“The adoption of artificial intelligence in Yemen’s media and journalism sector should be seen not as a technological luxury, but as a natural response to sweeping global transformations in the media landscape.”

Reem Al-Fadhli (South24 Center)

By 2025, artificial intelligence has evolved from an experimental technology into a driving force reshaping work system worldwide. Recent estimates show that more than 900 million people-roughly 11% of the global population-now use AI tools on a regular basis, with the number of users expected to surpass one billion within the same year.

This sweeping digital transformation extends far beyond the industrial and educational sectors. It has also reached journalism and media, industries now navigating a revolutionary technology with a dual impact: AI offers unprecedented speed and efficiency, yet simultaneously raises complex questions about credibility, ethics, and the enduring role of humans in producing and verifying truth.

Artificial intelligence applications are reshaping the traditional foundations of journalism. They reduce the time needed to prepare reports, support translation and data verification, and enable new forms of storytelling across audio, visual, and interactive formats. Yet a central question persists: do these tools represent a meaningful advancement that strengthens the profession, or a fundamental threat to the human values at its core?

In Yemen, distinct media initiatives have emerged as they work to establish a presence in this rapidly evolving digital landscape. While global media organizations have moved quickly to integrate artificial intelligence into their editorial workflows, local outlets including the South24 Center for News and Studies, Aden Independent Channel, and the Hodge platform have begun developing their own approaches to adopting AI within an environment marked by limited resources and complex political and social dynamics.

From here, this report offers an analytical and interpretive examination of how artificial intelligence is being employed in Yemeni journalism. It explores practical applications, future opportunities, and the ethical and regulatory challenges that accompany this transformation. The findings draw on field insights and firsthand testimonies from Yemeni and Arab journalists and media professionals, presenting a comprehensive perspective on the evolving relationship between technology and human practice at a pivotal moment that is reshaping the landscape of both Arab and Yemeni media.

The Artificial Intelligence Revolution

Artificial intelligence has evolved far beyond its early role as a supplementary technical aid. Today, it stands as a central force in the media industry, reshaping journalistic roles and transforming every stage of content production. By 2025, it has become routine for major global media organizations to integrate AI tools across their entire workflow from gathering data to publishing finished stories.

A joint study by the Associated Press (AP) and the Poynter Institute found that by last December, roughly 70% of newsroom employees had used artificial intelligence not for peripheral tasks, but for core functions such as drafting initial text, translation, and generating headlines.

Similarly, data from Statista shows that more than 55.3% of journalists use AI to enhance content quality, while 51.8% rely on it for translation. Meanwhile, 40% reported that these tools have significantly altered the nature of their day-to-day work.

However, this rapid development is not without significant challenges. While some view artificial intelligence as an opportunity to enhance newsroom efficiency others see it as an "existential threat" to core journalistic values such as accuracy, independence, and accountability. In this sense, AI functions as a double-edged sword: it streamlines production and expands creative possibilities, yet simultaneously raises pressing concerns about trust, verification, and ethical responsibility.

Local Experiences

To assess how Yemeni media and research institutions are responding to the rise of artificial intelligence, this report focuses on three key organizations: the South24 Center for News and Studies, Aden Independent Channel, and the Hodge platform.

Jacob Al-Sufyani, Regional Director of the South24 Center for News and Studies in Aden, explains that the center has strategically integrated AI technologies into its operations to meet the practical demands of its work. The issues the center addresses involve extensive, complex datasets related to Yemen, the Middle East, and global affairs, making advanced analytical tools a necessity rather than a choice.

According to Al-Sufyani, this integration has had a direct impact on the efficiency of the newsroom, reporting unit, and other departments. AI tools are now used to summarize long texts, reorganize content, and categorize references and sources, thereby accelerating production timelines and reducing formal errors.

He adds that the center also uses synthetic voice technologies to create interactive multimedia content, including graphic design, image generation, and voice-over production for videos.

At the Hodge platform, an outlet dedicated to women’s issues, editorial board member Haifa Al-Odaini explains that the team relies heavily on artificial intelligence to support idea development. AI tools help journalists assess whether a proposed angle is genuinely new or has been extensively covered elsewhere, ensuring the platform continues to deliver fresh and relevant content.

Al-Odaini notes that the team also uses AI-powered image generation tools, largely due to cultural sensitivities surrounding the publication of photographs of women in Yemen, even when they appear in modest dress. In this context, artificial intelligence has become an essential means of navigating social and cultural constraints without compromising the platform’s professional standards or the integrity of its message on women’s issues.

For his part, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, Head of the Radio and Television Sector in South Yemen, notes that Aden Independent Channel has adopted artificial intelligence tools and language models such as ChatGPT, though their use in text editing remains limited.

He explains that the narrow scope of adoption stems from persistent concerns about the accuracy of AI-generated information, particularly when dealing with political or historical content. On the technical side, he adds, the channel’s use of AI is largely confined to enhancing sound and image quality through tools integrated into editing software, while experimentation with more advanced applications such as AI-driven video animation is still rare.

The rise of artificial intelligence in Yemen’s media landscape is not limited to established institutions; it has also empowered journalists and independent content creators who see these technologies as new avenues for creativity and as tools to overcome professional challenges.

Kamelia Kamel, a Yemeni podcaster and content creator, explains that AI has become “an absolute necessity for anyone working in the creative and content-production fields.” She notes that she relies on these tools extensively and encourages others to do the same—not only because AI can spark inspiration, but also because it often provides a crucial lifeline for overcoming (Creative Block) that many creators encounter in their work.

Ethical and Regulatory Dimensions

Every technological revolution opens new horizons while simultaneously raising complex ethical and regulatory questions. The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence in media has introduced challenges that strike at the heart of the profession, from ensuring information credibility to safeguarding intellectual property and protecting privacy.

Shehata El-Sayed, Egyptian journalist and head of the OSH-AI Group for Artificial Intelligence, emphasizes that AI does not threaten journalism itself but rather redefines it. He cautions, however, that public trust in the media could be undermined by the difficulty of distinguishing between human-produced and AI-generated content. El-Sayed also highlights the risks of over-reliance on technology and the potential for hidden algorithmic biases. To address these concerns, he advocates for hybrid verification systems that combine human oversight with AI capabilities, supported by clear legislation that balances innovation with responsibility.

El-Sayed emphasizes that artificial intelligence does not eliminate jobs but rather redistributes them. While routine tasks may be affected, they are being replaced by new roles that leverage technological capabilities. He warns that media organizations that fail to adopt AI risk being “out of competition soon,” while those that implement hybrid verification systems combining human oversight and AI will gain a competitive advantage.

Tunisian investigative journalist Hanan Zabees underscores that one of the most pressing challenges for journalists today is the phenomenon of “machine hallucination” -the tendency of AI tools to generate inaccurate or fabricated information when data is insufficient-highlighting the indispensable role of human verification in maintaining journalistic integrity.

Zabees also highlights that the threat of deepfakes represents one of the most pressing risks, particularly with the proliferation of AI-generated videos and images that mimic real individuals in sensitive contexts such as elections or conflicts. She warns that without clear legal and ethical frameworks; this phenomenon could seriously undermine public trust in the media. Additionally, she raises concerns about copyright and intellectual property, noting that training algorithms on content owned by others without proper attribution constitutes a violation of the rights of original creators.

Beyond these issues, Zabeess draws attention to algorithmic biases, which may be inadvertently embedded by programmers and reflected in AI outputs. She emphasizes that determining legal responsibility for errors is a critical challenge, stating that “responsibility always lies with the humans who use the technology and publish its results.” Despite these risks, she advocates for continued AI adoption, describing it as “an intelligent assistant that constantly evolves and learns from its mistakes,” while stressing the importance of cautious use and maintaining the central role of humans in reviewing and evaluating outputs.

Zabees notes that she relies on AI-powered translation and interview transcription tools to accelerate content production. She uses applications like Notebook to analyze extensive documents and convert them into reports or audio-visual materials, ElevenLabs for podcast editing, Google AI Studio for digital content creation, and Perplexity for advanced research, valued for its ability to accurately trace data sources.

Jacob Al-Sufyani agrees with this perspective, stressing that artificial intelligence should serve as an assistive tool rather than a replacement for humans. He emphasizes that the South24 Center keeps strict human editorial oversight over all AI-generated outputs to ensure compliance with standards of accuracy, transparency, and credibility, while preventing misuse that could lead to misinformation. For Al-Sufyani, the ideal approach is for technology to enhance the quality of journalistic work without undermining its human core or editorial independence.

Haifa Al-Odaini adds that the primary challenges of AI adoption in Yemen are not tied to job loss but to the novelty of the field and limited local training opportunities. She notes that the greatest risk lies in “lack of knowledge,” as insufficient understanding of AI tools leaves users vulnerable to errors and misinformation.

Ultimately, the adoption of artificial intelligence in Yemen’s media and journalism sector should be seen not as a technological luxury, but as a natural response to sweeping global transformations in the media landscape. Despite being relatively new to the local environment, these tools offer a rare opportunity to overcome long-standing structural challenges from limited funding and lack of training to restricted access to information and complex social and political constraints.

The success of these initiatives, however, hinges on the ability of media organizations to implement professional practices that safeguard content credibility and prevent errors, misinformation, or algorithmic bias.