When images no longer prove: AI, simulacrum and visual journalism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2026.e113156

Keywords:

journalism, simulacrum, artificial intelligence, image, disinformation

Abstract

This critical review examines Living in the simulacra, by Mark Heisten, Kathleen M. Ryan and David Staton, as a relevant intervention for studies of visual journalism, artificial intelligence and disinformation. Through an essayistic and integrative reading, it argues that the book moves Baudrillard beyond the conventional postmodern repertoire toward a specifically journalistic question: what remains of evidence when images can fabricate, with documentary appearance, the very event they were expected merely to record? The review argues that the book is strong in diagnosing the mutation of evidence in algorithmic environments, but must be read through institutional, professional, economic and regulatory mediations specific to contemporary journalism.

Author Biography

Thiago Perez Bernardes de Moraes, Centro Universitário Campos de Andrade

Doutor e Pós-Doutor em Psicologia Social pela Universidad Argentina John Fitzgerald Kennedy, e Pós-Doutor em Direito Constitucional pela Università degli Studi di Messina. Professor titular e Coordenador Institucional de Extensão no Centro Universitário Campos de Andrade (UNIANDRADE). Coordenador de projetos pedagógicos do Instituto EDUTEA. 

References

BAUDRILLARD, Jean. Simulacros e simulação. Lisboa: Relógio D’Água, 1991.

CASTRO, Julio Cesar Lemes de. Plataformas algorítmicas e economia da desinformação. Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, Florianópolis, v. 18, n. 2, p. 91-103, jul./dez. 2021. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2021.e77485.

HEISTEN, Mark; RYAN, Kathleen M.; STATON, David. Living in the simulacra: how I learned to stop worrying and love Baudrillard. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2026.

IOSCOTE, Fabia Cristiane. Jornalismo e IA: tendências globais e latino-americanas em artigos científicos (2018-2022). Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, Florianópolis, v. 20, n. 2, p. 6-21, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2023.95335.

STORCH, Laura Strelow; FEIL, Bruna Meinen. Jornalismo, algoritmos e imparcialidade: uma análise sobre a startup Knowhere News. Estudos em Jornalismo e Mídia, Florianópolis, v. 20, n. 2, p. 88-102, 2023. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5007/1984-6924.2023.94993.

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Published

2026-07-30

Issue

Vol. 23 (2026)

Section

Book Reviews

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Thiago Perez Bernardes de Moraes

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