The Funke media group abruptly fired Anne Hoffmann, the director of Die Aktuelle magazine that published an alleged interview with seven-time Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher with answers provided by an artificial intelligence program.
In addition, the group, through a statement published on its website, apologized and said that the article should never have been published.
“That tasteless and confusing article should never have been published,” said the group’s magazine manager, Bianca Pohlmann. “It does not meet the standards of journalism that we expect and that our readers also expect from a publisher like Funke,” she added.
“Michael Schumacher. The first interview. A worldwide sensation”, says the magazine on the cover illustrated with a large photograph of the former pilot. In a smaller text it is said that it “sounds deceptively authentic” and inside the publication it is indicated that the interview was carried out through an artificial intelligence program. That indication can easily be missed by the reader of the interview that is titled “My life has completely changed.”
In a photo caption, the ambiguity is played with about whether it is an authentic interview where Schumacher “gives answers for the first time since his skiing accident” or “is it really our Schumi who is speaking?”
Since his accident, Schumacher has been confined to his home in Switzerland and the family gives little information about his state of health.
There is an agreement with the majority of the German media that their privacy and that of their family be respected, which, however, is not shared by some tabloid publications such as “Die Aktuelle”.
The specialized media blog Ubermedien points out that the magazine “always tries to give the feeling that it is an authentic conversation with Michael Schumacher.” The Schumacher family has announced a lawsuit against the publication.
