The age of artificial sensationalism: ChatGPT-generated analysis of headlines in news events

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.12.e.5

Keywords:

AI, journalism, automation, events, sensationalism, disinformation, ChatGPT

Abstract

This study analyzes the impact of the large language model (LLM) ChatGPT on journalistic writing. This research examines news headlines automatically generated by ChatGPT to identify possible gender, race, or other biases, as well as to determine a possible inclination towards sensationalism. To conduct the analysis, 1,000 crime or accident headlines were automatically generated through specific prompts introduced into ChatGPT. The methodology employs a coding framework based on previous studies, incorporating proprietary parameters to detect biases by age, sex, or nationality. The results reveal that headlines generated by ChatGPT focus primarily on crimes or criminal acts, followed by other topics, accidents, and economic affairs. Headlines tend to focus on dramatic, sensationalist, or conflictive themes, including elements of surprise or unusual circumstances. Specific references to nationalities were observed, as well as a higher frequency of male identification in cases where the sex of those involved is mentioned. The conclusions show that AI-generated headlines favor dramatic and sensationalist content, especially in crime categories. The need to develop tools and strategies to ensure the quality and objectivity of AI-generated news is identified, suggesting collaboration between journalists and Artificial Intelligence experts.

On the other hand, AI is also impacting event journalism. It is the purest journalism, the least mediatized and contaminated by press offices (Rodríguez Cárcela, 2015).

This research aims to study and compare the headlines generated by the ChatGPT tool, compared to those generated by human journalists to find out which ones favor sensationalism and disinformation more.

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Author Biographies

  • Mónica Melero-Lázaro, Universidad de Valladolid (UVA)

    Mónica Melero Lázaro has a degree in Journalism from the University of Valladolid (2012) and a Master's Degree in Professional Multimedia Journalism from the Complutense University of Madrid (2013). She has been associate professor of the Degree in Journalism at the University of Valladolid in the academic years 2021-2022 and 2022-2023. She works as an Initiated Researcher in the Privacy Engineering Research Group at the University of Valladolid where I am in charge of the communication and content dissemination of the App-PI Project (App Privacy Impact)”, funded by INCIBE with PRTR and NextGen EU funds. He is currently working on his doctoral thesis within the PhD program in Spanish: Linguistics, Literature and Communication at the University of Valladolid and is researching on Artificial Intelligence, bots, algorithms and their influence on narrative discourse and journalistic ethics.

  • Francisco José García-Ull, Universidad Europea de Valencia

    Francisco José García Ull holds a PhD in Communication Cum Laude from the Universitat de València (2016) and a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Alicante (2006).

  • Rosa María Rodríguez-Cárcela, Universidad de Sevilla (US)

    Rosa Rodríguez Cárcela has a degree in Information Sciences (Universidad Complutense de Madrid) and Law (Universidad de Sevilla). She holds a PhD in Communication from the University of Seville. She has worked as a journalist in the written press (ABC, Huelva Información, Diario de Sevilla and currently in El Correo de Andalucía). She is a senior technician in Information Sciences at the Junta de Andalucía. He has written the book Manual de Sucesos (University of Seville) and has published several articles in scientific journals, especially dedicated to the treatment, analysis and history of journalism of events. He has also published other books, such as Arcángeles de Sevilla (2014), Arcángeles de la provincia de Sevilla (2026) and Arcángeles del Cielo (2012).

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Published

2025-08-22

Issue

Vol. 12 No. Especial (2025): Intelligent Digital Journalism

Section

Thematic issue

How to Cite

The age of artificial sensationalism: ChatGPT-generated analysis of headlines in news events. (2025). Revista De La Asociación Española De Investigación De La Comunicación, 12(Especial), raeic12e05. https://doi.org/10.24137/raeic.12.e.5