THE MEDIA LENS: Truth on trial: The rise of AI-generated and unverified content
In the not-so-distant past, the challenge for journalists was to get the story first. Today, the challenge is to prove the story is real.
We are now living in an era where content is no longer king speed is. And that speed is being driven by machines, not just trained reporters. Every day, millions of Tanzanians encounter social media posts, forwarded messages, viral videos, and now even AI-generated articles that look and sound like real journalism but are not.
This is the new crisis facing media: the rise of AI-generated and unverified content that spreads faster than truth and with zero accountability.
Globally, over 64 percent of internet users say they’ve encountered false or misleading information online, according to UNESCO’s 2023 report on digital disinformation. Closer to home, a 2023 TCRA survey revealed that over 71 percent of Tanzanians aged 18–35 consume news primarily from social media platforms, especially WhatsApp, Facebook, and TikTok. These platforms are optimised for virality not for verification.
Worryingly, AI-powered tools like ChatGPT, deepfake video generators, and text-spinning software are being increasingly used to mass-produce false narratives. According to a 2024 report by NewsGuard, over 600 AI-generated news websites are now operating globally many of them designed to mimic legitimate outlets but without any editorial oversight.
Tanzania is not immune. During the 2024 floods in Dar es Salaam, a deepfake video of a government official issuing a false emergency alert spread across WhatsApp groups in less than an hour, causing widespread panic. No media house had aired the statement but that didn’t matter. The damage had already been done.
The rise of AI-driven misinformation poses a threat not just to journalism but to public safety, electoral credibility, and civic trust. In the upcoming 2025 General Election, for example, the potential for voice cloning, image manipulation, and fake press statements could cause confusion, unrest, or even violence especially in rural areas with low digital literacy.
The real danger is not just that people are misinformed. It’s that they are confidently misinformed and unable to distinguish between what’s real and what’s artificial. A 2023 Mozilla Foundation study found that only 33 percent of East African internet users could correctly identify fake news headlines when presented alongside real ones.
Meanwhile, local media houses face an impossible dilemma. Do they chase speed to compete with AI and influencers, risking accuracy and ethical standards? Or do they stick to rigorous journalism and risk being ignored by an audience conditioned to consume content in 10-second reels?
The answer must be neither. Media cannot become more like the noise. It must rise above it.
In this storm of synthetic content, the only anchor is trust. And trust can only be earned through human journalism reporters on the ground, editors with ethics, and publishers who stand by their facts. Tanzanian media must not only report it must verify, contextualise, and explain. Because when truth is under threat, silence or shortcuts are no longer neutral choices they are dangerous ones.
However, truth-telling takes investment. A 2023 WAN-IFRA report showed that only 7 percent of African newsrooms have a dedicated budget for fact-checking, and even fewer have trained personnel or real-time verification systems. In Tanzania, fewer than five media organisations run full-time fact-checking desks and these are often donor-dependent and under-resourced.
There must be a national conversation on building a fact-first media infrastructure. This includes more funding for investigative journalism, better media training programs in universities, and support for collaborative initiatives like the Africa Facts Network or Code for Africa.
Audiences must also be part of the solution. We must learn to pause before forwarding, to ask “where is this from?” before sharing, and to reward content that informs not just entertains. Digital literacy needs to become a public education priority. After all, a society that cannot distinguish truth from fiction is vulnerable to manipulation at every level political, economic, and cultural.
Policy makers, too, must wake up. While TCRA has made strides in digital regulation, the pace of AI evolution is far outpacing legal frameworks. We need smart policy not just to curb abuse, but to support ethical innovation and responsible journalism. A national AI and Media Code could be a good start.
And finally, we in the media must reflect as well. If we recycle press releases, skip fact-checks, or publish sponsored content without disclosure, we too contribute to the erosion of trust. Journalism must return to its roots as a public service not a content factory.
The future of media will not be decided by algorithms alone, but by the values we defend as an industry and as a society. We must not normalise synthetic truth simply because it’s faster, cheaper, or more viral.
In the long run, people will not remember who posted first.
They will remember who stood for facts when it was hardest to find them.
Because in the age of AI and algorithms, real journalism is no longer just important.
It is urgent.
Angel Navuri is Head of Advertising, Partnerships and Events at Mwananchi Communications Limited
