The nonprofit Poynter Institute, a global leader in journalism and ethics, has emerged as one of the most trusted voices in guiding how newsrooms and the public adapt to artificial intelligence, through training journalists, commissioning research and working with civic and corporate partners on AI literacy projects.
Now, Poynter is bringing its extensive work together under its new Poynter AI Innovation Lab, to ensure journalists and the public have a trusted source for strategy, ethical guidance, training and tools.
Poynter’s work with AI, especially in the area of AI ethics and digital media literacy, is already substantial. But the creation of the lab signals bigger ambitions in a climate when AI is reshaping how people encounter news and leaving them questioning what they see, said Alex Mahadevan, director of Poynter’s MediaWise media literacy initiative and a faculty member.
“The release of Sora 2, an impressive and frightening AI video generation social network, and new agentic browsers, signal a fundamental shift in our online information ecosystem,” said Mahadevan, who is leading the Poynter AI Innovation Lab. “We’re researching the intersection of AI, media and the online experience of citizens. We’re creating resources and tools for journalists and news consumers to better navigate it. And we can help philanthropic organizations pursue their missions when it comes to the intersection of AI and civil society.”
Poynter’s latest initiative, launching along with the Lab, is a new self-directed online course, AI for Journalists and Content Creators: From Understanding to Application. Those who complete it will receive a Poynter certificate and will gain skills to spot AI risks like bias, misinformation and hallucinations, while gaining understanding of AI tools and applying them transparently and ethically to build audience trust.
“If you’re not learning how to use these tools, you’re going to get duped by people who do,” Mahadevan said. “These skills help people confidently navigate the digital world, and participate in society.”
The AI Lab is a cross-departmental effort, and includes members of Poynter’s staff who work on AI literacy with both journalists and the general public. It includes fact-checkers who help media consumers guard against current AI scams and misinformation as well as share skills and tools to use AI with the global fact-checking community.
It will be spearheading new Poynter skills, literacy and ethics training on AI, thought leadership and research, as well as working with partner organizations to use Poynter’s strengths and connections to achieve specific projects with Poynter’s expertise and media network.
Members of a cross-departmental team are part of the new Poynter AI Innovation Lab. L-R: Loreben Tuquero, staff writer for PolitiFact; Alex Mahadevan, MediaWise director and Poynter faculty; Jon Greenberg, Poynter faculty (on screen); Sean Marcus, interactive learning designer for MediaWise; Enock Nyariki, communications manager for the International Fact-Checking Network. (Tom Jones/Poynter)
In just the last year or so, Poynter has successfully launched multiple AI initiatives:
- Partnered with Microsoft and The Associated Press to create the Talking About AI Newsroom Toolkit to help news organizations explain to their audience how they are using AI, to build trust, transparency and understanding. It has been distributed to at least 2,000 journalists.
- Released updated guidelines to help newsrooms create their own AI ethics policies to help ensure responsible use and experimentation with AI while avoiding pitfalls such as bias and hallucinations, and being open with audiences.
- Trained more than 1,000 journalists worldwide on how to use AI responsibly.
- Convened its second national summit of thought leaders on AI, ethics and journalism. in New York City with The Associated Press. to discuss AI and the news, and released new research about audience attitudes on generative AI.
- Created AI literacy resources for teenagers, content creators and the general public through the MediaWise media literacy program.
- Fact-checked online AI scams, deepfakes and misinformation through the Pulitzer-Prize winning PolitiFact newsroom
- Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network has provided free training for fact-checkers worldwide on techniques for investigating online harms, including AI tools that can be used to create fake nude images.
- Consulted with academic journals to develop their own AI ethics standards.
Poynter will be writing about the work of its AI Innovation Lab and AI projects on poynter.org. Mahadevan said he is excited about amplifying Poynter’s industry-leading work in this area through the efforts of the lab and its participants.
“The landscape is changing fast, and we are focusing our resources to meet the moment in a way that people depend on Poynter to do,” he said.
Media Contact
Jennifer Orsi
Vice President, Publishing and Local News Initiatives
The Poynter Institute
jorsi@poynter.org
About the Poynter Institute
The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to address society’s most pressing issues by teaching journalists and journalism, covering the media and the complexities facing the industry, convening and community building, improving the capacity and sustainability of news organizations and fostering trust and reliability of information. The Institute is the gold standard in journalistic excellence and dedicated to the preservation and advancement of press freedom in democracies worldwide. Through Poynter, journalists, newsrooms, businesses, big tech corporations and citizens convene to find solutions that promote trust and transparency in news and stoke meaningful public discourse. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and improve the quality of the universally shared information ecosystem.
The Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, the International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN), MediaWise and PolitiFact are all members of the Poynter organization.
Support for Poynter and our entities upholds the integrity of the free press and the U.S. First Amendment and builds public confidence in journalism and media — an essential for healthy democracies. Learn more at poynter.org.
