• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, April 10, 2025

Readers have not quite warmed up to AI, judging by a new study from Poynter and the University of Minnesota.  

Overall, 40% never use AI. Those in the 18-29 cohort are more likely to have tried it, those age 60+ least likely by far. 

Either way, the respondents  want to know when news organizations are using AI. For instance, 72% say it is important to disclose if AI is utilized for writing the text of news stories, 52% very much so. They also want transparency regarding infographic creation (68%), editing photographs (71%) and translating text into different languages (69%).  

Moreover, 58% say newsrooms should only use AI if they establish clear ethical guidelines. This rises to 76% among those with high news literacy, 74% of daily or weekly AI users and 65% of individuals with medium news literacy. 

How is news literacy determined? By correctly answering the following true-or-false questions: 

• Public media such as PBS and NPR depend primarily on advertising for financial support—False 
• Social media companies make money by collecting user data and selling targeted advertising—True 
• News coverage of election campaigns rarely centers on in-depth analysis of where candidates stand on the issues—True
• Having lots of “likes,” “shares,” or comments means a news story is credible—False 
• Only verified stories appear on Google News—False
• A local journalist is more likely to write a story about a city council election than an election in a foreign country—True 
• Employees at social media companies verify all news before it shows up on their platform—False

Of the group surveyed, 36% access news between two and five times per day. Another 23% do so once a day. A mere 5% are looking at news more than 10 times per day, and 6% never.  

And here’s a piece of intelligence for AI companies: 55% of the respondents say that AI does not make them angry. They are more likely to say they are hopeful, fearful or intrigued. 

The questions were asked as part of a larger survey conducted by NORC’s AmeriSpeak Omnibus Survey in March 2025. There were 1,128 completes.