The Media Council for Self-Regulation received a complaint from reader Luka Bošković regarding an illustration generated with the help of artificial intelligence, published with the text "Pljevlja: He presented himself as a crockery seller and stole 3,100 euros from a house" Pljevlja: Predstavio se kao prodavac posuđa i ukrao iz kuće 3.100 eura on the Pobjeda Portal on April 1, and which was labeled "Photo: AI."
In the complaint, the applicant indicates that the accompanying "photo" was generated by artificial intelligence, while the description states "Photo: AI." It asks the question, "What does the acronym AI really mean and is it something that every citizen needs to know?" The applicant also asks "how legitimate it is for documentary purposes in one of the oldest news houses in the country to use artificial intelligence for the purpose of informing citizens".
The Media Council for Self-Regulation requested a statement from the editorial office of Portal Pobjeda. In the reply of the editor Nenad Zečević, it was stated that the mark "Photo: AI" means that "the illustration along with the text was generated with the help of artificial intelligence (AI), and that it is not an authentic documentary photograph from the scene", and that it was marked precisely for this reason, so that readers would have an insight into the nature of the visual content.
The editors stated that illustrations, including those generated by AI tools, are used "when there are no original visual materials or when the goal is to bring the subject closer visually", but that it "must not and cannot replace the facts from the text itself, which remain the key to information".
The editor assessed the applicant's remark as justified in the part that refers to the possible misunderstanding of the label "AI" by part of the audience, stating that the editorial staff "will work on a more precise and comprehensible labeling of such content (e.g. 'illustration generated by artificial intelligence')", in order to avoid any dilemma or misinterpretation. He pointed out that the intention of the newsroom was never to mislead the public, but rather to provide a visual context to the subject being reported on with transparent labeling.
The Media Council informed the complainant of the editorial's response. Since the complainant did not request further processing of the complaint after that, and the editorial office recognized and accepted the need for clearer labeling, the Commission accepted the statement of the editorial office and stated that in this case the mediation was successfully implemented.
The Commission reminds that guideline 2.3 (Symbolic photographs) point (a) of the Code of Journalists of Montenegro prescribes:
"If an illustration, especially a photograph, can give the average reader the impression that it is an authentic document despite the fact that it is a symbolic image, this must be clarified. Photomontage or other interventions on authentic documents must be clearly marked as such in the accompanying text or in another appropriate way."
Based on the above, the Appeals Commission gives a general guideline to the media that, when visual content is created with the help of artificial intelligence, it should be clearly indicated by the label that the content is "generated" or "created with the help of artificial intelligence", and not exclusively by the abbreviation "AI", which may not be understandable to the average reader. In this way, the possibility of the audience interpreting the symbolic illustration as an authentic documentary record is eliminated.
Commission for Monitoring and Complaints
Aneta Spaić
Sonja Drobac
Danilo Burzan
Branko Vojičić
Ranko Vujović
