Media must stay accountable amid rise of artificial intelligence – Ipso

The media must continue to stay accountable for its content in the face of challenges and benefits from artificial intelligence and social media, the press regulator said.

In its 2023 annual report, the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso) said its attention was drawn to “the rapid pace of change” in the industry and the impact artificial intelligence has had on editors and journalists’ roles.

Ipso chairman Lord Faulks KC said adopting AI was a “reasonable” approach for publishers but accountability was still key.

In a statement in the report, he said: “At the core of Ipso’s approach, however, is what will remain the same: publishers continue to be accountable for their content no matter who or what has written it.

“We have been glad to see the broad recognition of this principle across regulated publications. In practice, this means that human oversight is likely to play an important role for some time to come.

“Over the next year, we will continue to engage in the conversation about how to reconcile the important role of editorial accountability and oversight, with the imperative to respond to this potentially revolutionary innovation.”

Other challenges for Ipso included the rise of social media sleuths and the difficulties in verifying genuine news, images and video amid major stories including the Israel/Gaza conflict and the disappearance of Nicola Bulley.

The College of Policing’s independent review of Lancashire Police’s handling of the Bulley case, in which Ms Bulley was found dead in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, in February 2023 three weeks after being reported missing, praised Ipso’s involvement in issuing privacy notices on behalf of the family to allow them to grieve.

It also recommended further training for police staff to promote better relationships with the media, the police issuing guidance to the press in major incidents to prevent speculation and panic, and delisting journalists as a “corruption risk”.

Ipso chief executive Charlotte Dewar welcomed the review, adding: “It appears there is now a strong consensus about the potential benefit to the public of improving engagement between police and journalists.

“Building trust and creating structures for dialogue between the police and journalists will help to raise standards in reporting, and we will prioritise this as an area of work next year.”

Ipso received and assessed 8,045 complaints and inquiries in 2023, although only 364 were found to be within its remit and warranting investigation.

Of those carried forward, 120 complaints were resolved directly with the publisher while 52 were upheld and 116 not upheld.

Thirty-four complaints were resolved with Ipso mediation, six resolved through a satisfactory remedy and 36 not pursued after an initial investigation.

The most complained about publisher in 2023 was the Daily Mail with 1,138 complaints, although none were upheld against the paper with more than 880 rejected and 10 resolved either directly with the Mail or through mediation.

The Telegraph website and Mail Online followed with 808 complaints and 731 complaints respectively. Three complaints were fully upheld against Mail Online while both publishers had one complaint partially upheld.

The Daily Telegraph also had three of its 449 complaints against it fully upheld, while The Times, The Sunday Times, The Herald on Sunday and the Metro website each had one complaint fully upheld.

The complaint against The Times came from retired chartered accountant Ken Hodgson, who was concerned about dividend yield data published by the paper which he used to make investment decisions.

He complained to the paper without result and then went to Ipso under Clause 1 (Accuracy) of the Editors’ Code, which was upheld, requiring the paper to publish the Ipso committee’s findings in both the paper and online.

Mr Hodgson said: “If you invest it’s essential that you know what you buy.

“The Ipso ruling in ensuring what is printed in The Times on dividend yield is correct is an important decision that helps the public – particularly the small investor.”