TOWARD ACCOUNTABLE ALGORITHMIC JOURNALISM IN NIGERIA: A CONTEXT-ADAPTIVE HYBRID GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK
Keywords:
Artificial Intelligence, Media Ethics, AI Governance, Regulation, Journalism Accountability, Global SouthAbstract
The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into journalism is restructuring editorial production, accountability, and regulatory oversight. While AI enhances efficiency and innovation, it simultaneously diffuses responsibility across hybrid human–algorithmic systems and exposes governance gaps, particularly in emerging media contexts. This study examines how AI reshapes ethical accountability in Nigerian journalism and evaluates the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks relative to structured global regimes. Drawing on qualitative document analysis, the findings reveal multidimensional governance deficits, including regulatory incompleteness, institutional capacity asymmetry, and epistemic misalignment arising from non-localised datasets. Although Nigeria has introduced emerging AI-related policy and legislative initiatives between 2025 and 2026, including provisions within the Digital Economy and E-Governance framework, significant implementation and institutional capacity gaps persist. The article argues that the central challenge is not technological adoption but accountability recalibration under conditions of regulatory and infrastructural constraint. It proposes a context-adaptive hybrid governance framework that clarifies editorial liability, embeds risk-proportionate oversight, strengthens technical capacity, and foregrounds epistemic localisation. By situating AI governance within Global South institutional realities, the study advances a capacity-sensitive model of democratic media regulation.References
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