The pope has condemned clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism, at a private audience with global newswires. Via The Guardian:
Australian media representatives were among those to hear directly from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Thursday with about 150 members of newswire alliance Minds International.
In the first six months of his papacy, Pope Leo has been a proactive supporter of journalism as “a public good that we all should protect”.
“Communication must be freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and the degrading practice of so-called clickbait,” he said on Thursday.
The pope also spoke about the challenges facing news media with the rise of AI.
“Artificial intelligence is changing the way we receive information and communicate, but who directs it and for what purposes? We must be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few,” he said.
He nominated “transparency of sources of ownership, accountability, quality and objectivity” as key to news media.
“I urge you: never sell out your authority,” he said.
