We know some readers have questions about how we use AI and, more importantly, how we don’t. As an LGBTQ+ owned and operated media company, our commitment has always been to tell stories by and for our community. That hasn’t changed. AI doesn’t replace the people who power our journalism. Instead, we use it carefully, transparently, and only in ways that help us do our jobs better.
Below, we break down how we use AI, why we use it, and the safeguards we put in place to protect both our readers and our work.
1. Human-first, human-preferred
Our editors, reporters, contributors, developers, and marketing teams remain responsible for everything we publish and distribute, each within their respective areas of expertise. The grand majority of our content is, and will remain, human-written, queer-led, and rooted in lived experience.
When AI-assisted content appears (such as recaps or summaries), it is reviewed by human editors before publication. In rare cases where AI-generated text is surfaced without prior review, we use safeguards, verified training sources, and ongoing human monitoring to ensure accuracy and fairness.
We do not use AI to replace writers or remove LGBTQ+ voices from the newsroom. AI supplements the work our teams already do—it does not do their jobs.
2. Why and how we use AI
We may use AI to assist with specific, limited tasks that support our journalism and workflows, including:
- Summarizing articles to provide quick context.
- Transcribing interviews.
- Translating content.
- Checking grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
- Generating headline options.
- Creating outlines, organizing ideas, or tightening drafts, including adding structural elements like subheads.
- Supporting early-stage brainstorming, such as branded content ideas, guided by clear human direction.
- Spotting patterns in large public data sets.
- Making our content more searchable.
- Translate articles to a draft of video content.
In limited cases, we may use AI-generated imagery when a suitable real-image alternative does not exist. When this happens, it is clearly labeled so readers understand how it was created.
AI is used to support our teams—not replace them. It does not independently determine what we publish, and it does not replace reporting, editorial judgment, or lived experience.
If AI plays a major role in a story or feature—such as generating substantial portions of text, imagery, or structure—we’ll clearly tell you how and why it was used. Writers and contributors are expected to disclose AI use to editors so that appropriate review and transparency can occur.
3. Your data, your trust
We avoid inputting private user data into AI tools. Our existing privacy policy fully applies to our use of AI.
Some of the tools we use—such as email platforms, social media management tools, or headline performance analysis—may rely on limited, non-sensitive data (like email engagement, content preferences, or performance trends) to help us improve delivery and relevance. This data is used to inform recommendations or optimizations, not to train AI systems on personal identities or private information.
4. AI in product development
Sometimes AI helps power things like newsletters, recommendation tools, or chat interactions. When that happens, we:
- Test for fairness, accuracy, and bias.
- Keep humans in the loop for any public-facing content.
- Use AI to support content discovery and delivery, not to replace editorial judgment.
- Build systems that can be turned off or bypassed if needed.
Our goal is to help readers discover more LGBTQ+ stories, not to create echo chambers or remove editorial perspective.
5. AI in visual journalism
Visuals shape how we understand our community and the world. Because of that, we use AI-generated visuals sparingly and with strict guidelines.
We may use AI to help visualize concepts, ideas, or scenarios that cannot be photographed or filmed in the real world, such as illustrative images or video that are clearly representational, not documentary.
We do not use AI to:
- Alter or fabricate real people, events, evidence, or news scenes.
- Create hyper-realistic images or videos that could reasonably be mistaken for real or taken out of context.
- “Enhance” reality in deceptive ways, such as digitally changing a person’s appearance or rewriting the visual record of an event.
Existing photo-editing practices—like basic restoration, cleanup, or color correction—continue to follow long-established editorial standards and are reviewed by editors.
When AI-generated visuals are used, they are reviewed by editors and clearly labeled so readers understand how they were created.
What this means for LGBTQ+ media
LGBTQ+ newsrooms have been disproportionately harmed by platform changes, advertising contractions, and media layoffs across the industry. Responsible, transparent use of AI helps us:
- Keep our sites active, accessible, and sustainable.
- Increase revenue so we can continue hiring, paying, and supporting LGBTQ+ journalists and creators.
- Compete with larger outlets that already rely on automation, including recaps of reporting originally produced by LGBTQ+ media.
- Stay viable in a challenging and rapidly changing media environment.
Our mission remains unchanged: to create a world where everyone is free to be themselves and live life to the fullest by telling LGBTQ+ stories by and for the community. AI may help us stay competitive and resilient, but the heart of our work is—and must always be—driven by human judgment, lived experience, and authentic queer perspective.
