In recent months, major news outlets—including The Associated Press and The Guardian—have sparked intense debate by announcing a growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) tools to generate breaking news and edit routine texts. This move, described as a revolution in the newsroom, has opened the door to profound questions about the future of traditional journalism in the face of both social media and AI. Will the journalist be reduced to a mere editor of what algorithms produce? Or does their role remain essential in providing verified reporting and in-depth investigations, far from the fleeting trends and superficiality of digital content?
This latest development starkly exposes the crisis traditional journalism faces today. Between the relentless pressure of technology and the seductive appeal of social media, journalism seems to be waging the greatest battle in its history. Social platforms have imposed new criteria for information: the value of news is increasingly measured by “likes” and shares, rather than by the accuracy of sources and credibility. In contrast, traditional journalism stands on different ground, still anchored in verification, fact-checking, and contextual inquiry. This divergence has turned the relationship between the press and social media into a conflict between depth and shallowness, between measured deliberation and the instant rush of virality.
One of the clearest examples of this tension was the COVID-19 pandemic, during which thousands of false claims about treatments and vaccines spread across social platforms. Meanwhile, major newspapers and magazines undertook enormous efforts to debunk myths and provide accurate information, drawing on verified scientific sources. Yet paradoxically, many people preferred to share short posts on Facebook or Twitter rather than engage with in-depth reports from The New York Times or Al-Ahram. The struggle is therefore not merely over audience reach, but over the very definition of “news.” Whereas journalism aspires to uphold truth as the ultimate goal, social media often prioritises excitement and visibility as ends in themselves.
This shift has not only redefined the notion of news but has also struck at the heart of democracy itself. Since the rise of modern democracy, a free press has been regarded as the “fourth estate,” providing citizens with the information necessary to understand events, compare perspectives, and form independent judgments. Over the last two decades, however, this balance has been deeply shaken by the rise of social platforms, where information no longer passes through editorial scrutiny but is filtered by algorithms that determine what the user sees—or does not see. This marks the beginning of the true struggle between journalism and algorithms, one that threatens not only the profession but also the foundations of democracy.
To grasp the scope of the issue, we must look back. With the rise of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, it initially seemed as if media freedom had entered a new golden age: platforms open to all, where anyone could write, film, and publish. Yet it soon became clear that this freedom came at a cost. Content is not prioritised for its value or diversity, but for its ability to generate engagement. Algorithms entered the stage as the new “journalist”—but one without conscience, motivated only by clicks and shares. As a result, the most circulated news is not necessarily the most important, but the most attention-grabbing. Public priorities shifted from debates on democracy and social justice to an obsession with entertainment, gossip, and manufactured controversies. A stark example was the 2016 U.S. presidential election, when false stories on Facebook influenced public opinion more than reports in The New York Times or The Washington Post.
The dilemma now extends beyond “fake news” to the very mechanisms by which news is selected. Algorithms create a “filter bubble” for each user, exposing them primarily to content that aligns with their pre-existing views. A conservative-leaning individual, for example, will be inundated with similar content on Twitter or Facebook, reinforcing their beliefs and reducing their exposure to alternative perspectives. Democracy, instead of being a dialogue among diverse voices, risks devolving into a set of isolated echo chambers, weakening the pluralism that is its lifeblood.
Today, artificial intelligence compounds the crisis. Systems have emerged that can automatically generate news stories and write articles or summaries based on trending searches. This means that “news” increasingly responds to market demand rather than to society’s need for balanced information. The result is a gradual erosion of journalism’s enlightening role and the unchecked expansion of platforms that shape public consciousness without accountability.
Democracy, at its core, depends on citizens’ awareness and their capacity to make decisions through open public debate. But when people’s interests are curated by algorithms designed by giant tech corporations, political decision-making itself comes under threat. Control of information no longer rests solely with governments but with companies such as Meta, X, and Google. These corporations are not answerable to parliaments or courts, yet they shape the minds of hundreds of millions. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is a glaring example: data from Facebook users was exploited to influence elections and referendums, including the Brexit vote in the UK.
Ultimately, the future of journalism depends on its ability to carve out a new role in coexisting with social media and intelligent algorithms without surrendering its professional standards. What is needed today is not simply competition in speed but a defence of the public sphere as a precondition for democracy’s survival. If we yield entirely to algorithmic dominance, we risk losing the most vital pillar of a free society: dialogue grounded in shared facts. Journalism is not merely the production of news; it is the memory and conscience of societies. If we allow it to dissolve into the logic of platforms, we will have surrendered our future to mathematical formulas that know nothing of freedom, nor of the dignity of the human condition.
Dr. Marwa El-Shinawy is an academic and writer
