Zusammenfassung:
We test whether AI-generated news images affect outlet demand and trust. In a preregistered experiment with 2,870 UK adults, the same article was paired with a wireservice photo (with/without credit) or a matched AI image (with/without label). Average newsletter demand changes little. Ex-post photo origin recollection is poor, and many believe even the real photo is synthetic. Beliefs drive behavior: thinking the image is AI cuts demand and perceived outlet quality by about 10 p.p., even when the photo is authentic; believing it is real has the opposite effect. Labels modestly reduce penalties but do little to correct mistaken attributions.