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Join us for the launch of the new KAS study “Navigating risks and rewards: How South African journalists use AI in the newsroom.” This presentation reveals how AI is already shaping journalism in South Africa. Discover key insights, risks, and opportunities as newsrooms navigate a rapidly changing digital reality.
This study reveals how widely artificial intelligence is already used in South African newsrooms - often without structured training, clear editorial guidelines, or tools adapted to African languages and local contexts. Journalists describe both enthusiasm and unease: AI supports research, verification, data analysis, and translation, yet concerns persist about algorithmic bias, factual inaccuracies, the erosion of professional skills, and potential loss of audience trust.
The findings make one point clear: the decisive question is no longer whether AI should be used in journalism, but how. Many newsrooms still lack internal policies, risk‑awareness systems, and locally relevant technological solutions, even though the willingness to adopt AI responsibly is strong.
Globally, artificial intelligence is reshaping journalism at unprecedented speed. It opens new opportunities for more efficient, accurate, and diverse reporting while amplifying existing challenges such as political pressure, disinformation, unequal digital access, and resource constraints.
For the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung’s Regional Media Programme Sub‑Saharan Africa, these developments demand active engagement. Media freedom, media literacy, and digital resilience are essential democratic foundations, and AI’s influence on newsrooms affects all three. KAS Media Africa has therefore commissioned a study on AI-generated disinformation in Africa and Europe.
This study closes an important knowledge gap regarding the current state of AI use in South African newsrooms and offers evidence‑based guidance for decision‑makers, educators, and journalists. We extend our thanks to the author Karen Allen and Prof. Herman Wasserman and Nande Mbekela from the Centre for Information Integrity in Africa Stellenbosch University for their valuable contribution in conducting this research and compiling this Report.
