A research team at the University of Barcelona, composed of Vicente Villalba-Palacin, Jorge Franganillo, Carlos Lopezosa, Lydia Sanchez and Caterina Calderon, has shown that news generated by artificial intelligence (AI) elicit a significantly more intense emotional response than traditional journalistic news. The study, published in the prestigious Revista de Comunicación (Q1 a Scopus in Cultural Studies), offers a new perspective on the risks of disinformation in the digital age.
To reach this conclusion, the authors conducted an experiment with 46 university students and monitored their electrodermal activity —an objective physiological measure of emotional and attentional activation— using the Sociograph system. Durant la prova, als participants se’ls van presentar de forma aleatòria notícies reals, extretes de mitjans consolidats, i notícies generades artificialment (GPT-4 + Midjourney 6), sense que sabessin mai quina era quina. During the test, participants were presented with real news, taken from consolidated media, and artificially generated news (GPT-4 + Midjourney 6), without ever knowing which was which. In this way, its spontaneous reaction to both types of content could be measured. In this way, its spontaneous reaction to both types of content could be measured.
The results show conclusively that artificially generated content arouses greater emotional reactivity. This finding is especially relevant because emotion is one of the main drivers of the viralization of content on social networks. A material that generates a strong emotional impact is more likely to be shared quickly, often without the person verifying its veracity, making this content an ideal vehicle for the spread of false rumors and misinformation.
In addition, research identified that this greater emotional reactivity to synthetic content was particularly noticeable in women and, more sharply, those participants who exhibited a higher level of internet addiction, placing these groups in a more vulnerable position.
The work of this research team brings new empirical evidence and stresses the urgent need to strengthen media literacy and critical thinking to address the new challenges posed by artificial intelligence in the informational ecosystem.
You will find the article published in the Journal of Communication: https://doi.org/10.26441/rc24.2-2025-3843
