EDITORIAL RESPONSE | By JAW GA News
JAW GA News does not demand a standard from Lanier County News that we are unwilling to apply to ourselves. We have made our use of artificial intelligence public repeatedly and in multiple formats. AI is addressed directly in our Privacy Policy, discussed in a dedicated JAW GA News Newsroom article, and publicly acknowledged on our Facebook page. We have never attempted to hide the fact that artificial intelligence is part of our research, investigative, editorial and publishing workflow.
Our Privacy Policy contains a dedicated Artificial Intelligence section explaining how AI may assist JAW GA News with organizing information, analyzing documents, comparing records, reconstructing timelines, identifying possible inconsistencies, developing research questions, examining alternative explanations, locating relevant information and preparing material for publication. It also makes clear that artificial intelligence does not replace human editorial responsibility and that AI-produced information is not automatically treated as verified simply because a machine generated it.
The same Privacy Policy also addresses the part of AI use that is often ignored: data handling. We expressly tell readers that information processed through AI-assisted systems may also be processed by third-party technology providers and may be subject to those providers’ privacy, security and data-processing practices. Because of that, JAW GA News calls for additional caution before confidential source identities, highly sensitive personal information, unpublished investigative materials or other protected information are provided to third-party AI services.
We did not stop there. JAW GA News also published a dedicated Newsroom article explaining that we use artificial intelligence and describing how it fits into our work. That article was not buried in fine print. It was part of our public-facing editorial disclosure. We explained that AI helps us organize large collections of records, compare documents, build timelines, identify contradictions, research public information and prepare material for publication. We also made clear that AI does not magically transform an allegation into a fact. Evidence still matters. Sources still matter. Verification still matters. Human editorial judgment still matters.
We then carried that disclosure onto social media. JAW GA News publicly posted about our AI use on Facebook rather than waiting for somebody else to “discover” it and present it as a scandal. Our position has been straightforward: yes, we use AI. So do many modern newsrooms, researchers, businesses, government offices and technology platforms. The question is not whether a newsroom uses artificial intelligence. The question is how it uses it, whether the use is disclosed when appropriate, whether the information produced is verified, and whether safeguards exist around sensitive material.
That distinction matters in this comparison. Lanier County News has publicly disclosed AI use in certain individual pieces of content, including translations, generated prose and a historical illustration. Those disclosures deserve to be acknowledged. But the Privacy Policy reviewed by JAW GA News specifically discusses analytics, advertising, payment processors, service providers, forms, submissions, retention and information sharing without containing a comparable section explaining artificial-intelligence processing or safeguards surrounding sensitive newsroom information.
That does not prove misconduct, and JAW GA News is not alleging that Lanier County News has fed confidential witness testimony, source information or unpublished records into ChatGPT. We found no evidence establishing that. The issue is transparency. If artificial intelligence is important enough to scrutinize publicly when JAW GA News uses it, then the policies governing another publication’s own acknowledged AI use are equally fair subjects for examination.
JAW GA News has addressed AI at three separate levels. We disclose it in our Privacy Policy. We have explained it publicly in our Newsroom. We have discussed it openly on Facebook. That is not accidental. It is our attempt to make the technology visible rather than pretending it does not exist.
So when Lanier County News chose to question our use of artificial intelligence, it was not exposing a secret.
We had already told everyone.
And that changes the framing of the whole article. The sharper line is not “they use AI too.”
It is:
Lanier County News scrutinized an AI practice JAW GA News had already publicly disclosed in its Privacy Policy, its Newsroom and on Facebook. We therefore examined the transparency surrounding Lanier County News’s own acknowledged AI use under the same standard.
After Lanier County News raised artificial intelligence as an issue in its criticism of JAW GA News, we examined publicly available material from the newspaper to determine how it uses AI, how that use is disclosed, and what its published Privacy Policy tells readers about the handling of information. What we found requires some important distinctions. Lanier County News openly incorporates artificial intelligence into portions of its publishing operation. We found disclosed AI-assisted translations, explicitly AI-generated English prose and an AI-generated historical illustration. Those findings do not prove that its ordinary English reporting is generated by AI, and JAW GA News is not making that claim. They establish something narrower and verifiable: artificial intelligence is already part of Lanier County News’s own publishing practices.
The dispute did not remain confined to the newspaper’s website. In a Facebook post displayed under the Lanier County News page, the publication promoted its September 10 article with the following statement: “A Georgia POST document appears to support portions of an allegation circulated by an unidentified social-media publisher, but missing records, an AI-created illustration and unanswered questions demonstrate the difference between a news lead and a fully reported story. CLICK BELOW TO READ THE FULL STORY!”
Directly beneath that statement, the Facebook link preview displayed the headline, “When a Facebook Post Looks Like News: What Readers Should Know Before Sharing.” The preview repeated substantially similar language concerning a Georgia POST document, an “unidentified social-media publisher,” missing records, an AI-created illustration and unanswered questions. The accompanying thumbnail displayed a uniformed officer, documentary imagery, a large red “TERMINATED” stamp, and clearly visible JAW GA News branding across the bottom.
That presentation deserves examination. Lanier County News characterized the subject as an “unidentified social-media publisher” while simultaneously displaying a graphic visibly branded JAW GA News. If the newspaper intended to say that the individual operating JAW GA News had not been personally identified, that is a different statement from saying the publisher was unidentified. The publication itself was plainly identified in the material shown to readers.
The Facebook presentation also recirculated the same disputed graphic that formed part of Lanier County News’s criticism. We cannot determine from the screenshot whether the newspaper manually selected that thumbnail or whether Facebook automatically extracted it from the linked article, and we therefore make no allegation about who selected it. The observable fact is narrower: Lanier County News’s Facebook presentation displayed the graphic it was simultaneously criticizing, while its accompanying text informed readers that an AI-created illustration was involved.
JAW GA News could have responded by declaring that Lanier County News‘s criticism itself was written by artificial intelligence. We did not, because we do not have evidence establishing that. Writing style, punctuation, paragraph structure, polished language and other stylistic characteristics are not reliable proof of AI authorship. Our review did not establish that artificial intelligence wrote the newspaper’s September 10 English-language article about JAW GA News. Instead of guessing, we examined the newspaper’s own disclosures.
Those disclosures establish AI use directly. In an October 16, 2025 article explaining its Spanish-language editions, Lanier County News stated that it uses artificial intelligence to assist translations while describing human oversight for clarity and accuracy. A July 2, 2026 business profile went further by specifically crediting ChatGPT for its Spanish translation and identifying Carol A. Gasser Moore as its reviewer and editor. Those disclosures establish an acknowledged AI-assisted translation workflow. They do not establish how the original English articles were written.
The examples extend beyond translation. In a May 14, 2026 trivia column, Jack Bagley openly explained that he asked an AI generator to produce a two-paragraph introduction and then presented that material to readers before continuing his column. That establishes publication of openly identified AI-generated English prose. It does not establish that the remainder of the column or unrelated English reporting was generated by AI.
A September 10, 2026 historical article concerning newspaper founder T. A. J. Majors contained an illustration explicitly captioned as an “AI-generated, historically informed illustration” and clarified that it was not an authenticated likeness. That qualification is important. Readers were expressly informed that the image should not be treated as an authentic historical portrait.
An August 20, 2026 economic-development article also contained a Spanish translation credit naming ChatGPT. The published wording included language translating to “Suggested translation credit for publication,” which appears consistent with a production instruction or template remaining in the published copy. We cannot establish the origin of that wording from the wording alone, and it does not establish that AI generated the underlying English reporting. Again, the evidence establishes AI use without establishing secret AI authorship.
Our examination did not stop with published articles. JAW GA News also reviewed a captured copy of the Lanier County News Privacy Policy dated September 12, 2026. The policy tells readers that the website collects information voluntarily supplied through subscriptions, accounts, forms, comments and other website interactions. It also describes automatically collected technical information such as IP addresses, browser or device information, pages visited and activity associated with website access and security.
The policy specifically discusses several categories of third-party technology and service providers. It identifies analytics software such as Matomo or Google Analytics, discusses third-party advertising such as Google AdSense, mentions third-party payment processors, addresses forms and submissions, explains data retention, and states that information may be shared with service providers that help operate the website or when required by law. The policy additionally addresses California privacy rights, children’s information, U.S. users and methods for contacting the newspaper regarding privacy matters. LCN Privacy
What we did not identify in the Privacy Policy reviewed was a corresponding disclosure concerning artificial intelligence, generative AI, ChatGPT or the processing of information through third-party AI providers. That absence does not prove that Lanier County News has mishandled information, nor does it establish that reader information, confidential sources, witness testimony or unpublished investigative materials have ever been submitted to an AI provider. JAW GA News has found no evidence establishing any of those things, and we are not making those allegations.
It does raise a legitimate transparency question because Lanier County News separately acknowledges using artificial intelligence within its publishing workflow. AI transparency involves more than identifying an AI-generated illustration after it comes out of a system. Another question concerns what information goes into those systems in the first place.
There is an enormous privacy difference between submitting an already-published newspaper article to ChatGPT for Spanish translation and submitting unpublished witness testimony, confidential correspondence, identifying source information, news tips, investigative documents or other sensitive material. Information submitted to a third-party AI service necessarily must be transmitted to and processed by that provider for the requested service to be performed. What happens afterward depends on the particular provider, service, account, settings and applicable data policies. Data retention and use for model improvement or training are separate issues and should not be assumed without evidence concerning the specific service involved.
That distinction is especially important in journalism. A source may provide information to a newspaper believing that information is being entrusted to the newsroom. If sensitive material is subsequently processed through an outside AI service, another technology provider enters the information-handling chain. That does not automatically make the practice improper, but it makes policies governing confidential information, source protection and third-party processing important.
Translation creates a separate accuracy issue. Artificial-intelligence translation can produce fluent language while still misunderstanding context, terminology, quotations, idioms, names or specialized language. That does not make AI translation inherently illegitimate. It makes verification important. Lanier County News has publicly described human review of some translated material. JAW GA News has not independently examined its internal editing process and therefore cannot determine how consistently or extensively that review occurs.
JAW GA News does not demand a standard from Lanier County News that we are unwilling to apply to ourselves. We publicly acknowledge our use of artificial intelligence. We have published a dedicated article explaining how AI fits into our newsroom and investigative workflow, and our Privacy Policy separately addresses artificial intelligence, third-party data processing, human editorial responsibility and precautions involving confidential sources, sensitive personal information and unpublished investigative material.
Our Privacy Policy expressly states that artificial intelligence forms part of our investigative, research, editorial and publishing workflow. It explains that our AI investigative research partner, Sherlock, may assist with organizing information, analyzing documents, comparing records, reconstructing timelines, identifying potential inconsistencies, developing research questions, examining alternative explanations, locating relevant information and preparing material for publication. The policy also states a principle we consider fundamental: artificial intelligence does not replace human editorial responsibility.
AI-generated information is not automatically treated as verified simply because an artificial-intelligence system produced it. Important factual claims must still be evaluated against appropriate source material before publication. Our Privacy Policy also acknowledges that information processed through AI-assisted systems may be processed by third-party technology providers and may therefore be subject to those providers’ privacy, security and data-processing practices. For that reason, JAW GA News calls for additional caution before confidential source identities, highly sensitive personal information, unpublished investigative materials or other protected information are provided to third-party AI services.
Responsible newsroom AI use therefore has several dimensions. Readers should receive appropriate disclosure when artificial intelligence materially creates or alters content presented to them. Publications using AI should be willing to explain what role the technology plays in their editorial process and where human responsibility remains. Newsrooms should also consider what information enters third-party AI systems and what safeguards exist for confidential sources, unpublished evidence, witness information and sensitive personal material.
Lanier County News’s use of artificial intelligence does not invalidate legitimate criticism of JAW GA News. Claiming otherwise would simply replace one double standard with another. If our original presentation did not provide readers with adequate context concerning an AI-created illustration, that issue should be evaluated against the complete original post, its accompanying language, any disclosure presented to readers and the documentary reporting underlying it.
An illustration also cannot establish a person’s employment status, disciplinary history, certification history or criminal responsibility. Those conclusions require documentary evidence. In the Wallace A. Parrish investigation, the illustration itself was not the evidence. The records were the evidence. Confusing the presentation of an investigation with the evidence supporting the investigation does readers no favors.
JAW GA News also has an obvious interest in this dispute because our journalism is the subject of Lanier County News’s criticism. Readers should consider that relationship when evaluating this editorial response. Having an interest in the dispute, however, does not relieve us of the responsibility to document what we can prove, acknowledge what remains unverified and correct ourselves when evidence demands it.
Lanier County News decided that JAW GA News’s use of artificial intelligence deserved public scrutiny. We accept that scrutiny. What we reject is the notion that scrutiny should operate in only one direction. We found documented AI use by Lanier County News. We found multiple examples where that use was expressly disclosed. We found no evidence establishing that AI secretly authored its September 10 English article about JAW GA News. We found no evidence that the newspaper submitted confidential source material to an AI provider. We also reviewed its Privacy Policy and did not identify an AI-specific disclosure comparable to the provisions JAW GA News has adopted concerning third-party AI processing and sensitive journalistic information.
Those are the findings. Readers can determine what they mean.
Isaiah 10:5-6 presents the image of an instrument of judgment operating within a larger judgment. JAW GA News does not cite that passage as a declaration of divine authority over another publication. The principle we draw from it here is considerably simpler: those who wield scrutiny should be prepared to withstand scrutiny themselves.
Lanier County News tried to school JAW GA News about artificial intelligence. We listened, examined the evidence, and then checked their homework.
People. Facts. Accountability. A Stronger Georgia.
Method and limits
This response was prepared with AI assistance. The September 12, 2026 review used search-indexed text of the linked articles and the supplied Facebook screenshot. Direct website retrieval returned access errors, and a browser attempt timed out. The review therefore did not verify current page layouts, original image metadata, the live Facebook post, its editing history or the newspaper’s internal drafting records. Indexed text may differ from subsequently edited pages. No response from Lanier County News was sought for this draft.
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