19.12.2025 17:25
In the first session of the TİGAD Digital Journalism and Media Workshop held in Şanlıurfa, the relationship between artificial intelligence and journalism was discussed. Dr. Ekrem Teymur, Chairman of the Board of News.com and Sondakika.com, emphasized that the manipulable aspects of artificial intelligence could pose a serious threat to journalism.
The Turkish Internet Journalists Association (TİGAD) is organizing a "Digital Journalism and Media Workshop" in Şanlıurfa between December 18-21, 2025. The first session of the workshop, attended by approximately 150 journalists from 70 provinces of Turkey, was held at the Main Amphitheater of Harran University Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
THE MODERATOR OF THE FIRST SESSION WAS EKREM TEYMUR
The first session of the workshop was moderated by Dr. Ekrem Teymur, Chairman of the Board of News.com and Sondakika.com. Current and critical media topics such as digital journalism, ethical values, artificial intelligence, field journalism, war reporting, and the role of photography in news were discussed during the session.
In the first session, İsmail Saymaz from Halk TV, Nevzat Çiçek, Editor-in-Chief of Independent Türkçe, former General Manager of Sözcü TV Alişer Delek, and NTV Commentator, former General Manager of Anadolu Agency Kemal Öztürk participated as speakers.
THE DANGEROUS ASPECTS OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE WERE DISCUSSED
The topic of "artificial intelligence in journalism" was comprehensively addressed during the session. Dr. Ekrem Teymur pointed out the potentially dangerous aspects of artificial intelligence, stating:
"As you know, there is a phenomenon called trolls on social media. A troll is an organized effort by individuals or accounts to dominate a narrative by echoing the same thing in unison, as if it were the general opinion of the public.
The logic of artificial intelligence in news or content production, or in answering our questions, is actually based on compiling all the news available on the internet and producing a result from that. When we ask artificial intelligence a question, it combines the information it gathers from the internet and provides us with an answer.
"WE MAY SEE EFFORTS TO MANIPULATE ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE FUTURE"
If they are watching us, it may not be a hint for those considering managing troll armies, but we may see efforts to manipulate artificial intelligence in this way in the future. For instance, if you create a news story saying 'Interior Minister Mehmet has become someone,' and you publish it in thousands of places at once, when you ask artificial intelligence, it will accept that it is true when it sees the same news, the same text in thousands of places, and it will respond to all your subsequent questions, comments, and documents in this way. Isn't this a threat from a journalism perspective?"
Alişer Delek emphasized the continued need for journalists for this reason, highlighting the importance of asking the right questions to artificial intelligence. Ekrem Teymur reminded that the number one rule of journalism is to "ask the right question."