Editor Fired for Publishing Fake Interview with Schumacher

The editor-in-chief of the German magazine Die Aktuelle, Ann Hofmann, has been dismissed for publishing a fake interview with Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher. Funke Mediengruppe's press service reported that the interview was generated using artificial intelligence.

“This tasteless and misleading article should never have appeared. It in no way meets the journalism standards that we and our readers expect from a publisher like Funke,” the statement said.

The interview was published this week in Die Aktuelle. Schumacher has not been seen in public since suffering a severe head injury in 2013, and it was emphasized that this was an exclusive interview. In fact, the text was composed of fake quotes.

The article focused on the former driver’s family life and health following the accident. The magazine simultaneously noted that the source of the article was a website related to “artificial intelligence.” However, it only became clear at the end of the text that it was entirely generated by a neural network.

Schumacher's family is preparing to sue the magazine.