AI Fuels Disinformation Amid Legal Gaps, Threatening Media Trust

Morocco’s Media Watchdog Chief Warns AI Amplifies Disinformation Crisis

Artificial intelligence is becoming a major catalyst for media disinformation while eroding public trust in news, according to Latifa Akherbach, President of Morocco’s High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA).

Speaking at a conference on combating fake news in Rabat on Wednesday, Akherbach called for digital platforms to adopt more responsible policies, describing disinformation as a structural threat rather than a temporary phenomenon.

“The increasing use of artificial intelligence within society and newsrooms has become a key factor in amplifying media disinformation and undermining trust in news,” Akherbach stated. She emphasized this occurs particularly amid insufficient legal controls and awareness of risks posed by advanced AI technologies.

The regulatory chief pointed to a dangerous convergence of factors: rapidly evolving AI capabilities, delayed legislative frameworks, and the absence of binding global governance principles. This combination has heightened media vulnerability and made societies more susceptible to information disruptions.

Recent data from Morocco’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency reveals a significant shift in news consumption patterns. While 66.3% of Moroccan citizens still rely on television for news, 26% now obtain information primarily from social media platforms. Online journalism accounts for 4.7%, with print media and radio trailing at approximately 1% each.

The Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report, which includes Morocco among 48 surveyed countries, shows even more pronounced digital migration. Approximately 78% of Moroccan internet users now access news through digital platforms, with YouTube and Facebook emerging as the dominant networks at 49% and 47% usage rates respectively.

“These figures reflect a global trend characterized by increasing dependence on social media networks and video platforms for news access, which constitutes a prominent factor in exacerbating the spread of media disinformation,” Akherbach observed.

The HACA president expressed particular concern about the diminishing role of professional journalism in mediating news consumption. This decline, she warned, deprives citizens of crucial editorial safeguards including rigorous fact-checking, appropriate news prioritization, and proper contextual framing.

The shift has created a vacuum increasingly filled by algorithmic mechanisms on digital platforms that prioritize engagement over accuracy. “This situation is unacceptable from the perspective of basic human rights, because information is considered a public utility whose treatment should primarily respond to societies’ public interest and principles of responsibility, transparency, and pluralism,” Akherbach argued.

Morocco faces particularly sophisticated disinformation challenges, according to the media authority chief. She cited numerous examples, including conspiracy theories circulated during the COVID-19 pandemic, fabricated election materials shared during the 2021 elections, and waves of false information following the Al Haouz earthquake.

Akherbach highlighted how Morocco’s Western Sahara dispute has become weaponized in a media war designed to pressure and manipulate both national and international public opinion. “The spectrum of methods used appears extremely wide, from fake statistics and distorted geographical maps to positions falsely attributed to countries and international organizations,” she explained.

These coordinated campaigns frequently employ emotionally manipulative narratives amplified through automated or anonymous accounts across multiple languages.

To combat this growing threat, Akherbach called for a comprehensive “societal resilience” approach. This strategy would combine strengthened media rights with maintained professional standards, appropriate regulatory frameworks that limit disinformation without restricting freedoms, and enhanced media literacy programs.

“The goal is not to undermine the right to expression, but to provide a media environment where professionalism and human rights prevail, and where citizens are aware and critical,” she stated.

Akherbach emphasized that Morocco does not seek to regulate technology itself, but rather to govern its applications. She acknowledged AI’s significant potential for innovation while stressing the need for legal and regulatory frameworks to ensure deployment serves the public interest and protects fundamental rights.

The HACA president’s warnings come amid growing global concern about AI’s role in creating and distributing misleading information, particularly as the technology becomes more sophisticated and widely accessible across Morocco’s evolving media landscape.