DW Innovation

Most of us know by know that people use #AI to "think out loud".

However: "When language comes back at you fast, coherent, and emotionally attuned, it feels like truth. Especially when you're tired. Or lonely. (…) And in those moments, something sneaky happens. You stop checking as carefully. Not with facts – but with yourself."

Erwin Lima's opinion piece on the "unexamined #authority" of AI plus some ideas for more conscious engagement with it:

https://hackernoon.com/how-to-navigate-identity-direction-story-and-sovereignty-in-the-age-of-ai

(via @hackernoon@mas.to)

LLMs hallucinate – but not at the same rate. AA-Omniscience data reveals major differences between models and domains.

Well structured and worth checking out: https://artificialanalysis.ai/evaluations/omniscience

#AI #LLM #benchmark

🔔 New blogpost!

Another one of our projects ended:

@veraai@mastodon.online – which stands for „VERification Assisted by Artificial Intelligence“.

Anna Schild and @jospang@mas.to (Jochen Spangenberg) tell us all about it:

👇
https://innovation.dw.com/articles/completing-vera-ai

#verification #AI

🤩 Here’s some good news for the weekend: Alvin Chang made a “happy map” for The Pudding.

“In 2017, more than 10.000 people tracked experiences that made them happy as part of a research project."

From coffee and college to healthy relationships – find out what makes people the happiest with this nicely made, interactive map:

👇
https://pudding.cool/2026/02/happy-map/

🗓️ Mark your calendars for the TEMS online #workshop on...

...reusing #3D heritage #models in #media:

March 24 | 10:30-12:00 CET.

More details and free registration:

👇
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfavJHXGOAmZBQjQdETnQ8o2unJ-89WRJ5QBNFrJIA0a4oSYg/viewform

"Politicians and even police have learned they can dismiss photos and videos as fake. (…) the pattern is now familiar: deny, invoke AI, move on."

Adam Rose’s opinion piece for Poynter on how the greatest danger posed by AI is the "collapse of trust in real evidence" – and what journalists could do about it:

👇
https://www.poynter.org/commentary/2026/the-real-threat-of-ai-is-the-collapse-of-trust-deepfakes/

#AI #Trust

"AI-assisted design is reshaping advertising, entertainment, and social media at a vertiginous pace. And yet, take a look at the web offerings of the world's major media organizations, and you'll find something surprising: a profession that has embraced automation in almost every other corner of its workflow remains deeply – and perhaps wisely – resistant to letting AI generate the images it uses to tell stories."

New blog post by @lxplm@mastodon.social:

https://innovation.dw.com/articles/the-visual-ai-revolution-that-isnt-yet

#AI #images #journalism

"Social media is becoming less social and more like a background habit."

It may not apply as much to our little corner of the internet here, but have you noticed people generally posting less on social media – and quietly observing more?

Devendra Chande shares his thoughts on why that is for @hackernoon@mas.to:

https://hackernoon.com/why-we-post-less-on-social-media-but-scroll-more

#SocialMedia

"It's going to be like chocolate. Most of the chocolate we consume in the world is mass-produced. There's going to be chocolate that's artisanal, that's special, that people are willing to pay for. I suspect that's what's going to happen to writing as well."

In case you missed it: Four Nieman fellows tell us about #AI and #journalism.

👇
https://niemanreports.org/ai-research-risks-journalism-artificial-intelligence-nieman-foundation-fellows/

Here's a #funding opportunity for newsrooms, media organisations, and communication pros in the Asia-Pacific region:

WAN-IFRA and climateXchange are launching a new #climate culture innovation grant.

Pitch close: 11 March, 2026.

👇
https://www.climatexc.org/grants/ccjpitchstage

In an interview with MediaConnect, our colleague Mirko Lorenz provides insights into the goals and technological direction of ChatEurope. This new platform combines a media content hub, an AI-powered chatbot, and social media channels to offer citizens reliable answers to their questions on European issues.

https://mediaconnect.com/chateurope-press-release-interview-with-mirko-lorenz?lang=en

#EU #AI #media #journalism

#Starlink, part of Elon Musk's SpaceX, has become a vital #internet lifeline in countries where #connectivity is cut off or censored – as seen in Iran and Ukraine.

"But the system carries a structural risk: access ultimately depends on decisions by its owner."

Ralph Martin for DW: https://www.dw.com/en/how-reliable-is-starlink-as-a-wartime-communications-line/video-75588963

“I believe our website is a necessity in our current political climate. It should have existed before, when I and millions of other girls who grew up playing games were made to feel out of place by #media and advertising that was laser-focused on teenage boys.“

🎮 Zoe Hannah and Maddy Myers founded "The Mothership", a #feminist gender and identity-focused, subscription-based #gaming publication.

Myers herself for The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/games/2026/jan/26/why-im-launching-a-feminist-video-games-website-in-2026-mothership

Using real-time volumetric streaming, the BBC created a browser-based concert experience:

"Inside the virtual venue users appear as an avatar, and it feels like watching a photorealistic performance."

Claire Buckingham on how they did it: https://www.bbc.co.uk/rd/articles/2025-12-immersive-interactive-live-music-experiences/

#immersive #music

If you rather listen to a snappy #podcast than reading a long report, check out this "Future of #News" production.

For roughly 30 minutes, Mitali Mukherjee and Nic Newman discuss how leaders in #media and #journalism respond to major #challenges in 2026 (e.g. #AI news creators or alternative #formats).

👇
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/our-podcast-what-should-we-expect-journalism-2026

(1/3)

"Hello, my name is Guardia"

Digging through our media archive, we found this demo #video originally created for the wrap-up session of the SERMAS project (which ended in late 2025).

Since the live review went smoothly, we never had to use the clip, but we figured it's too nice to just gather dust on our hard drive.

So here's three minutes of Guardia in action. She's a a virtual safety/security trainer for journalists and other media professionals.

#journalism #training #AI #XR

"In traditional news media, #impact is often measured by large-scale consumption #metrics or by advocacy (...) In our contexts (...) we needed a measure of success that is subtler and deeper."

Interesting Gazetta post on new ways to measure #success in the world of #journalism:

https://www.gazzetta.xyz/measuring-impact/

We're thrilled to have another guest author on our blog: Dr. Gonca Gürsun, a seasoned computer scientist and Boston University alumni whose work focuses on behavior learning in AI systems.

In this opinion piece, she explores what the social media era can teach us about incentives, mediation, and the societal consequences of deploying AI systems at scale.

👇
https://innovation.dw.com/articles/lessons-social-media-ai

#AI #SocialMedia #Ethics

In this useful tutorial, EBU OSINT expert Derek Bowler looks at how journalists can leverage Natural Language Processing to move beyond qualitative observation into quantitative evidence.

👇
https://spotlight.ebu.ch/p/journalist-guide-to-sentiment-analysis

#OSINT #investigation #NLP #NLProc #Python

"The fast evolution of generative AI makes it increasingly easy to create visual content that looks indistinguishably real. As AI-generated content mimics authentic scenes and locations, open-source investigators face a new challenge: verifying what’s 'real' in a world where reality itself can be fabricated."

Georgia Edwards, Zuzanna Wojciak, and Shirin Anlen with an #AI vs. #OSINT deep-dive. 

https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/news/ai-undermining-osints-core-assumptions-heres-how-journalists-should-adapt

(via @reutersinstitute@mas.to)

Save The Date:

news-polygraph Conference
24 March 2026
14:00h-19:30h
Publix Berlin

From deepfakes to decontextualisation, #verification challenges are multiplying. Increasingly, #AI is not only seen as part of the problem, but also as a possible solution to combat disinformation. But what can journalists realistically expect?

👇
https://news-polygraph.com/2026/01/20/save-the-date-news-polygraph-abschlusskonferenz/

How can journalists and #news organizations clearly communicate when and how they've been using #AI tools? What kind of #UX / #UI issues should they pay attention to?

A team of designers at @SZ_de@flipboard.com (Süddeutsche Zeitung) wrote a best practice post:

👇
https://medium.com/s%C3%BCddeutsche-zeitung-digitale-medien/behind-the-design-labeling-ai-in-news-852e60ca2f03

In this really creative explainer video produced by the BBC and the Open University, Zoe Kleinman shares tips for spotting AI scams.

👇
https://www.bbc.com/videos/c36k1w13p48o

#AI #Scams

Been hearing the term "#AI Agent" a lot lately, but still not sure what it means?

@jmstdy95 ("James") at @hackernoon@mas.to has got your back:

👇
https://hackernoon.com/what-are-ai-agents-and-why-they-matter

On the occasion of World #FactChecking Day (April 2nd), DW Comms published this post on how and why Germany's international broadcaster is fighting #disinformation:

https://corporate.dw.com/en/international-fact-checking-day-dws-commitment-against-disinformation/a-72108656

"451 degrees of #disinfo" – that was the (Bradburian) title of this year's CEDMO conference, hosted in Prag last month.

The meeting was all about #factchecking, #MIL, and #AI regulation in the post-truth era.

One of the panels was hosted by our @jospang@mas.to, who discussed "Media Literacy and Factchecking: Practitioners’ Insights" with Kati Bremme, Gyula Csák, Aleksandra Monkos, Dávid Púchovský, and Joyce Zablit.

Here's a full #video of the session: https://youtu.be/3tZzoqu8B6s?si=Xq8SHfK-TcVhcytg

...and here's another event note.

Our @jospang@mas.to is about to leave for #Tbilisi where he'll participate in two sessions at the "Unveil the Truth" #conference, organized by the MDF, DW Akademie, USAID, and the UN Association of Georgia (Sept. 12th & 13th). 🗓️

In a #panel, Jochen will discuss #GenAI, #journalism, and #factchecking.

In a #workshop, he'll offer insights on dealing with disturbing content, avoiding secondary trauma, and guarding #mentalhealth.

More info: https://www.unveilthetruth.org

We started this account less than 6 months ago. It's going pretty well – thanks to you: 4.2k followers, lots of interactions, questions, and comments. 🎉

A couple of weeks ago, the European Broadcasting Union (#EBU) asked us to write a guest article about our experience with #Mastodon / the #Fediverse, explain the basics, and point out the advantages.

Challenge accepted. 👍

So here's the finished post by @lxplm@mastodon.social, hot off the #blog press. ⌨️

🔽
https://www.ebu.ch/news/2024/03/public-broadcasters-of-europe-lets-all-join-mastadon

From our blog archive: In this post (written in June 2022, roughly three months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine), @jospang@mas.to asks a question that continues to be very significant: How can we gain access to content from war zones – and archive it before it's gone?

https://innovation.dw.com/articles/the-challenge-of-preserving-digital-evidence-from-war-and-conflict-zones

🚀 We're happy to announce DW Innovation has just launched on Mastodon!

Follow us for discussions on media tech and journalism, from ideas and concepts to prototypes and unfolding trends – and ethical dilemmas. Let's dive into the world of digital media together!

#MediaTech #Journalism #Innovation #Mastodon #NewHere