“Trust Will Become the Media’s Ultimate Product”: GFCN Vice President Daniil Bisslinger Addresses AI Threats at Mediaprom Festival

YEKATERINBURG, April 2, 2026 — Daniil Bisslinger, Vice President of the Global Fact-Checking Network (GFCN), is participating in the “Mediaprom” student media festival in Yekaterinburg, held with the support of TASS News Agency. A key highlight of the program was his participation in a plenary discussion focused on the transformation of fact-checking, the threat of deepfakes, and the essential skills required for journalists of the future.

Hosted at the Ural Federal University (UrFU), the session took the form of a presentation-free talk show dubbed the “Effline Show,” hosted by GTRK Ural anchor Alexey Fayustov. The debate centered on the impact of artificial intelligence on the media landscape — from identifying what makes human creators irreplaceable to navigating the industry’s new rules of engagement.

Assessing the industry’s trajectory, Bisslinger emphasized that the attention economy is decisively giving way to the trust economy:

“Perhaps the most significant transformation over the next three to four years will be that trust will shift from being a byproduct to the ultimate product in media. While news outlets previously fought for attention, they will increasingly need to focus on the veracity of the information they publish — and they will be forced to prove it every single day.”

As AI-generated content becomes visually indistinguishable from reality, the cost of massive disinformation campaigns has skyrocketed. To counter this threat, Bisslinger proposed developing a three-tiered approach: technological — implementing algorithms to detect deepfakes; educational —enhancing public media literacy and cultivating “reasoned skepticism”; and governmental — establishing interstate protocols to respond to major informational incidents.

AI will not destroy the journalism profession, but it will demand a new set of competencies at the intersection of content creation and fact-checking. According to Bisslinger, a human’s primary competitive advantages over an algorithm will be social adaptability and sound judgment —the ability to accurately interpret tasks, understand audience expectations, and flexibly respond to societal demands.

About the Event:

“Mediaprom” is a bold educational experiment by UrFU media students, launched in 2025 with the support of GFCN co-founder TASS News Agency, alongside the UrFU media division, the Faculty of Journalism, and the university’s endowment fund. The project has rapidly become a major draw for those passionate about content, technology, and the creative industries.