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World Press Freedom Day, annually observed on May 3, is a poignant reminder of the need for press freedom, an occasion to remember the sacrifices made in pursuit of that freedom, and an opportunity for journalists and media practitioners to consider any issues that may be of concern to the fourth estate.
This year, the concern being explored in the World Press Freedom Day signature event is the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the media. Discussions will centre around how to ensure that AI enhances, rather than undermines, press freedom and democratic values.
AI tools, while transformative in terms of efficiency, multilingualism and data analysis, among other processes, also raise unique ethical questions. AI-generated misinformation and disinformation, deepfake technology, biased content moderation, and surveillance threats to journalists represent just some of the risks, not to mention their potential effects on the industry's business model and what it may mean for the media's long-term viability.
Understanding the pressing nature of these issues, Global Voices recently shared its own policy on the use of AI in the newsroom. The Media Institute of the Caribbean (MIC), meanwhile, issued a press release in which it underscored the “urgent” need to address the transformative impact of AI on journalism within the context of the region’s unique challenges of “media viability, misinformation, and natural disasters.”
The natural disasters angle also fed into the theme of the 2025 World Press Freedom Day, which dealt with journalism in the face of the global environmental crisis. To this point, the Media Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MATT) noted that “the press is not only a defender of democracy, but also a guardian of our collective future.”
That future must undoubtedly include the use of AI, but the question remains how to manage it ethically and responsibly. According to MIC, regional collaboration is critical to “harness AI’s potential while safeguarding democratic discourse”:
AI is reshaping journalism globally, but its implications are acute in the Caribbean, where media ecosystems face structural vulnerabilities. While AI tools offer opportunities for automated reporting, data analysis, and audience engagement, they also risk deepening existing inequities. Caribbean newsrooms are already strained by shrinking advertising revenues. (It is noteworthy that between 15 and 25% of such revenues are diverted to platforms like Meta and Google Ads). There also exist fragile economies to which we now add the need to grapple with AI-driven content saturation.
Algorithmic curation on social media platforms poses a further threat, “as free, AI-generated content competes with costly, human-produced news.” Will Caribbean newsrooms, with their smaller markets operating within vulnerable island economies, be able to withstand the pressure? President of the MIC Kiran Maharaj suggested, “AI could democratise information access, but without guardrails, it may erode the financial sustainability of Caribbean media. We must advocate for equitable AI governance that prioritises public interest journalism.”
The MIC statement went on to note that “the Caribbean is not immune to AI-fuelled misinformation, which exacerbates social divisions and undermines trust in institutions.”
In 2023, the organisation, in conjunction with the Association for Caribbean Media Workers (ACM), conducted a study about the ways in which disinformation targeted regional elections and public health campaigns. MIC Vice President and ACM Co-Founder Wesley Gibbings suggested that “Caribbean media must adopt AI-driven verification tools and invest in digital literacy programs,” adding, “Our survival depends on retaining public trust through accuracy and transparency.”
Such challenges have been further exacerbated by the region's susceptibility to natural disasters, whereby hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and other climate-related events disrupt media operations but put a strain on financial resources. Case in point: the particularly arduous hurricane seasons the Caribbean faced between 2017 and 2024, which the MIC said laid bare “the fragility of media infrastructures and the urgent need for disaster preparedness and resilience planning.”
Whereas “blending traditional knowledge with AI-enhanced forecasting and real-time alerts can be pivotal in disaster response,” misuse of AI via misinformation, etc., can also make such situations worse. The solutions the MIC proposed include policies aimed at taxing tech giants and reinvesting the proceeds into journalism, exploring AI-driven revenue models, and, as per UNESCO’s AI Road Map Policy, establishing a regional AI Ethics Task Force. Such a body, it proposes, would “audit algorithms for bias and promote content verification standards [to] provide needed insight for key regulatory and policy making decisions.”
As far as disaster preparedness goes — a pressing issue for small island developing states (SIDS) like the Caribbean that are at the frontline of the climate crisis — the MIC suggested integrating AI tools into national emergency protocols, including media as first responders, and expanding community media networks by offering training and support.
As the MIC looked towards a future in which AI could be turned “into an ally for press freedom and democratic resilience,” however, MATT placed its focus on the here and now, thanking the media personnel who covered Trinidad and Tobago's recent general elections “with professionalism, courage, dedication, resilience, and a commitment to truth,” and flagging issues that “threaten journalistic independence and integrity, including political pressures, harassment of media workers, and barriers to accessing public information.”
Current challenges include “the rapid spread of misinformation and disinformation on social media, which undermines public trust and complicates the work of professional journalists.” While the association seeks to advocate for high ethical standards, and foster trust between the media and its audiences, MATT cited an “urgent need to strengthen protections for journalists, ensure transparency in governance, and support open dialogue between media practitioners, policymakers, and the public.”
