The negative impact of generative artificial intelligence on journalism was a key topic of discussion at the European Federation of Journalists annual meeting last week, the Union of Cyprus Journalists (ESK) said on Tuesday.

The rise of AI overviews in search engines like Google was a central issue discussed at the conference.

AI overviews have caused organic traffic to news sites to decrease by up to 40 per cent, which reduces revenue for news organisations, the conference heard.

The General Assembly of the federation adopted a resolution that called for fair compensation for publishers and journalists from the online service providers that are limiting news website traffic, noting the monopolistic influence of major technology companies.

Cypriot journalists were represented at the meeting by ESK president Giorgos Frangos and board member Stelios Marathovouniotis.

The conference also discussed the implementation of the European Unions’ Anti-SLAPP Directive, a binding European law designed to protect journalists, activists, and human rights defenders from abusive, cross-border lawsuits.

The federation noted that the vast majority of SLAPP cases involve domestic matters and called for national laws to address these incidents.

The General Assembly also approved a series of resolutions that called for pathways for nontraditional journalists, including Substack writers and TikTok content creators, to enter unions, encouraged greater participation in journalist unions from young people and defended press freedoms in Turkey.

In recent years, Cyprus has fallen sharply in the World Press Freedom Index. Cyprus ranks 80th out of 180 countries in 2026, down significantly from 26th place in 2021. Only Greece ranks below Cyprus out of European Union nations.