Paul Deegan: Real journalists matter in an AI world

Nunatsiaq News, an award-winning newspaper in Nunavut, recently reported that a so-called “news” website was posting AI-generated articles about the North by stealing real news stories produced by real journalists. The articles were supposedly written by Nunavut correspondent Leah Qammaniq — a fake journalist, with a fake photo, and a fake bio.

Louise Arbour warned us of fake news in her installation speech as Governor General. She said, “The lines between knowledge and belief, between truth and falsehood, between facts and assumptions, are increasingly blurred. AI could be threatening not only the way we live and work, but also the control we exercise over our own destiny.”

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The Government of Canada has recognized the problem as well. Its recent discussion paper, Enhancing trust in artificial intelligence through increased transparency, stated, “Canadians encounter news reporting, product reviews, and audio-visual content across the internet, often without any indication of whether it was written by a person, generated by an AI system, or produced through some combination of both … A particular concern within this broader landscape is that generative AI greatly enables the creation and dissemination of deceptive or misleading content.”

According to a survey conducted for News Media Canada, 78 per cent of Canadians say they are concerned about fake news and disinformation, underscoring the growing value of credible, professionally produced journalism.

In the face of misinformation and disinformation and threats to Canadian sovereignty, identity, and unity, there is an urgent need to protect and control Canadian trusted, verified IP and to keep its value in Canada for Canadians.

Fact-based, fact-checked, trusted journalistic content is vital to a healthy democracy, and there are concrete steps the government can take to safeguard this pillar of our democracy.

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First, clearly and unequivocally state that there will be no text and data-mining exception. Second, use the power of the federal procurement purse to ensure these companies stop stealing creator content through robust supplier commitments. Third, align with the U.K. competition authority’s approach, which gives publishers an opt-out to control how news content is surfaced in Google’s AI answers. Fourth, have the minister of industry direct the Competition Bureau to conduct a market study into Google’s AI/search crawler. Fifth, introduce and pass bad bot legislation similar to the Stealth Bot Prohibition Act that is currently before the U.S. Congress.

National Newspaper Week 2026 runs from Oct. 4-10. It celebrates the people behind the news and reminds Canadians that trusted journalism is produced by real journalists, who report, investigate, verify, and write it. This year’s program introduces “Al Gorithm,” a fictional character that highlights an increasingly important distinction: an algorithm can decide what you see, but it doesn’t sit through a council meeting, interview a local business owner, cover a championship game or hold decision-makers accountable.