Who is responsible for AI use at Blickindex?
Thomas Weber, Chefredaktör, is ultimately responsible for all AI‑assisted editorial processes at Blickindex, which is owned and operated by Rhein Media Ltd., a private company registered in Gibraltar (company number 132410).
Any use of automated tools falls under his direct oversight, and he approves the policy that governs their deployment. The newsroom’s fact‑checking lead, Laura Hoffmann, and the editorial team work under his authority to ensure that AI never compromises the accuracy or independence of our reporting.
How do AI tools support our journalism?
Blickindex permits AI‑assisted tools to support research, drafting, editing, formatting, translation, metadata creation, headline options, summaries and transcription – but only under strict human supervision.
These tools may suggest improvements to wording, help identify relevant sources or provide preliminary translations of official documents. They can also generate headline variants or structure data for infographics. In every case, a human editor reviews and approves the final output. No automated suggestion is published without a named journalist and editor verifying it. For more detail on our editorial process, see our Editorial Policy and Fact‑Checking Policy.
What are the strict prohibitions on AI use?
AI must never fabricate quotes, sources, interviews, bylines, author experience or expert profiles. It cannot be used to generate primary reporting or to replace human judgment in investigative or sensitive stories.
We forbid the use of AI to write entire articles without substantive human editing, to create misleading data visualisations, or to personalise content in ways that could manipulate reader understanding. Automated systems may not decide editorial priorities or determine the prominence of stories. Any sponsored or commercial material remains the responsibility of the editorial team and is labelled accordingly, as outlined in our Sponsored Content Policy.
How do we guarantee human editorial control?
Every piece of editorial content published by Blickindex is reviewed and approved by a human editor before going live. No AI‑generated draft bypasses this step, regardless of how trivial the item may appear.
The named writer listed on each article is a real journalist who has contributed substantive intellectual work. The editor who reviews the piece checks for factual accuracy, tone, fairness and compliance with our editorial standards. Our fact‑checking lead, Laura Hoffmann, oversees source verification and corrections. This layered human oversight ensures that the technology remains a support tool, not a decision‑maker. You can meet the team on our Our Team page.
How transparent are we about our AI policy?
Blickindex publishes this policy as part of its commitment to transparency. We disclose our ownership, funding and editorial processes so readers can assess our independence.
All AI‑assisted work is logged internally, and we are prepared to explain on request how a specific tool was used in a given article. Commercial relationships, including affiliate links and sponsored content, are clearly labelled and never influence editorial conclusions. For more on our ownership and funding structure, see Ownership & Funding. If you have questions about our use of AI, you can contact us through our Contact page.
Our commitments
- Every published item is reviewed and approved by a human editor.
- AI may generate suggestions but never creates quotes, sources or bylines.
- Factual accuracy is verified by our dedicated fact‑checking team before publication.
- All commercial or sponsored content is clearly labelled and kept separate from editorial decisions.
- Readers can request information about our use of automated tools at any time via our contact channels.