AI's integration into journalism has sparked a mix of enthusiasm and scepticism across Central Europe, according to research led by Thomson Foundation in collaboration with the Media and Journalism Research Center. On one hand, AI Tools promise to streamline operations, enhance content personalisation and improve data management. On the other hand, they raise ethical concerns, especially regarding the creation and dissemination of disinformation.
The research carried out during March and April 2024 indicated the average percentage of AI usage in the media across Central Europe does not exceed 15%. Its use mainly involves technical tasks, while more complex operations are still performed by journalists and editors. This is the case especially in small newsrooms that still lack enough staff and technical capacity to use AI tools in their work more actively. The formation of AI teams in most newsrooms is a new development. The number of media across the region employing AI experts is still very small which corresponds with the limited knowledge of AI technologies in their newsrooms.
This was especially indicative for Thomson's team in the region who work strategically to help smaller outlets develop their business and production capacities.
Our main intention was to identify the trends of the AI use by media organizations globally and specifically in the region of our interest - Central Europe, says Davor Marko, Western Balkans and Central Eastern manager for Thomson. We were also assessing media experience, but also capacities and potential to work more in this area and use the knowledge and evidence-based recommendations in order to tailor our support programs in the future.
AI across the region The comparison across the region reveals a nuanced picture of AI's integration into journalism.
In the Czech Republic, journalists worry that AI could boost disinformation, potentially distract the public from key issues and manipulate voting behaviour. Similarly in Hungary, social media platforms have become battlegrounds flooded with propaganda, further exacerbated by the proliferation of fake profiles.
In Poland, fact checkers and media watchdogs rely on AI tools for tasks like comment moderation and content analysis to tackle disinformation.
In Slovakia, some media outlets use AI to generate content based on real-time results. In the recent elections, AI helped generate hundreds, sometimes thousands, of articles about the results in each Slovak municipality. There's also recognition that generative AI, particularly in the form of deep fakes, could negatively impact public trust in elections.
The adoption of AI in Central European newsrooms presents both opportunities and challenges, as media organisations indicated. While AI can increase efficiency in news organisations, media teams fear the potential effect of AI on professional journalism.
AI in media across the CE region is often used for: personalised content delivery to users; speech-to-text conversion; video content creation; social media analysis; text editing and moderation. The most widespread used tools are Open AI's ChatGPT, Microsoft's Copilot and Midjourney.
Despite the existence of AI tools for content creation, these are not widely used by media in Central Europe, or their use is in an experimental phase. The main problem of large language models is factual unreliability and the production of different answers to the same tasks over time. This makes them unsuitable for producing unsupervised content.
The other limitation concerning the more widespread use of AI is the financial cost, especially for more advanced tasks, such as the creation of the audio version of an article.
Several of the media surveyed wanted to maintain the human touch in supervision and moderation of content.
National perspectives, media independence, and political contexts play a role in how AI is integrated in newsrooms. Czech journalists are overall cautious, stressing the potential for AI to perpetuate disinformation especially in vulnerable political contexts. In Hungary, current AI usage for disinformation remains largely undocumented. Cheap fake videos dominate political campaigns in the country but in the country's media the use of AI tools specifically for content creation are not common. However, among the existing examples Hirstart, a news aggregator, ventured into AI-produced podcasting as early as May 2020.
In contrast, Polish media are progressively embracing AI to enhance journalistic practices and combat disinformation, maintaining a focus on ethical implications. The Slovak media industry is beginning to show interest in AI, concentrating mainly on operational efficiencies such as translation and data processing.
This comparative overview illustrates a diverse spectrum of AI adoption within the region. These trends reflect the need for a balance between technological advancements and ethical journalism practices.
The path forward There is a clear awareness among the respondents in our research that AI technology is the future of media and that it will be necessary to develop human and technological capacities to use it. This transition offers opportunities for collaboration among newsrooms in the region, especially if they aim to standardise AI practices that align with global journalistic standards.
To counter negative developments the report finds, it is necessary to offer training to journalists and media professionals on how to recognise ethical trusted content from AI-generated disinformation. By fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation in the use of AI newsrooms will enhance resilience against disinformation and safeguard the integrity of their reporting and upholding journalistic standards in the digital age.
If you want to know more about the benefits of AI for data
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
AI's integration into journalism has sparked a mix of enthusiasm and scepticism across Central Europe, according to research led by Thomson Foundation in collaboration with the Media and Journalism Research Center. On one hand, AI Tools promise to streamline operations, enhance content personalisation and improve data management. On the other hand, they raise ethical concerns, especially regarding the creation and dissemination of disinformation.
