What We Learned: Building Trust, AI and Public Relations

2 July 2025

What does trust for PRs look like in a world where deepfakes, fake experts and AI-generated quotes are landing in journalists’ inboxes? That’s the question we tackled in our latest Spotlight Session – co-hosted with the brilliant team at Freelancing for Journalists, the UK’s leading freelance journalism resource, providing support to 9,000 members via newsletter, podcast and Facebook community.

We brought together three voices with serious skin in the game: award-winning freelance journalist and media consultant Rosie Taylor, co-founder of FFJ and freelance journalists Emma Wilkinson, and Grayling’s Head of Crisis, James Clothier, to unpack how the AI and public relations, how the PR-journalist relationship is evolving and what role AI is playing in reshaping it.

Where things stand right now

The truth is, AI is already baked into our workflows. Journalists are using it for transcription, background research and organising notes. PRs are using it to draft copy and build media lists.

But when it starts generating quotes, recommending the wrong journalists, or dressing up fake experts as real ones? That’s where things unravel.

James put it bluntly: “AI makes misinformation more convincing—and that’s a real threat to PRs and their clients.”

And Rosie agreed. She’s had AI-generated quotes that were clearly fake people about fake circumstances.

That lack of trust has real consequences.

The human factor

All three speakers came back to one thing again and again: human connection is still everything.

Rosie no longer accepts written quotes from new sources without speaking to them first. Emma double-checks every stat and insists on direct contact with experts. Both of them say that if you’re putting someone forward, they need to be real, reachable and relevant.

Rosie shared that she’s already received AI-generated quotes from people who were clearly fake, talking about fake circumstances – like someone claiming to use their Tesco Clubcard from Cyprus. It’s this kind of thing that’s making journalists far more cautious.

They also made it clear that PRs who take shortcuts, whether it’s with AI, recycled pitches or unverified sources, they are burning bridges with the very people they’re trying to influence.

As Rosie put it: “For me, exclusivity is everything. I can’t pitch a story that’s already been sent to every other journalist. Be honest about who else you’ve pitched to.”

Where AI can help

Despite the risks, no one on the panel was anti AI and public relations. Far from it. James said it’s fantastic for breaking the back of a big project. Actually, getting that first messy draft down before a human shapes it into something worth reading. Rosie uses it to help PRs better understand what kind of stories she covers. Emma taps into tools that make her job more efficient, as long as she can still do the critical thinking.

The line is clear: AI can support the work, but it can’t do the work for you. It’s a tool, not a substitute for judgement.

The future isn’t fake, but it is changing

When asked what media will look like in five years, James didn’t sugar-coat it. He sees more PRs relying on their own channels – publishing content directly via socials, YouTube, email. And, he said, we might even see a national newspaper fold. That’s the direction of travel.

Rosie and Emma were a little more hopeful. They believe audiences still crave real journalism, and they’ll always seek out sources they trust. Freelancers, they said, might actually be better placed than big media brands to adapt quickly and maintain that trust, only if they stay human and transparent.

And there it is again: trust. It’s not just a buzzword. It’s the one thing AI can’t replicate.

Final thoughts

This session could’ve gone for hours. It’s clear that PR and journalism are facing shared challenges, but also share the same goal: credible, human, trustworthy communication.

The big takeaway? PRs who want to work well with journalists need to do a few simple things: pitch relevant stories, prep real people, and be upfront about how AI played a part, if it did.

The tech might be new. The rules of trust? Same as they’ve always been.

Follow Synapse for more sessions like this, or drop us a line if you’ve got a story worth telling.