How does Medienlinker use AI and automation tools?
AI-assisted tools may support research, editing, formatting, translation, metadata generation, headline options, summaries and transcription at Medienlinker, but they never replace human reporting or editorial judgement. These tools help our journalists work more efficiently — organising notes, suggesting alternative phrasings, checking consistency, or translating interview material. Technical tasks such as formatting articles for different platforms or generating SEO metadata may also be assisted by automation. In every case, the output is treated as a draft or suggestion, never as a finished article. No story is published based solely on machine-generated content.
What is the human guarantee?
Every article published by Medienlinker is drafted by a named writer, reviewed by an editor and fact-checked before publication, ensuring that no AI tool can approve or release content. The final decision to publish rests with a human editor, and every piece carries the name of the journalist responsible for it. This guarantee covers all content types — news articles, analysis, investigations, opinion pieces and sponsored content. Our editorial team, listed on /our-team/, oversees every stage. Chefredaktör Sebastian Lorenz is ultimately responsible for editorial standards and publication decisions, as set out in our /editorial-policy/.
What is strictly prohibited?
AI must never be used to fabricate quotes, sources, interviews, bylines, author experience or expert profiles at Medienlinker, and it must not generate content that misrepresents facts or presents speculation as news. Automated tools cannot commission articles, set editorial direction, or determine the angle of a story. We also prohibit the use of AI to create misleading or deceptive content, including deepfakes or manipulated media, without explicit editorial oversight and clear labelling. Any use of AI tools must be disclosed internally, and our editors are trained to identify and reject machine-generated content that does not meet our standards.
What you can expect from us
You can expect that every article you read on Medienlinker has been through a human-led editorial process where AI tools may have supported research or drafting but a named journalist and editor have reviewed and approved the final version. We label sponsored or commercial content clearly, as detailed in our /sponsored-content-policy/. If we make a mistake, we correct it promptly and transparently, as outlined in our /corrections-policy/. Our fact-checking process, described in /fact-checking-policy/, verifies sources and claims before publication.
How do we ensure accountability?
Accountability is built into our workflow at Medienlinker: every article records the name of the writer and editor, and our fact-checking team, led by Sandra Mayer (Ansvarig för faktagranskning), verifies sources and claims before publication. If a reader has a concern about how AI or automation may have been used in a story, they can contact our fact-checking team at factcheck@medienlinker.de. We review our use of AI tools regularly to ensure they align with our editorial values, and our team receives training on the risks and limitations of AI. Readers can find more about our standards on our /about-us/ page.
Questions or concerns?
If you have questions about this policy or about how a specific article was produced, please contact our editorial team at editorial@medienlinker.de. For fact-checking concerns, write to factcheck@medienlinker.de. General inquiries can be sent to info@medienlinker.de. You can also reach us through our /about-us/contact/ page.