Visibility, Power, and the Battle for Truth in an AI Age

Whether conveyed through photographs, videos, illustrations, or as data, visual journalism is the process of making some elements more visible and others less so. The means by which this happens and how certain people, topics, or events are shown and represented carries symbolic and political weight.

Hence, the link between visibility and power cannot be overstated. The contributions to this special issue examine how technological change is reshaping the forms, practices, power relations, and epistemic foundations of visual journalism. The special issue pushes back against logocentrism, considers how algorithms and GenAI are expanding the gaze, and reflects on the contours of the scholarly field and on how the changing nature and forms of visuals are affecting visual style and representational patterns.