Journalism, Disinformation, and Artificial Intelligence: Ethical, Political, and Social Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

Disinformation and misinformation have become defining challenges of our time, deeply reshaping journalism, politics, and public trust in democratic societies (Tuñón-Navarro et al., 2025). While disinformation has historically been a constant in political and media systems, the rise of digital technologies—and more recently, artificial intelligence (AI)—has dramatically expanded its scale, reach, and sophistication (Sánchez del Vas et al., 2024; Novelly & Sandri, 2024). The advent of generative AI, automated bots, deepfakes, and algorithmic personalization has created new opportunities for manipulation, while simultaneously offering tools for fact-checking, detection, and verification. This paradox underscores the urgent need for critical scholarly engagement.

This Special Issue seeks to explore the evolving nexus between journalism, disinformation, and artificial intelligence from interdisciplinary perspectives. We aim to gather contributions that reflect on how AI is reshaping news production, distribution, and consumption; how journalists, policymakers, and civil society are responding to the threats of disinformation; and what normative, ethical, and democratic implications emerge from these transformations.

The thematic scope of this Special Issue is particularly timely. Across Europe and beyond, democratic institutions are grappling with declining public trust, the rise of populism, and the increasing influence of platforms in shaping political agendas. Journalists are both frontline actors—tasked with verifying information and safeguarding the truth—and vulnerable professionals, working under conditions of accelerated change and pressure. Scholars and practitioners alike must reflect on whether AI represents an ally or an adversary in this context.

Jorge Tuñón Navarro (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), Giulia Sandri (Free University of Bruxelles), and Rocío Sánchez del Vas (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid), as Guest Editors, bring complementary expertise in journalism studies, disinformation research, European political communication, democratic governance, and media literacy.

Our aim is to curate a collection of articles that bridges communication studies, political science, journalism, and technology studies, fostering dialogue across disciplines and geographies.

We welcome empirical and theoretical contributions that address these challenges from local, regional, and global perspectives. Submissions may adopt qualitative, quantitative, or mixed-method approaches, and comparative works are particularly encouraged. Ultimately, this Special Issue will contribute to advancing knowledge on how journalism and democratic societies can navigate the promises and perils of artificial intelligence in the fight against disinformation.

Suggested Sub-Themes or Research Topics

1. The impact of AI tools on journalistic practices of verification and fact-checking.
2. Disinformation, journalism, and the erosion of trust in democratic institutions.
3. Algorithmic visibility, news distribution, and political polarization.
4. Ethical dilemmas of AI use in newsrooms: transparency, bias, and accountability.
5. Case studies of disinformation campaigns amplified by AI-driven platforms.
6. Media literacy and civic education as responses to AI-driven disinformation.
7. Comparative perspectives on journalism and disinformation across Europe and beyond.
8. The role of supranational institutions (e.g., EU) in regulating AI and combating disinformation.
9. The tension between platform governance, journalism autonomy, and public accountability.
10. Future scenarios: symbiosis or conflict between AI, journalism, and democracy.

References

Novelli, C., & Sandri, G. (2024, July 22). Digital democracy in the age of artificial intelligence [Manuscript]. SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=4901264

Sánchez del Vas, R., Tuñón Navarro, J. (2024) Disinformation on the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine War: Two sides of the same coin?. Humanit Soc Sci Commun, 11, 851. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03355-0

Tuñón Navarro, J., Sánchez del Vas, R., & Bouza García, L. (Eds.). (2025). Periodismo versus populismo: Comunicación de la Unión Europea frente a la pandemia desinformativa (pp. 1–244). Editorial Comares.

Prof. Dr. Jorge Tuñón-Navarro
Dr. Giulia Sandri
Rocío Sánchez del Vas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• AI-driven disinformation
• media literacy and civic education
• platform governance, journalism autonomy, and public accountability
• political communication
• political polarization