Researcher says journalist-free AI outlet falls short on launch day
Tuesday 27th October 2026 on 22:15 in
Denmark
Denmark’s new AI-driven news outlet Y drew a mixed assessment on its launch day, with a media researcher saying its content did little to fulfil its promise to “see the world anew,” DR reported.
Y launched on 27 October under editor-in-chief Michael Dyrby, a former news director at TV 2 and editor-in-chief of B.T. The free, centre-right outlet employs no journalists. Its five editors use artificial intelligence for much of the journalism process, including developing ideas, selecting sources and drafting articles.
Peder Hammerskov, head of the Center for AI at DMJX, said the outlet’s presentation looked “heavy, black and boring” and that its launch-day content was not especially innovative for readers. He noted that many articles were wire reports from Ritzau and Reuters published with new headlines.
Of 43 articles on Y’s website, 22 were from Ritzau or Reuters or were press releases, Hammerskov counted. Another 12 were based on stories from other media. The site also featured a number of articles produced by Y, analyses linking to other outlets and a live blog on the election in Israel, which it said was updated with verified information.
Hammerskov said the outlet’s use of AI was not very visible to readers, and he would like news organisations to be more transparent about how they use the technology. He said the audio versions of articles appeared to be the most innovative feature for users, but described them as lacking context and clearly AI-generated.
Y says it uses AI to identify developments, process large amounts of information, prepare drafts and adapt content into different formats. The outlet focuses mainly on Danish politics, international affairs and business, and says it is registered with the Danish Press Council and follows its ethical guidelines.
Hammerskov said Y was innovative in how it produces journalism and could prompt important discussion about the use of AI in the media. He said the outlet would need to show that it was relevant and met users’ needs, but added that it was too early to rule it out. DR said it had put the criticism to Dyrby, who had not responded.