As part of the celebration of World Press Freedom Day, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), in cooperation with UNESCO, organized a panel at the Brussels Press Club on the topic “Generative Artificial Intelligence and Media Self-Regulation in Southeast Europe” on May 6, 2025.
This panel was part of a series of events dedicated to media freedom (Brussels, May 5–7). Representing the Media Council for Self-Regulation, Ranko Vujović, the Council’s Executive Secretary, spoke at the event. This key gathering served as a reminder that truthful information is a public good, aiming to encourage the media to use generative AI responsibly and ethically.
“Regulation of AI in general, and specifically self-regulation of AI use in the media, needs to be done as soon as possible. We must not allow delays in AI regulation as happened with social media or other major digital platforms. Therefore, all major stakeholders have a responsibility to act to prevent AI abuse at all levels, especially in the media, where AI can be misused in countless ways to spread disinformation and hate speech,” said Ranko Vujović.
At the Press Club Brussels Europe, on May 6, 2025, media professionals and AI experts from Southeast Europe gathered to discuss the advantages and risks associated with integrating generative AI into newsrooms. Although there is a high risk of eroding public trust in the media, their goals for Balkan countries are clear: to promote self-regulation for responsible AI use in order to preserve the quality of information, to encourage a critical culture around digital technology and AI, and to foster responsible innovation.
The event provided RSF with an opportunity to present practical tools offering the standards of the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI). The JTI certification — a project launched by RSF and developed with media industry experts to ensure that media outlets adhere to transparent, professional standards — is based on 130 criteria. While one specifically addresses transparency in AI use, the overall framework offers a comprehensive structure to ensure newsroom ethics and accountability to strengthen information reliability in the digital age. In Southeast Europe, about 100 media outlets have started the JTI certification process, and four have achieved full certification: Faktoje in Albania, the Center for Investigative Reporting (CIN) in Bosnia, and the Crime and Corruption Reporting Network (KRIK) and Istinomer in Serbia.
“Given the region’s role as a cultural crossroads and the EU membership candidacy of several Balkan countries, regulating AI use in light of the risks it poses to the dissemination of reliable information is crucial. We are very pleased to have opened a space for dialogue with UNESCO, together with AI and media experts, and to be able to propose the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI) as a concrete tool for addressing these challenges, particularly in countries where false information, propaganda, and corruption are widespread. JTI helps media outlets around the world to use AI responsibly. The tool is also intended for platforms and all stakeholders in the sector to identify trustworthy media,” said Benjamin Sabbah, Director of the Journalism Trust Initiative.
“Journalism exists to serve the public interest, and for that reason we cannot rely solely on the most powerful capabilities of artificial intelligence tools without careful consideration. The real challenge for media may not only be understanding what AI can do, but also identifying ways to responsibly integrate these tools into newsroom operations while preserving journalistic values,” said Borislav Vukojević, UNESCO consultant and professor at the Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Banja Luka (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
“Artificial intelligence is not a neutral tool and is often discriminatory, as shown by a study we conducted in our media organization. AI truly inherits content from vast datasets that reflect existing and past social attitudes. If AI is programmed or trained on data that is discriminatory toward women, minorities, or other marginalized groups, the discrimination becomes systemic and automatic. We must understand that the outputs of these tools cannot be accepted uncritically, especially when used in sectors such as human resources, education, media, and even the judicial system,” said Andrijana Pisarević, journalist at Capital.ba (Bosnia and Herzegovina).
Economically weakened and now facing competition from chatbots that do not adhere to ethical journalism standards, media outlets may see generative AI as an opportunity to increase productivity and speed. However, such automation can lead to shortcuts that cause serious ethical issues without the strong safeguards inherent in professional journalism. With this in mind, RSF launched the “Spinoza” project in November 2023 — a generative AI tool designed to help journalists address climate change issues, embedding journalistic values from the outset. The first results of this work were presented in the report “SpinozIA: Toward Expanded and Ethical Journalism”, published in February 2025 during the Paris Summit on AI for Action.
Several Balkan countries, including Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, are candidates for EU membership. The EU is a pioneering force in regulating digital platforms and AI, as well as promoting the right to reliable information. It has adopted several significant laws, including the Digital Services Act (DSA), the Artificial Intelligence Act, and the European Media Freedom Act (EMFA). To strengthen these efforts, RSF has made several recommendations to EU authorities: stronger regulation of AI-focused platforms and companies, ambitious public policies to support media outlets and press councils, and genuine institutional governance in this area.
Source: RSF
