Journalists’ Perceptions of Artificial Intelligence and Disinformation Risks

This article investigates journalists’ perceptions of how artificial intelligence (AI) affects disinformation risks within the news ecosystem. Drawing on a structured survey of 504 journalists in the Basque Country administered online and by telephone in May–June 2024, the study examines associations between perceived risk and professional variables, including experience and AI usage. Results show that 89.88% of respondents believe AI will considerably or significantly increase disinformation risks, a pattern consistent across genders and media types, though somewhat less pronounced among digital-native outlets. Experience matters: perceptions of risk rise with years in the profession. Conversely, intensive users of AI in the newsroom tend to report more moderate views of its harmful effects. The most frequently cited risks concern difficulties identifying false content and deepfakes, and the likelihood of obtaining inaccurate data; co-occurrence analysis indicates these concerns are commonly linked in journalists’ mental models. Additional worries include exposure to scams and biases related to data provenance. The paper argues for targeted AI literacy, ethical training, and transparent verification workflows to calibrate expectations and bolster resilience against information disorders. Overall, the findings underscore both the scale of perceived threat and the potential of professional familiarity to nuance risk assessments.