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In nearly every social gathering or meeting I take part in nowadays, the question of whether journalism is still serving society reigns supreme. The questions posed and comments made all point to the rising lack of consensus about facts and diminishing trust.

All this comes while I fail to hide a sense of anxiety, of fear about the present and uncertainty about the future. I often try, and clearly I am increasingly failing, to make the case that we are experiencing a crisis that is partly of our own making. Our trust in state systems and institutions, as well as the mainstream media, which have long held society together, is fading due in part to the way we choose to consume information. One example is how we use news feeds that are aggregated based on harvested data and rejigged by often-warped algorithms that are geared for the profit of the tech giants.

And this, let us agree, is suffered by nations and citizens that enjoy some liberties and freedoms, not in closed or state-controlled digital spaces.

Since the explosion of the internet, its central tenets and integrity have been raided by various forces that have diluted and distorted facts and disorientated the masses, especially in Western democratic societies. It is getting increasingly difficult for even the most seasoned of journalists to defend journalism and its role in underpinning a well-informed, safe and cohesive democratic society. As a result, the public, especially young people, are on the receiving end of the sensationalist, clickbait-savvy information and knowledge ecosphere that often manipulates facts, changes the truth and reduces trust in everything.

So, it was rather reassuring to see Pope Leo intervene last week to condemn clickbait as a “degrading” part of journalism. As someone who has worked in newsgathering for three decades, I believe the words of Pope Leo should resonate with us all — as today’s media, journalism and information environment is increasingly at the mercy of artificial intelligence, with little or no human input.

Our trust in state systems and institutions is fading due in part to the way we choose to consume information

Mohamed Chebaro

The pope’s words should echo as much with media consumers — and that is everybody — as it does with media organizations, tech developers, contributors, journalists, content creators, influencers and anyone with a story to tell.

Pope Leo, who is still in the first six months of his papacy, is right to see the damage being done by misinformation, disinformation, fake news and malicious propaganda. He advocated for journalism as a “public good that we should protect” and called for communication to be “freed from the misguided thinking that corrupts it, from unfair competition and from the degrading practice of so-called clickbait.”

All religious and political leaders should follow in his footsteps and warn their followers against clickbait traps, such as sensationalist, hyperbolic headlines that entice readers to click into a story, while omitting key information. This then takes people on journeys that leave them less informed and more disorientated than when they started.

In his speech, the pope highlighted the importance of field reporting from conflict zones, such as Gaza or Ukraine — a practice that has been disappearing due to budget cuts and security concerns. He added that “free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies and, for this reason, we are called to defend and guarantee it.” He claimed that “current events call for particular discernment and responsibility, and it is clear that the media has a crucial role in forming consciences and helping critical thinking.”

He is right to see the damage being done by misinformation, disinformation, fake news and malicious propaganda

Mohamed Chebaro

Pope Leo also spoke about the challenges facing news media due to the rise of AI, questioning the entities that are designing, building, operating and controlling the tools that have quickly become indispensable. He queried who directs AI tools and for what purpose, calling on us all to “be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few.”

In his address to journalists, he demanded they uphold the ethos of their profession for the public good. The pope is no doubt fearful for the future of society and the peace of humanity due to the intrusion of AI if the system is rigged to profit and not to serve.

But people also need to defend their freedoms and hard-earned democracy by holding on to their critical thinking and having the ability to weed out the good information and content from the bad.

In many of the 60 countries that held elections of some form in 2024, right-wing nationalism went mainstream. Many argue that the Western world and its democracy is suffering. The threats often emanate from malicious world powers, but also from powerful US tech companies and social media entrepreneurs. Western freedoms incubated these actors, only to see them naively unleashed to tear their own societies apart, cultivating doubts about democratic processes. They turned debates that were once democratic and measured into debates of hatred and exclusion in the name of an unhinged brand of free speech.

To have good journalism, as the pope wishes for, you need democracy and a protected set of freedoms. And to have a functioning democracy, you need free and objective journalism that is capable of speaking truth to power. This relationship is symbiotic: one cannot exist without the other.

Adding unaccountable and unregulated AI tools to the mix has changed the media and information landscape. Western countries are failing to contend with this change, leading to rising distrust and grievances across Europe and the US, deepening political dysfunction and social discord. Would saving journalism help? Or do we need to rescue democracy — and how? This is another pressing question not only for the pope but for politicians, entrepreneurs and people everywhere, especially in the Western world.

• Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.