# Southeast Asian Media Groups Issue Joint Statement on Artificial Intelligence’s Impact on Journalism

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/asean/305301-southeast-asian-media-groups-issue-joint-statement-on-artificial-intelligences-impact-on-journalism
- Published: 2026-05-08T04:07:00+07:00
- Author: Jessica Lee

Over a dozen Southeast Asian news outlets issued a joint statement on World Press
Freedom Day 2026, warning that Big Tech algorithms, AI content scraping, and disinformation
are destroying journalism’s economic model, suppressing verified information, and
threatening democratic society’s access to facts.

## Key Points

 * Over a dozen Southeast Asian news outlets issued a joint statement on World Press
   Freedom Day 2026, warning that Big Tech platforms and AI systems are threatening
   journalism by deprioritizing news content and allowing AI scrapers to extract
   journalistic work without compensation.
 * Big Tech monopolizes over 76% of global digital advertising revenue, while AI
   deepfakes and disinformation flood the internet, eroding public trust and pushing
   newsrooms toward closure through revenue loss and rising operational costs.
 * The outlets are calling for transparent algorithms, fair compensation for publishers,
   radical collaboration among news organizations, and a reimagined digital space
   that prioritizes verified information and human thriving over corporate profit.

### Southeast Asian News Outlets Unite Against Big Tech’s Threat to Journalism

For the first time, **more than a dozen Southeast Asian news organizations** have
issued a joint statement on World Press Freedom Day 2026, addressing the growing
crisis threatening independent journalism. The statement highlights how **digital
platforms and AI systems are quietly dismantling the infrastructure** that allows
credible news organizations to survive. While journalists continue reporting from
frontlines during crises, they simultaneously face an invisible battle — one unfolding
in algorithms, advertising ecosystems, and the rapid spread of AI-generated misinformation.

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### Big Tech’s Monopoly Is Strangling the Economics of Independent Media

The statement identifies two critical threats to journalism’s sustainability. First,**
platforms like Meta have deprioritized news content**, effectively severing media
organizations from their audiences. Second, **AI scrapers extract journalistic content
without compensating publishers**, while altered search and social media algorithms
dramatically reduce traffic and visibility. These forces compound existing financial
pressures on already-struggling newsrooms. Alarmingly, **over 76% of global digital
advertising revenue** is now captured by Big Tech giants like Facebook and Google,
leaving independent outlets with little economic ground to stand on.

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### A Call for Radical Collaboration to Reclaim the Internet

The signatories warn that **AI deepfakes and rampant disinformation** are eroding
public trust, crowding out credible reporting, and making audiences skeptical of
everything online. These combined pressures have triggered **mass layoffs, journalist
attrition, and newsroom closures** across the industry. In response, the outlets
call for **transparent, people-first algorithms**, fair compensation for journalistic
content, and “radical collaboration” among news groups, communities, and civic organizations.
Their collective message is clear: building **a healthier internet where facts thrive**
requires unified action against monopolistic Big Tech and its profit-driven design
choices.

**Source** : [ASEAN newsrooms issue joint statement about AI impact on journalism](https://www.rappler.com/about/statement-asean-newsrooms-artificial-intelligence-impact-journalism/)