Venezuelan News Agency Turns to AI-Generated Newscasts to Protect Journalists

The new Venezuelan news service Connectas has turned to artificial intelligence-generated newscasts to protect its journalists during a post-election government crackdown in that country.

After a disputed election in July, Connectas says the AI avatars used in news reports on YouTube and digital platforms are fake, but not the news reports themselves, as the newscasts look to circumvent government censorship and repression.

The news agency on its website said Operation Retuit, which translates as Operation Retweet, turned to “artificial intelligence not because the tool is all the rage now, but to protect journalists from the crackdown that ensued after the election.”

The technology-driven newscasts feature a young man named “El Pana,” or friends in Venezuelan slang, and a young woman called “La Chama,” or the girl in translation. The duo stand in for news anchors with the production realism of video game characters.

The AI-generated newscasts aim to offer “relevant and verified information disseminated by a dozen Venezuelan and international media outlets,” Connectas added.

According to Reporters Without Borders, the Nicolás Maduro administration in Venezuela has a “restrictive” policy on regulating news media, and that “reporters are often beaten or threatened in the course of their work during elections or political conflicts.”

Opposition forces in Venezuela fear the Maduro government’s continuing use of the military and control of the news media puts journalists at risk from a continuing crackdown.

AI-generated newcasts are making inroads elsewhere, including Los Angeles-based Channel 1 News, from former Tosh.0 veteran Scott Zabielski and entrepreneur Adam Mosam, which unveiled plans to use generative AI to create personalized newscasts.