What is a Clarity Correspondent? RTE make unusual appointment in fight against disinformation and AI

AI generated content is circulating social media now more than ever, making it harder for people to differentiate between real and fake content.

RTE have now created new Clarity roles which aim to focus on disinformation, discourse, and democracy while AI generated content and misinformation are rampant.

RTÉ News and Current Affairs has appointed journalist Kate McDonald to the new role of Clarity Correspondent to strengthen coverage across all platforms.

As people spend increasing amounts of time online, more than ever they are encountering false narratives and AI generated deepfake content that can be widely shared posing a threat to our democratic norms, RTE said.
 
As RTÉ’s Clarity Correspondent, Kate will deliver reports focusing on the origins, impact and evolution of information which misleads or misdirects public discourse and will be responsible for investigating such narratives across a range of briefs from politics to health and global affairs.

Kate McDonald joined RTÉ in 2023 as a Multimedia Journalist and has worked primarily in the Current Affairs digital unit, reporting into RTÉ Prime Time.

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Before joining RTÉ, she was Deputy News Editor at Storyful in Australia, where she specialised in video verification and online investigations. Prior to that she worked on radio news and TV investigations at the BBC.

She holds an MA in Broadcast Journalism from Cardiff University and studied European Studies with Russian at Trinity College Dublin.

Taking on a brand new role for RTÉ News and Current Affairs, Kate said: “I’m really looking forward to building on my work investigating online harms and their real-world impact, whether that’s the ‘rabbit hole’ effects of social media algorithms or the trading of personal data to track our movements.

"I'll continue to examine how digital systems shape the information people encounter and how that affects their everyday lives".

RTE Prime Time reporter Louise Byrne has also been appointed Policy and Analysis Correspondent with RTÉ Prime Time.

Louise will focus on how policies and actions impact everyday life, encompassing politics, demographics, housing, economics and infrastructure.

She will monitor and interpret government, EU and other institutional policy developments for Prime Time on RTÉ One and on online platforms.

Louise Byrne has been a reporter and stand-in presenter on RTÉ Prime Time since 2019. 

A graduate of Politics and Business from Trinity College, Dublin, Louise began her career in Midlands 103FM, before spells with Phantom FM and 98FM. The Dublin native was a reporter and editor on RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland before making the move to television journalism.

Nominated as PPI Radio Reporter of the Year and a Justice in Media Award winner, Louise brings 20 years of experience covering a variety of policy areas including housing, infrastructure and social affairs. She has reported on major international news events including coverage of the 2024 US Presidential election, the Grenfell Tower fire and the Manchester Arena bombing.

Louise also co-presented RTÉ Prime Time’s Housing Week special, a series that examined Ireland’s housing crisis through in-depth reporting, expert analysis and first-person accounts.

She said: “I’m really looking forward to the new challenge - bringing context, background and analysis on key policy decisions to our viewers.

"The State is planning a significant increase in capital spending as part of its plan to boost housing and infrastructure. There’s never been a more important time for Prime Time to ensure its sharpest focus on the decisions and projects ahead."