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When AI materially shapes published content or supplies synthetic material, tell readers what it did, which content is affected, and where they can find the explanation. Put the notice beside the relevant image, passage, audio, or video when practical. A disclosure describes how content was made; it does not certify that the content is accurate. Editors and journalists remain responsible for verification and publication.
What a useful AI disclosure tells readers
Make the notice specific enough to answer four questions without requiring readers to infer what “AI-assisted” means:
- What did AI do? Say whether it generated, altered, translated, transcribed, enhanced, or otherwise assisted with the material.
- What does the notice cover? Identify the particular image, audio, video, passage, or process—not just the article as a whole if only one element is synthetic.
- What editorial review applies? Describe relevant human review and responsibility without implying that review guarantees an error-free result.
- Where is further detail? Link to a newsroom policy or provenance information if readers want it.
For example, a notice might say that an accompanying illustration was generated with AI and reviewed by the newsroom. That is clearer than a bare “AI used” label: it identifies the synthetic item and the newsroom’s role. Use wording that reflects what actually happened rather than adopting a universal formula; the policies in these examples set different thresholds and restrictions.
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Choose a clear trigger for disclosure
Newsrooms need to define in policy which uses merit a reader-facing notice. The Associated Press (AP) offers a materiality-based example: its July 23, 2026 standards say disclosure standards apply when generative AI plays a material role in published content, and that included AI-generated or manipulated material should be clearly identified and presented in context. This does not mean every instance of AI support automatically receives a label.
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Other policies use different boundaries. The BBC says generative AI should not directly create published or broadcast BBC News/Nations, current affairs, or factual journalism except when AI itself is the subject and its use is illustrative. Its guidance calls for appropriate audience signalling when qualifying techniques are used. Ars Technica says its editorial text is human-authored and identifies synthetic media used when reporting on AI, with the disclosure close to the material.
These are examples of policy choices, not one rule binding every newsroom. To compare options, decide how the publication will handle these distinctions:
Rank #2
| Policy question | Choices to define |
|---|---|
| Disclosure threshold | Every AI touch; substantial or material involvement; or reader-visible content that is itself synthetic. |
| Content and risk | Text assistance, generated or altered images, synthetic voices, video, reconstructions, or user-submitted media. |
| Placement and format | A notice beside a passage or image, a caption, an audible notice, an on-screen label, or linked policy details. |
| Specificity | A general AI-use statement or a description of the affected item and whether it was generated, modified, translated, or otherwise assisted. |
| Accountability | What human review took place, who owns the final editorial decision, and what the notice does not guarantee. |
| Legal and technical context | The audience’s jurisdiction, the publisher’s role under applicable law, and whether machine-readable provenance is created and preserved. |
Put the notice where readers encounter the material
When a story contains a synthetic element, place its explanation at or immediately beside that element where practical. Ars Technica advocates proximity; the BBC calls for audience signalling appropriate to the technique. A vague outlet-wide footer can leave readers unable to tell whether a particular image or recording is documentary or synthetic.
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1Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsMatch the format to the medium. Use a nearby label or caption for an image, a visible on-screen notice for video, and an audible notice or suitable on-screen label for broadcast audio. A generated voice or reconstruction can be especially easy to separate from surrounding context, so identify it clearly and avoid presenting it in a way that could mislead audiences or create a false history. The BBC specifically calls for clear disclosure of synthetic voices.
Keep disclosure separate from verification
A label tells readers about the content’s origin or production; it does not establish that the story’s claims are true. AP says AI does not replace reporting, sourcing, judgment, or verification, and requires journalist review of AI-supported output. Reuters’ standards say AI-generated facts, sources, and claims must be independently verified by Reuters journalists and that Reuters remains responsible for its published content.
State the actual review process if it helps readers understand accountability, but do not use “reviewed by a human” as a synonym for verified or guaranteed accurate. The newsroom still needs to check facts, sources, rights, and context under its ordinary editorial standards.
Use technical provenance as a supplement, not the reader notice
C2PA Content Credentials can record provenance in tamper-evident, cryptographically signed manifests. Its implementation guide describes machine-readable source classification, an AI disclosure assertion, the ability to localize modifications to image regions, document passages, or audio/video segments, and records of creation and editing actions. Those records can support a more precise explanation of what changed and when.
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Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Account for law and audience expectations
The European Commission’s current guidance says Article 50 transparency obligations apply from August 2, 2026. The Commission describes its code of practice as a voluntary compliance tool, while the underlying AI Act transparency requirements are legal obligations. The code addresses provider-side marking and detection, as well as deployer-side labelling of deepfakes and certain AI-generated or manipulated text.
That overview is not a blanket legal conclusion for every publication. Whether a particular duty applies depends on the publisher’s role, the content, and the law relevant to its circumstances. Get legal advice for the publication’s specific context rather than treating an editorial policy example or technical standard as a complete compliance analysis.
Reader response also deserves testing rather than assumption. A 2026 CHIWORK workshop paper, “Designed by Journalists, but Is It for Readers?”, discusses a controlled experiment involving 34 news readers and reports that detailed disclosure may reduce trust, while a one-line notice may leave an information gap. It also describes reader-suggested approaches such as detail-on-demand, proportional AI-use visualizations, outlet-level signals, and explicit “no AI” labels. This is limited workshop-paper evidence, not a population-wide finding or a universal design prescription. Test whether your own audience understands and finds the chosen notice useful.
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Policy examples at a glance
| Organization | What its policy illustrates | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Associated Press | Materiality-based disclosure; included AI-generated or manipulated material should be clearly identified and contextualized. AP’s July 23, 2026 standards also prohibit generative AI from creating, altering, or enhancing news photography. | AP newsroom standards, July 23, 2026 |
| BBC | Limits direct generative AI creation of BBC factual journalism, with an exception when AI is the subject and its use is illustrative; qualifying uses should be signalled appropriately, and synthetic voices clearly disclosed. | BBC Editorial Guidelines |
| Reuters | AI-generated facts, sources, and claims must be independently verified; Reuters retains responsibility for the content it publishes. | Reuters Journalistic Standards |
| Ars Technica | States that editorial text is human-authored and calls for disclosure close to synthetic media used when reporting on AI. | Ars Technica newsroom AI policy, updated April 22, 2026 |
| UK examples reported by the House of Commons Library | GB News promises verbal or visual disclosure when AI has been used substantially for broadcast content; the Guardian’s rule, as quoted in the briefing, says exceptional approved use of AI-generated text or images must be signalled on the article itself. | House of Commons Library briefing, January 20, 2026 |
Sources and further guidance
- C2PA, A New Implementation Guide for Content Credentials
- European Commission, Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated Content
- CHIWORK ’26 workshop paper, “Designed by Journalists, but Is It for Readers?”
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