AI in digital news media

: the impact of AI authorship and transparency on trust in news content and brands

Abstract

In response to growing economic pressures, news organizations have increasingly integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) into the news production process to increase efficiency. Particularly in content creation, the core of journalism, this development raises the question of how readers perceive AI-generated content and whether it affects their trust in digital news amid rising media skepticism. Despite the increasing relevance, there is still no common academic understanding of how audiences interpret AI authorship. As a result, news organizations lack clear, evidence-based advice on how to effectively disclose AI involvement. By combining insights from technology acceptance, media research and trust theory, this study investigates how AI authorship disclosure and transparency statements influence readers' trust in news articles and brands in the context of digital journalism. The research is based on a quantitative experimental study with a 2 × 2 between-subjects design. The results show that hybrid authorship significantly increases trust in the news brand compared to AI-only authorship. No significant difference was found for news credibility. Transparency statements directly improved both brand trust and news credibility, but perceived transparency did not moderate the relationship between authorship type and news credibility as expected. Overall, the findings reveal the importance of demonstrating human involvement in AI- augmented journalism to maintain readers' trust. By analyzing readers' perceptions of hybrid journalism, an increasingly relevant practice, this study addresses a research gap and provides guidance for news organizations on how AI disclosure and transparency strategies can influence audience trust.

Date of Award	8 Jul 2025
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Filipa Serpa Pinto (Supervisor)