Visual news values in the age of AI: Exploring newsworthiness in generative image creation

Generative AI tools can produce images that visually mimic professional photojournalism. Our study examines how these tools simulate journalistic image production by reproducing news values commonly found in visual reporting. Using the Discursive News Values Analysis (DNVA) framework, we analyzed a dataset of 84 images-28 real and 56 AI-generated-based on news coverage of the Israel–Hamas conflict. The analysis compares the presence of 10 established news values, as perceived by journalism students, across real and AI-generated visuals. The study argues that while AI can mimic the form of newsworthiness, it may also blur the boundary between representation and simulation. Findings suggest that AI-generated visuals often foreground values such as negativity, personalization, and aesthetic appeal-mirroring dominant journalistic patterns. This alignment may contribute to a standardized visual language that simplifies complex events and reinforces existing representational norms in conflict reporting, shaping how such events are mediated and understood.