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Panoramic view on the North Campus © Jürgen Huhn​/​TU Dortmund
FUNDING FROM THE FEDERAL MINISTRY OF RESEARCH, TECHNOLOGY AND SPACE

Transparent Labeling of AI Content in Journalism

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Photo: AI-generated cyber space © fidel​/​stock.adobe.com
The Institute of Journalism is participating in a new research project that addresses the transparent use of artificial intelligence (AI) in journalism. The project, entitled “Trustworthy Information and Transparency Regarding Algorithms and Machine Learning Systems in Journalism (VITraDes)”, is coordinated by the University of Tübingen. In March, it was awarded funds of around €1 million for three years by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.

The aim of the VITraDes project is to make the use of AI in journalism more transparent and in this way contribute to trustworthy public communication. To that end, the project team is developing practical guidelines for labeling AI-generated content and creating educational resources for media professionals. The interdisciplinary initiative brings together experts from law, journalism and ethics. Within the project, the researchers will analyze existing legal provisions and self-imposed commitment in journalism as well as organize workshops with journalists and other relevant stakeholders. Building on this, they will develop and evaluate educational programs.

In addition, the research team will examine how such self-regulatory approaches by the media can also be adopted by online platforms. The goal is to develop a standard that is not only legally compliant but also workable in journalistic practice. The project results should not only support the media sector but also form a basis for media self-regulation and regulatory approaches at the national government level. Ultimately, this should also strengthen trust in journalism and protect the public from false information.

Extensive expertise and results from other projects

Participating in the project on behalf of the Institute of Journalism (IJ) are Prof. Christina Elmer and research assistant Lisa-Marie Eckardt, who are contributing their extensive expertise on the use of AI applications in journalism and results from research projects on the problem of information manipulation. “Above all, this includes two EU-funded projects: In the ‘German-Austrian Digital Media Observatory,’ we are responsible for coordinating the German-language hub of the European fact-checking network EDMO, developing media literacy programs and examining the measures that platforms take against disinformation. In the ADAC.iO project, we are focusing on campaigns by foreign stakeholders and analyzing their strategies and dissemination mechanisms,” says Professor Christina Elmer. “In parallel, we can draw on findings from an algorithmic accountability project in cooperation with the Department of Statistics and from interdisciplinary courses with journalism, statistics and computer science students,” adds Lisa-Marie Eckardt. IJ projects such as “AI Media Doctor” (Prof. Holger Wormer) and the study “Journalism and Democracy” (Prof. Michael Steinbrecher) deliver further valuable insights.

The VITraDes project is led by Prof. Jessica Heesen from the International Center for Ethics in the Sciences and Humanities (IZEW) at the University of Tübingen. Prof. Ruth Janal from the University of Bayreuth is another project partner. In addition, several organizations are supporting the project as associated partners, including the public broadcasting company Bayerische Rundfunk (BR), CORRECTIV’s fact-checking community “Faktenforum”, the AI Hub of the broadcasting company Südwestdeutscher Rundfunk, Studio 47 and the Deutscher Journalisten-Verband (DJV), an organization representing the interests of journalists in Germany.

About the funding campaign

The VITraDes project is part of the new funding campaign “Recognizing, Understanding and Counteracting Disinformation” of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space. The campaign will initially fund eleven research projects up until 2029 that aim to strengthen societal and technological resilience against digital disinformation. The initiative is part of “Digital. Secure. Sovereign.”, the Federal Government’s research framework program on IT security. 

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