Algorithmic gatekeeping in transition: Generative AI and accountability in Indonesian newsrooms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v10i2.11777Keywords:
Algorithmic Gatekeeping, Generative AI, Journalistic Accountability, Political Economy, Digital NewsroomsAbstract
The integration of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into digital journalism has prompted concerns over editorial accountability, yet existing research predominantly applies normative ethical frameworks to Western contexts, leaving a critical gap in understanding how political-economic conditions in Global South democracies shape algorithmic gatekeeping. To address this gap, this study employs a political economy of communication framework and a qualitative multiple-case study of four Indonesian digital newsrooms legacy conglomerate, digital-native, independent investigative outlet, and public broadcaster analysing how GenAI restructures accountability mechanisms. Findings reveal three core mechanisms: an ‘efficiency-accountability bargain’ that forces resource-poor outlets into technological dependency on proprietary AI vendors; the emergence of a ‘techno-editorial elite’ that concentrates epistemic authority and generates ‘algorithmic alienation’ among traditional journalists; and the fragmentation of editorial chains, which reorients accountability from public-interest norms toward commercial platform metrics. These findings demonstrate that algorithmic gatekeeping in Indonesian newsrooms is structurally stratified by political-economic position, producing distinct accountability configurations that cannot be resolved through ethical guidelines alone.
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