DNPA Conclave 2026: In AI age, trust will determine survival of journalism

Trust has emerged as the central pillar of the future news ecosystem, with credibility increasingly shaping audience loyalty, advertiser confidence and long-term relevance in a saturated digital environment.

At the Fourth Annual Digital News Publishers Association Conclave 2026, discussions focused on how trust has moved beyond a moral value to become functional infrastructure for media organisations. In an era of abundant content and rising misinformation, credibility now determines discoverability, sustainability and public confidence.




The rise of AI-generated content has intensified this shift. As creation becomes easier and faster, verification is becoming the key differentiator for newsrooms. Participants noted that audiences in the post-virality phase of digital media are more sceptical and reward sources that demonstrate rigour, transparency and accountability.

Brands are also reassessing where they place advertising, evaluating the credibility of media environments rather than just scale of impressions. At the same time, revenue streams such as subscriptions, donations and premium partnerships are increasingly dependent on trust.

Speaking during the conclave, Tanmay Maheshwari, the managing director of Amar Ujala reflected on India’s vast digital base and its implications for media experimentation.

“In the Indian context, with 800 million plus internet users, 600 million plus smartphone users, and the cheapest data in the world, it is the breeding ground of all the experiments.”


He described India as a deeply engaged digital society while warning of the paradox facing media organisations.

“We're not just a digital nation. We're a hyper-digital active society. But here's the irony . we're making more content than ever. we're consuming more content than ever and yet, the media ecosystem is more fragile than ever.”

On artificial intelligence in journalism, he stressed the limits of automation compared with on-ground reporting.

“AI can summarise , AI can translate, AI can optimise headlines, but I think that AI cannot attend a village in 45 degrees heat and understand the pain of a local villager and share it with the nation so that his voice is heard. all of us in this room have a responsibility that the voices should be heard. propaganda should be curtailed.and the nation should grow.”

The conclave, held under the theme “Rewriting the Playbook for a Resilient Digital Future,” brought together leaders from media, technology and policy to examine how trust, innovation, AI, regulation and sustainable growth will shape journalism in the coming decade.
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