Reporting AI in Political Disinformation: Journalistic Discourses in European Quality Newspapers

Disinformation is a threat for the quality of democracy, fueling a dissonant public sphere. At the same time, AI has emerged as a technology which could be used to automate some communicative processes, including the creation and spread of false content. In the field of journalism, news media have also portrayed AI. However, little attention has been paid to the symbiosis between AI and political disinformation. This study explores how journalistic discourses address the relationship between AI, disinformation and politics, delving into the concepts or technologies applied. Drawing upon content analysis and framing theory, we analyze the contents of political disinformation published by five newspapers from different European countries: Tagesspiegel, The Guardian, Le Figaro, Corriere della Sera, and El País. Specifically, all the news items on these topics published in 2023 are examined by using a keyword search. Results show a relatively fragmented presence of frames, but the approach is slightly more likely to be negative. The media discourse about AI is focused on chatbots, even though their impact on political competition is scant. Our study contributes to current discussions on automation in a changing context, in which quality press is relevant to understanding the normalization of these emerging technologies.