Artificial Intelligence: News Media

Lord McNally Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Twycross (Lab)]

Without having read the article or looked into it in detail, I am hesitant to give a response, other than to say that we need to make sure that we get AI use up to an accurate level. Ultimately, in terms of news reporting, we are also very clear that the original source—the newspapers—need the revenue they get from people going through their pages for advertising, for example. I am happy to write to the right reverend Prelate on that point.

[Lord McNally (LD)]

My Lords, I declare an interest as a member of the Select Committee on Communications and Digital, under the chair, the noble Baroness, Lady Keeley. I am as keen to see trustworthy journalism as are the Minister and the noble Lord, Lord Black, but before we all go marching shoulder to shoulder, I wonder if we can look at some of the behaviour. For example, in today’s Daily Mail and MailOnline, there are several articles of a highly personalised nature about the Chancellor. I will give noble Lords a flavour.

[Noble Lords]

Oh!

[Lord McNally (LD)]

Do noble Lords not want to hear it?

“A hormonal collapse from another femme failure who can’t cope when the going gets tough. A woman who wilts like a stick of damp rhubarb at the first sign of trouble”.


Unless we deal with that kind of misogyny in our national newspaper, and the noble Lord, Lord Black, joins some of us in trying to get high standards in our newspapers, then we will fail.

[Captain of the King’s Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard and Deputy Chief Whip (Baroness Wheeler) (Lab)]

My Lords, can the noble Lord sit down, because he has asked his question?