Journalists: what to do when you are accused of using AI

A reader, source or editor suspects a piece was machine-written.

What is at stake

Credibility, which is the entire asset. An unresolved accusation is worse than a wrong one.

Your evidence position

Reporting leaves an unusually rich trail: interview recordings, notes, transcripts, emails to sources, drafts, and an editor who saw earlier versions. This is the strongest evidence position of any role here.

Do this first

Publish a short, factual note describing how the piece was reported and written. Transparency reads as confidence; silence reads as guilt.

The trap

A source withdrawing because the dispute is unresolved. Reassure sources separately and quickly.

Related pages that will help

Journalist disputes usually turn on the same few things: what a detector actually claims about its own accuracy, which pieces of evidence survive scrutiny, and whether a contract put the risk on you. The pages below cover each.