Australian AI Media Tone Index, August 2026
In August 2026, 44.4% of AI stories at the front door of Australia's major mastheads were framed negatively, against 30.9% across the global comparison set: Australian coverage ran 13.5 points more negative. Based on 421 Australian and 946 global stories.
Shares
By topic
| Topic · share negative | Australia | Global |
|---|---|---|
| Jobs and work | 56% | 60% |
| Safety, ethics and regulation | 69% | 65% |
| Business and investment | 25% | 17% |
| Government and public sector | 16% | 12% |
| Education | 62% | 38% |
| Health | 43% | 9% |
| Crime, scams and deepfakes | 95% | 95% |
| Science and research | 14% | 0% |
| Products and consumer | 30% | 6% |
| Culture and media | 55% | 42% |
| Politics | 14% | 25% |
| Infrastructure and energy | 38% | 18% |
By masthead
The share of each masthead’s AI stories framed negative and positive. These are aggregates about a masthead’s framing, not claims about any person. We show fewer than twenty stories as insufficient.
| Masthead | Set | n | Negative | Positive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC News | Australia | 115 | 51% | 8% |
| Australian Financial Review | Australia | 109 | 32% | 28% |
| The Australian | Australia | 79 | 41% | 27% |
| news.com.au | Australia | 51 | 47% | 16% |
| Sydney Morning Herald | Australia | 49 | 57% | 14% |
| The Age | Australia | 18 | insufficient | insufficient |
| Reuters | Global | 342 | 25% | 38% |
| Wall Street Journal | Global | 223 | 29% | 30% |
| Financial Times | Global | 171 | 29% | 28% |
| BBC News | Global | 94 | 45% | 22% |
| Washington Post | Global | 90 | 42% | 12% |
| New York Times | Global | 17 | insufficient | insufficient |
| The Guardian | Global | 9 | insufficient | insufficient |
Examples
Headlines as published, with links. We characterise framing, not people.
- AI can now hack the grid – it is months, not years away The Australian · 3 Aug 2026
- AI just went rogue again. This time it used deception Australian Financial Review · 5 Aug 2026
- Fears AI could create never before seen bioweapons as it develops brand new viruses The Australian · 6 Aug 2026
- Cannon-Brookes says AI is the best thing ever as Atlassian roars back Australian Financial Review · 7 Aug 2026
- AI bots are excellent financial advisers. And they’re free Australian Financial Review · 1 Aug 2026
- How AI could turn breast scans into lifesaving heart checks The Australian · 28 Aug 2026
Cite this release
AI Brief Australia (2026). Australian AI Media Tone Index, August 2026. Australian AI Media Tone Index. https://aibrief.com.au/tone-index/2026-08. Published 9 September 2026.
In a sentence
In August 2026, 44.4% of AI stories at the front door of Australia's major mastheads were framed negatively, against 30.9% across the global comparison set: Australian coverage ran 13.5 points more negative. Based on 421 Australian and 946 global stories.
Data: CC BY 4.0. Method and rubric version on this page; the CSV carries every figure.
Method
First published release, from the back-run. Human check: fifty rows per set coded blind by the editor gave 72% (Australia) and 70% (global) agreement, with every disagreement on the neutral boundary and polarity crossing once in a hundred rows; the editor then recoded the disagreements strictly to the rubric, knowing which rows they were, and agreed with the model on all of them (98% and 100%). That second figure is an upper bound; from September the check is coded to the rubric blind from the start. Rows were collected by Google News RSS search after the fact and carry no standfirst, so this history is classified from headlines alone. The global set is carried by three business wires; the New York Times and the Guardian are under-collected in this version and the next version fixes that.
Revisions
- 9 September 2026Eight August-dated stories arrived by the live RSS route on 9 September, after first publication; the release now includes them. Previously gap +12.4 pts, Australia 43.3% negative (n = 413), global 30.9% (n = 946).