Jan. 13—You’ve surely noticed it by now.
As you scroll through social media, you come across a photo or a video that stands out and claims to have more insight into an event or person in the news.
Are they true? Where did they come from?
Sometimes they’re clear fakes, and it’s obvious they were manipulated to present a point to viewers. Sometimes they look real, and it is easy to believe them. But are they really legitimate?
If you haven’t started second-guessing what you see on the internet, it’s time to start doing so.
With the rise of artificial intelligence in today’s society on everything from ChatGPT to searches online to photos and videos that are posted, how do you go about recognizing what is truth and what isn’t?
In light of these questions, Boone Newspapers, the parent company of the Albert Lea Tribune, recently adopted an artificial intelligence policy for its newsrooms.
The policy explains best practices for our journalists and how we are tackling the often thorny issue of artificial intelligence.
I’m proud of this policy, as it maintains journalistic integrity and the values we have always known and cherished, and it serves as a testament to the importance of fact-finding in our mission.
Because this is such an important issue, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain some of the best practices.
First, Tribune employees will never use AI to write a story, and we will ask the same for freelancers and others outside of our organization submitting content.
Don’t miss the news!Sign up so you never miss a headline.
Do not fill this field
Sign Up
You may see reporters recording interviews for help later when writing a story. While journalists can use transcription services to transcribe interviews, they cannot ask AI to take a series of quotes or notes and turn them into a story with the push of a button.
Yes, the journalists still use their brain to craft their story.
Tribune employees will also never manipulate or alter photos to reflect something different than what happened.
Someone missed being in a photo? No, they cannot be cropped in.
Someone was at an event who later decides it was a mistake to be there, and it will tarnish his or her reputation to be pictured? No, we cannot alter the photo and pretend like they were never there.
Yes, we can lighten photos if they end up a little dark, but that’s only to bring them back to how the scene initially looked.
Our photos reflect what actually took place and what anyone who attended the event could have seen.
Our journalists may use AI to brainstorm headline ideas or to check content for grammar, spelling or AP style, but they’re expected to pay close attention to the changes or suggestions.
If we use AI to create a graphic, chart or graph, we will credit the AI source we used in its creation.
Most importantly, anything generated by AI must require human verification.
These are only a few of the best practices in the policy, but I hope you recognize through the ones I’ve shared our continued commitment to representing truth and transparency. This is the same mission newspapers have had for generations and something we will always hold dear.
Sarah Stultz is the managing editor of the Tribune. Her column appears every Wednesday.
