Artificial Intelligence and Internet Journalism: Presentation of Artificial Intelligence News to Internet and X (Twitter) Users in Türkiye

Artificial intelligence (AI) has altered and transformed almost every field today as one of the outputs of new communication technologies. One of the areas that have undergone this alteration and transformation is journalism, or news practices. Despite the ample favorable opportunities AI technology provides in news search, gathering, editing, and distribution, it might also instigate ethical considerations. The news practices offered by online news sites on X (Twitter) regarding AI technologies are therefore essential to explore because of their positive or negative outcomes that might alter the perception, attitude, or behavior of audiences or readers. In this regard, this study sought to reveal how the top five most frequently visited Turkish online news sites (i.e., Hürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Mynet, Sözcü) by Turkish internet users presented news about AI shared on X to viewers/readers. While the research population comprised AI news, the sample consisted of AI news shared by five online news sites on X. In this context, 520 AI news items were included in the study, with 11345 codes being created using the MAXQDA 2024 program for news analysis. The study demonstrated how online news about AI varied by news sections, the purpose of news production, the topics of news titles and headings, the use of visuals and themes, the references to other sources, the use of links, the sources cited in the news, the people mentioned in the news, their titles, news tones, word count and areas of expertise. It further showed how AI journalism differed between online news sites.