RTE Appoints Clarity Correspondent to Combat Disinformation and AI Challenges

RTÉ Creates New “Clarity” Roles to Combat Misinformation in Digital Age

In response to the growing prevalence of AI-generated content across social media platforms, RTÉ News and Current Affairs has established new specialized roles designed to address the challenges of misinformation in today’s digital landscape.

The Irish national broadcaster has appointed journalist Kate McDonald as its first-ever Clarity Correspondent, a position created specifically to strengthen coverage of disinformation across all of RTÉ’s platforms. The role comes at a critical time when false narratives and AI-generated deepfakes are increasingly threatening democratic discourse.

“As people spend increasing amounts of time online, more than ever they are encountering false narratives and AI-generated deepfake content that can be widely shared, posing a threat to our democratic norms,” RTÉ stated in its announcement of the new position.

McDonald, who joined RTÉ in 2023 as a Multimedia Journalist working primarily in the Current Affairs digital unit for RTÉ Prime Time, brings significant experience in verification and online investigations. Prior to joining the broadcaster, she served as Deputy News Editor at Storyful in Australia, where she specialized in video verification. Her background also includes work in radio news and television investigations at the BBC.

“I’m really looking forward to building on my work investigating online harms and their real-world impact, whether that’s the ‘rabbit hole’ effects of social media algorithms or the trading of personal data to track our movements,” McDonald said regarding her new role. “I’ll continue to examine how digital systems shape the information people encounter and how that affects their everyday lives.”

In her new capacity, McDonald will deliver reports that focus on the origins, impact, and evolution of information that misleads or misdirects public discourse. Her investigations will span a range of topics from politics to health and global affairs, addressing the growing challenge of distinguishing genuine content from sophisticated fakes.

The creation of this position reflects the increasing recognition among major news organizations worldwide of the need to specifically combat digital misinformation. As AI tools become more sophisticated and accessible, the ability to create convincing fake content has dramatically expanded, creating new challenges for media literacy.

Alongside McDonald’s appointment, RTÉ has also named Louise Byrne as Policy and Analysis Correspondent with RTÉ Prime Time. Byrne, who has been a reporter and stand-in presenter on Prime Time since 2019, will focus on how policies and actions impact everyday life, covering areas such as politics, demographics, housing, economics, and infrastructure.

Byrne brings 20 years of journalism experience to the role, having previously worked at Midlands 103FM, Phantom FM, and 98FM before joining RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland. Her career includes coverage of major international events including the 2024 US Presidential election, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Manchester Arena bombing. She also co-presented RTÉ Prime Time’s Housing Week special, which provided in-depth reporting on Ireland’s housing crisis.

“I’m really looking forward to the new challenge – bringing context, background and analysis on key policy decisions to our viewers,” Byrne said. “The State is planning a significant increase in capital spending as part of its plan to boost housing and infrastructure. There’s never been a more important time for Prime Time to ensure its sharpest focus on the decisions and projects ahead.”

These appointments represent RTÉ’s strategic response to the evolving media landscape, where traditional journalism faces new challenges from digital technologies. By creating specialized roles focused on both misinformation and policy analysis, the broadcaster aims to strengthen its capacity to provide reliable information and context in an era where distinguishing fact from fiction has become increasingly difficult for audiences.

As digital platforms continue to evolve and AI technologies advance, initiatives like RTÉ’s new Clarity roles may become standard practice across media organizations seeking to maintain journalistic integrity and public trust in the information ecosystem.