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Monday, April 17th
by The Fix Team

How to navigate the sea of AI-generated content

Hello and a big welcome to our new subscribers from Axios, Hearst UK, Ella Lab, ERIM, and many others.


The 1915 American film “The Birth of a Nation” was both a major technological breakthrough and a profoundly racist work. Studies suggest that the movie helped perpetuate racial violence – and it was so persuasive in spreading hate against African Americans in part because it was so innovative from a technical point of view.


A century later, it’s hard to imagine that a single film would have such a significant impact. What this story shows is that with every revolutionary technology there comes a period of adaptation before we can learn how to handle it ethically and navigate its pitfalls.


Generative AI hasn’t contributed to anything nearly as bad as the renewal of the Ku Klux Klan, but there are a lot of concerns around its potential to help spread disinformation at scale.


One of the biggest challenges is navigating hyper-realistic photos and videos. It's becoming harder and harder to distinguish AI-generated images from real photos – and systems like Midjourney are becoming better with every month.


How to ensure you don’t fall for a fake Pope in a puffer jacket or something more sinister? And how to make sure you don’t misinform your readers, even inadvertently?


Alberto Puliafito, an Italian journalist and media manager and The Fix’s contributor who has been leading our generative AI coverage, has a helpful guide for journalists and newsroom leaders on dealing with deepfakes.


Here’s four crucial pieces of advice:

  1. In the absence of obvious anchors to reality and three independent sources, don’t use an image or a video as a source

  2. Use specialised tools to spot fake images

  3. If you can’t prove in any way that a photo or a video is real, simply don't publish them

  4. Don’t contribute to polluting the information environment – never use AI generated hyper-realistic images without a clear statement printed on the image itself


For more context and examples,
read the full piece on The Fix’s website.


From The Fix

What we are following

The Economist is almost 180 years old, but its fastest-growing platform is much younger. Vulture’s podcast critic Nicholas Quah reviews The Economist’s podcasts from an American perspective, lauding their “[lack] of the affable presentation and emotionality of modern American news podcasts”.


Also, some interesting stats – the company's podcasts drew 25 million downloads in March, and they doubled unique listenership from 2 million in 2019 to 5 million today. Narrative series “The Prince” about Xi Jinping has been a particular success, Quah writes, garnering 9 million downloads and laying the foundation for a new lucrative weekly show.

Newsletters are a great entry point for many new publishers, but there’s only so much money you can make from one medium. Digiday writes about how newsletter publishers are expanding into other formats, such as events and podcasts.

Industry news

Substack Notes, the platform’s new feature for short posts that aims to provide an alternative to Twitter, was rolled out to all users last week. Substack Notes already drew wide attention previously when Twitter temporarily blocked sharing of Substack links in what’s been described as an apparent act of retaliation or an attempt to throttle a competitor. While different potential alternatives to Twitter emerged in recent months as the platform has been trending downwards under Elon Musk’s leadership, Substack has an obvious advantage as a place that already hosts popular writers and boasts 2 million paid subscriptions.

NPR became the first major US news organisation to ditch Twitter last Wednesday – because of the platform’s decision to label the broadcaster “government-funded media”. Twitter has long had a policy of clearly labelling state-affiliated media organisations, particularly as an effort to counter the spread of propaganda. However, NPR is an independent broadcaster and gets only a fraction of its revenue from government funded-programs. As Axios notes, “Twitter’s move appears to be part of a wider effort by Musk to go after specific news outlets”, including also The New York Times. In recent months the platform’s owner has widely publicised his scepticism of mainstream news organisations.

The US government designated The Wall Street Journal’s reporter Evan Gershkovich as “wrongfully detained” last week, effectively making an official recognition that he is a hostage taken by the Russian state. Gershkovich was detained a few weeks ago on bogus spying allegations while on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg. The decision by the US State Department brings additional publicity and government resources to the cause of freeing Gershkovich. As WSJ reports, “the speed at which the designation was reached was unprecedented, as it typically involves a lengthy bureaucratic process that takes months”.

Opportunities and deadlines

European Cross-Border Grants. Investigative cross-border teams are encouraged to apply for financial and mentorship support provided by Journalismfund Europe. The stories must be relevant to European target groups. Teams of journalists from at least two countries in continental Europe are eligible to apply.
More info: http://bit.ly/3UDr49h
Deadline: April 20

Executive Program in News Innovation and Leadership. Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism is inviting media leaders to enter its year-long Executive Program. The program equips leaders to navigate the intersections of product, editorial, business, and technology and develop new revenue models and products while managing change and innovation within their organisations. Tuition assistance is available.

More info: http://bit.ly/3zYm3i1
Deadline: June 2

The Prague Civil Society Centre Fellowship Programme. Civil society leaders, journalists and activists can apply for a three-month stay in Prague to work on their projects. The fellowship will include networking opportunities and workshops and will cover travel expenses and accommodation.

More info: http://bit.ly/41bD9VM
Deadline: May 15

Job openings

SEO and Audience Development Manager. The Travel department of The Times and The Sunday Times will hire an SEO and Audience Development Manager to devise and execute strategies to expand and engage the audience. Your duties will involve managing digital projects and advising on the selection and presentation of Travel stories. The position is based in London.
More info: https://bit.ly/3MJ9M8B
Deadline: Open till filled

International Sales Manager. Euronews Berlin, Euronews’ advertising sales division in Germany, is looking for a sales manager for the German-speaking market. Main responsibilities involve development of client portfolio and sales revenue, as well as advertising campaign implementation.
More info: https://bit.ly/3MK9luT
Deadline: Open till filled

Entertainment Content Producer & Presenter. Bauer Media Audio Ireland is looking for a Marketing Manager to work on entertainment news. You will be developing creative video content to engage and grow digital audiences on social media platforms, among other responsibilities. The position is based in Dublin.
More info: https://bit.ly/3ogr172
Deadline: Open till filled


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