Policies in Parallel? A Comparative Study of Journalistic AI Policies in 52 Global News Organisations

A growing number of news organisations have set up guidelines to govern how they use artificial intelligence (AI). This article analyses a set of 52 guidelines, mainly from Western Europe and North America, from publishers in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Finland, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Looking at both formal and thematic characteristics, we provide insights into how publishers address expectations and concerns around AI in the news. Drawing from neo-institutional theory and institutional isomorphism, we argue that the policies show signs of homogeneity, likely explained by isomorphic dynamics arising as a response to the uncertainty created by the rise of generative AI after the release of ChatGPT in November 2022. Our study shows that publishers have already begun to converge in their guidelines on key points such as transparency and human supervision when dealing with AI-generated content. However, we argue that national and organisational idiosyncrasies continue to matter in shaping publishers’ practices. We conclude by pointing out blind spots around technological dependency, sustainable AI, and inequalities in AI guidelines and providing directions for further research.