What Is Ethical AI Use in Journalism? Stakeholders’ Perceptions of Ethical Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Usage in Kenyan Newsrooms

The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in newsrooms has prompted scholarly examination of its ethical use. While research has examined journalists’ ethical practices and news audiences’ perceptions, few studies have examined the perceptions of other key stakeholders (e.g., journalism educators, policymakers, influencers, and information technology experts) whose perceptions may influence ethical adoption. Rooted in folk theories as an explanatory and normative framework for making sense of complex phenomena, we interviewed 94 stakeholders to examine their folk theories about GenAI and their ethical understanding of its use in Kenyan journalism. Findings show that across stakeholder groups, participants’ folk theories of what GenAI “is” shape how they interpret ethical concerns and perceive its potential consequences for journalism. Specifically, viewing GenAI as a content-creation tool connects to concerns about laziness, de-skilling, plagiarism, and the erosion of journalists’ professional standards, as the technology risks replacing human creativity. Framing GenAI as a data-driven or algorithmic system aligns with concerns about misinformation, bias, and stereotypes against Kenyans stemming from Western data dominance. Understanding GenAI as a human-like partner fosters fear about blurred boundaries around authorship, transparency, and responsibility in newsrooms. Stakeholders’ folk theories are further rooted in their professional identities and relationships to GenAI. Our findings contribute to scholarship on GenAI ethics by underscoring the importance of expanding journalism scholarship to account for stakeholders’ perceptions.