Just five minutes — and New Zealand MP Laura McClure had her own “nude photo.” She generated it herself using artificial intelligence and showed it in parliament to demonstrate that technology can become a serious weapon against public figures. Women, journalists and politicians are the ones who suffer the most. How to turn AI into an assistant rather than a threat was the focus of the webinar “Artificial Intelligence in Media Work: OSINT Tools, Fact-Checking, Policies, and Protection from Online Attacks,” organized by Women in Media and the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, in partnership with UNESCO and with the support of Japan.
The interest in the topic was striking: the webinar was attended by more than 250 representatives of Ukrainian media, and the number of registrations was twice as high. According to the National Council, 41.9% of 343 surveyed media outlets already use AI in their work, but 37.9% of them lack intellectual property policies. 89% of editorial offices name the threat of copyright infringement as one of the most serious risks.
Benefits of AI
Artificial intelligence can help editorial offices with routine tasks that previously consumed a lot of time. For example, transcription, subtitling, filling in service data in admin systems (tags, SEO), creating internal wiki bots, processing large datasets, detecting disinformation, and so on.
Anastasiia Korinovska, editor and product manager at Suspilne.media, explained that they also use AI to attract and retain audiences through content personalization, more timely news delivery, idea generation, and content structuring. It is also useful for exchanging experiences and tools, and for promoting a responsible approach to AI use in media.
Daria Verbytska, CEO and co-founder of the Molfar Intelligence Institute, spoke about how to work with tools that make tasks easier. She shared effective tools for working with open data.
Oksana Havrysh, a journalist at Rivne-based online outlet Fourth Estate, said that for her, the webinar was valuable because of AI’s search functions:
“I work in investigative journalism and am always glad to revise something or learn something new. I also find useful the information about how to formulate prompts for AI in chats, what the legislation around it looks like here and abroad, and what warnings and recommendations exist for ethical use; that among the signs of AI-generated images are the stereotyping and sexualization of characters, the symmetry of faces; and how AI can be used to attack journalists.”
Olena Kovalska, a news feed journalist at Express Online, thanked the organizers for providing rich information without unnecessary “fluff”:
“I learned about so many AI tools for work, practical cases, risks, and responsibilities. Now I just need to practice a bit, figure things out — and I think AI can definitely help with news feed work (at the very least, with transcriptions).”
Threats from AI
Alongside its advantages, artificial intelligence also poses a number of threats, both to the media and to humanity in general. Suspilne.media identifies the following challenges for newsrooms:
- Deepening distrust in the media
- Generation of fake content, especially during elections and global conflicts
- Cyberattacks and data leaks
- Lack of legal regulation on the use of media content for training AI models
- Unpredictability of AI and its further impact on all spheres of life (education, labor markets, the financial system, etc.), and consequently, on the media.
One of the most serious threats posed by AI is the spread of online violence, which most often affects women. Liza Kuzmenko, head of Women in Media, explained that there is a term, technology-facilitated gender-based violence — violence committed through digital technologies, usually targeting women and girls. While men subjected to online harassment are often accused of corruption, women are more frequently targeted with comments about their appearance, sexualized insults, and threats.
Daria Verbytska explained that it is easier to create deepfakes of female politicians and journalists because their photos are widely available online, and their voices can be easily extracted from videos:
“It is quite easy to discredit a person with the help of AI. A person’s authority can be exploited for profit, for example, in fraudulent schemes, or simply to harm that individual. Deepfakes, both video and audio, are becoming hyper-realistic and can cause serious reputational damage.”
Liza Kuzmenko reminded participants that, according to a survey conducted by Women in Media and UNESCO, 81% of 180 surveyed female journalists had experienced online violence, and in 14% of cases it escalated into real life. As a result, women’s psychological well-being deteriorates. They may refuse to cover difficult topics, or even leave the profession altogether.
What should be done?
Maksym Onopriienko, member of the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, noted that there is currently no separate law regulating the use of AI in the media sector. The key document that exists today is the Recommendations on the Responsible Use of AI by Media.
The National Council urges media outlets to:
- Develop internal policies on AI use within newsrooms
- Label AI-generated content where appropriate
- Ensure ethics and accuracy
- Consider risks to audience trust
- Honestly inform their audiences and label any content created with the help of AI (illustrations, texts, videos, audio).
According to Maksym Onopriienko, templates for such policies are planned so that editorial offices can adopt and adapt them:
“We want to encourage the adoption of these policies by introducing a distinction, a certification for media that will follow the recommendations and implement these policies,” he said.
Oleh Dubno, AI program manager at the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, spoke about the existence of the White Paper — a document presenting Ukraine’s approach to AI regulation. At the state level, a National Strategy for the Development of AI in Ukraine is planned. It will provide the country with the necessary tools for sustainable growth and innovation, and aims to position Ukraine among the world’s top three AI leaders by 2030.
Anastasiia Korinovska shared Suspilne.media’s experience and outlined the newsroom’s guiding principles:
- Transparency and responsibility
- Efficiency and expediency
- Team priority and protection of intellectual property rights
- Protection of user data
- Compliance with global AI standards
“If we write or create something with the help of artificial intelligence, we must disclose it. And behind every piece of content there is a person, an editor, and it is always a human who bears responsibility for the result,” said Anastasiia.
Iryna Tonkikh, associate professor at the Department of Journalism at Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University, emphasized that the experience of Suspilne can serve as a reference point for regional media in developing their own AI principles and enshrining them in editorial policy. She added that the knowledge gained would also be useful in the educational process, when teaching courses such as Journalistic Ethics, Modern Trends in Online Journalism, and Online Production to journalism students.
Liza Kuzmenko stressed that editorial offices should have a clear response mechanism in place. Women in Media developed a guide titled “Steps for Newsrooms to Take in the First 24 Hours Following an Online Attack against a Woman Journalist,” which provides a step-by-step action plan. The Women in Media website also hosts an online attack map where cases of cyberthreats against women journalists can be reported.
“Equality does not mean sameness. It is very important for us to distinguish between different forms of violence, and when drafting safety protocols, we must always take the gender-based factor into account,” said Liza Kuzmenko.
Participants of the webinar thanked the organizers for the wealth of useful information and for bringing in strong speakers.
“In today’s world, when technology is advancing rapidly and often being used for manipulation, it is crucial to keep up, to know how to distinguish truth from fabrication, to verify facts, images, and videos, to protect yourself from attacks on online resources, and to understand which emails are genuine and which contain suspicious links… That is why I try to join trainings on this topic. Today I thank the speakers for clear explanations and useful advice, which I will apply in my work,” wrote Liubov Kiporenko, director of the municipal broadcaster Voice of Prykarpattia (Staryi Sambir).
Mykola Otroshchenko, deputy director of the STS TV channel (Sumy region), highlighted the systematic nature and relevance of the information:
“During the event, I gained not only theoretical knowledge but also practical recommendations that can be quickly implemented in my work. Particularly valuable were the real-life examples, explanations of legislative amendments, and step-by-step algorithms for specific situations. I plan to use the materials and tools received to improve efficiency in fulfilling my professional duties, in particular to enhance monitoring processes, reporting, and public engagement. I believe the acquired knowledge will contribute to better decision-making and to ensuring proper legal protection within my competence.”
Ihor Lozinskyi, editor at Bar Municipal Radio Broadcasting, noted the informativeness and practicality of the webinar:
“I learned about new opportunities for using artificial intelligence in media, effective OSINT tools, and methods of fact-checking. Particularly useful were the tips on protecting against online attacks and implementing media policies. Many thanks to the organizers for meaningful and up-to-date content!”
AI opens up both new opportunities and serious risks for journalism. Whether it becomes an assistant in the newsroom or a tool of manipulation depends on the editorial offices themselves. Transparent policies, ethical standards, and support for female journalists facing online violence will help make AI use safe and responsible.Read also: New wave of online attack against journalist Olena Mudra: AI-generated character used in video news and “That’s not my son’s voice”: New wave of AI attacks targets journalist Olena Mudra