40% a year earlier. Weekly use rose to 34% from 18%. Yet only 12% of respondents said they were comfortable with fully AI-generated news, compared with 62% for entirely human-made news. The survey found greater acceptance where people retained leadership or oversight, and for back-end applications such as translation and grammar editing rather than front-facing uses including artificial presenters. Only a third thought journalists routinely checked AI output before publication. M4CD began in February and is led by the IFJ, which represents more than 600,000 journalists in 146 countries. The two-year project plans 25 events, conferences and roundtables addressing AI and strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPPs, as part of its stated aim of strengthening media pluralism in the European Union. The project describes AI as offering potential gains in productivity, journalist safety and media viability, while creating concerns over employment security and existing vulnerabilities. It also warns that hostile actors can use the technology to spread misinformation and manipulate the public through foreign interference, weakening trust in the information environment. The Sept. 29 webinar follows an online AI-and-journalism workshop held on May 19, described as M4CD’s second activity.